If a one-off writing consultation isn’t enough to get your writing moving as quickly and as smoothly as you would like, you may benefit from working with a writing coach.
Here are some of the skills a writing coach can help you develop:
- Setting concrete writing goals
- Creating a realistic writing plan
- Building a regular writing routine
- Learning writing techniques
- Developing your writing skills
- Soliciting the type of feedback you need at various points in the writing process
- Improving self-editing skills
- Increasing writing efficiency
- Identifying your audience
- Understanding reader expectations
- Constructing a compelling argument
- Framing your literature review
- Increasing the impact of your writing
Here are some of the types of support a writing coach can offer:
- Brainstorming the narrative of your writing
- Helping you stay on schedule and stay organized
- Recognizing (and overcoming) barriers to writing
- Offering feedback on your writing
Finally, here are some of the types of feedback a writing coach can offer:
- Developmental editing (also called structural editing or substantive editing) is done for early drafts and focuses on ensuring that your overall narrative is compelling and well supported and that what you write is coherent, cohesive, and concise.
- Copy editing and proofreading focus on spelling, punctuation, grammar, and the correct use of the English language, but also can remove redundancies, resolve inconsistencies, and improve the flow of your writing.
Coaching is available 1:1 and in group sessions, both online and in person. To get started, email Julie.a.reynolds at Duke dot edu
