Writing Coaches
Testimonials
"I returned to school after over ten years away from a traditional academic environment. Dana worked with me on a stringent review of grammar and writing fundamentals that are essential to being a successful writer and communicator in all areas of life. I am fortunate to have worked with him as working with him gave me the strong foundation I needed to achieve my goal of finishing a graduate degree." —Tina Bates Baldera, a graduate student at Goddard College "Dana offers something different: care for craft, rich plots and complex characters...and themes we can all find engaging. Plus, he manages to be entertaining. It sounds trite, even stupid, that these qualities in his works of fiction, plays and nonfiction/essays are ‘different,’ but we live in perilous times, where the stupid and garish are the norm, thus making us all stupid. Dana is yanking us away from that, and thank the Lord!” —Christopher Chambers, Independent Writing and Editing Professional "Dana Crum is an insightful and gifted writer as well as instructor. He is driven by his own love of the craft and relays it well to students. I highly recommend him." --Regina Cash-Clark, Ramapo College of New Jersey We meet with clients online and in person. |
Qualifications
Dana Crum, Prose Wizard’s primary writing coach, is an award-winning author with 24 years of writing and writing-coaching experience. He has published fiction, nonfiction and poetry and provides coaching services in each genre. What further sets him apart from the competition is his teaching and editing experience: 18 years of teaching English and creative writing, 16 years of tutoring in English and 15 years of editing. Horace Mann, Prep for Prep, Ramapo College of New Jersey, the Art Academy of Cincinnati and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) are some of the institutions where he has taught. Crum received a BA in English from Princeton University and an MFA in Creative Writing from VCU.
How It Works During writing coaching, a client receives manuscript critique, communicated both in writing and during coaching sessions. The client develops essential craft skills not only through critique but also through lessons and writing exercises. The writing exercises serve other purposes as well: building confidence, unlocking imprisoned creativity and tearing down writer’s block. And because writing coaching requires that deadlines be set for sections of the manuscript to be turned in, the client’s writing life is given structure—the deadlines create accountability, which helps the client get the writing done. Because it helped them end procrastination and develop the courage and confidence to face the blank page regularly, writing coaching has been described by past clients as a kind of “writing therapy.” Manuscript critique involves macro-level, or big-picture, feedback that addresses issues such as structure and organization of chapters, sections or the entire manuscript; concept/premise; macro-level focus and cohesion; scene development; development of plot or argument; pacing; maintaining conflict and suspense; persuasiveness; clarity; and logic. Thus, a writing coach does work similar but not identical to that of a developmental editor. However, a writing coach is more of a facilitator. Manuscript critique does not include consistent, comprehensive line editing, copyediting, fact-checking or proofreading. If you need an editor, fact-checker or proofreader instead of a writing coach, try our editing services. Or bundle our writing coaching and editing services into a custom package (The price for such packages is not listed on our site but is available upon request). As for the schedule of due dates for submitting manuscript sections, you can, if necessary, reschedule a session or writing deadline, but please do so 24 hours in advance. If you purchase a one-month or multi-month package, any missed session must be made up within the month or it will be forfeited. At the request of the client and at the discretion of the writing coach, coaching sessions may vary in focus and format. For example, if you purchase a Platinum Package, which entails three sessions per week, you might in a given week experience one session focusing on writing craft, one on tearing down writer’s block and another on unlocking imprisoned creativity. The initial consultation is free and typically takes 15 minutes but can, if necessary, run as long as 30 minutes. You can pay by the hour. Or you can purchase a one-month package or multi-month package. Packages save you money. The bigger the package, the bigger the savings. |
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