Welcome to our informational blog.
Topics covered include literary theory and practice, academic writing techniques, philosophy of education, and explanations of our methods for enhancing creative intelligence.
Anatomy of a Page-Turner
With guidance on story structure, pacing, character arcs, and voice, book coaching services offer new authors the tools and confidence they need to transform their ideas into a polished manuscript that readers can’t put down.
From Dickens to the Digital Age: The Evolving Use of Slang in Literature
From Charles Dickens' London street slang to the internet-based language of today’s young adult novels, the intentional use of informal language can bring stories closer to readers’ real-world experiences. However, slang also presents unique challenges with authenticity, readability, and cultural missteps. For authors navigating these complexities, the guidance of an online book writing coach can be invaluable, offering insights on effective use, responsible research, and stylistic balance.
The Composite Novel: Lessons from Jean Toomer’s Cane
For modern novelists interested in experimenting with composite forms, studying Cane offers valuable insights into how disparate narrative elements can be unified through recurring themes. The guidance of a book writing coach can further aid authors in mastering this complex form, ensuring that their work maintains coherence while embracing diverse storytelling techniques.
Crafting Proustian Prose: Sense and Memory
Proust’s work delves into the way memory shapes identity, often through sensory triggers that connect the present with the past. His style has left a lasting mark on literature, influencing both his contemporaries and today’s “Proustian” writers. Working with a freelance writing coach can be invaluable in navigating this style, allowing writers to explore sensory-driven memories and subjective storytelling techniques.
A Journey in Three Parts: Dante's Influence on Contemporary Storytelling
Dante’s classic structure, with its movement from darkness toward light, serves as an ideal foundation for depicting transformation or personal growth, making it especially appealing for stories that involve deep moral, spiritual, or psychological journeys. Working with a book coach, an author can refine this approach to suit their particular narrative, whether it leans towards literary fiction, fantasy, memoir, or even speculative genres.
The Enduring Influence of Rumi: A Guide for Aspiring Poets
For poets who admire Rumi, emulating his unique style often begins with a deep dive into his approach to language, imagery, and the thematic exploration of spiritual ideas. Working one-on-one with a writing coach can help aspiring poets unlock these aspects of Rumi’s style in ways that feel authentic to their own voice.
From Whale-Roads to Modern Metaphors: Kennings in Contemporary Poetry
While rooted in early medieval poetry, kennings have continued to inspire contemporary poets, who adapt this ancient form to enrich modern language and imagery. By working with a freelance creative writing coach, poets today can explore kennings in a structured and personalized way, learning to incorporate these historical techniques into their own creative work.
Djuna Barnes’s Legacy: Coaching Modernism
Djuna Barnes was a pioneering modernist writer whose challenging, lyrical prose and exploration of complex, often marginalized identities made her a distinctive voice in 20th-century literature. Writers who admire Djuna Barnes can channel her distinctive style and thematic focus by working closely with a book-writing coach who understands her unique literary contributions.
Neologisms in Literature: From Shakespeare to Atwood
From William Shakespeare to George Orwell, authors have long used neologisms to add depth, clarity, and imagination to their works. In this blog post, we explore how manuscript consultations with a creative writing consultant can assist authors in coining effective neologisms, ensuring that their language is both innovative and accessible.
Gothic Storytelling: The Legacy of Edgar Allen Poe
For contemporary authors looking to incorporate elements of Poe’s style, a novel writing coach can provide essential guidance. By focusing on techniques like atmospheric description, psychological complexity, rhythmic language, symbolism, and careful plot structuring, authors can draw effectively on Poe's signature approaches while crafting their own original works.
Literary Epiphanies: Clarice Lispector's Legacy
For contemporary authors, particularly those interested in experimentation, working with an online book writing coach provides an opportunity to engage with and adapt Lispector's methods. Through guided exercises, feedback, and personalized coaching, writers can experiment with techniques like stream-of-consciousness narration, narrative fragmentation, and character-driven epiphanies.
Mastering Parabolic Storytelling: A Creative Writing Coach’s Role in Shaping Symbolic Fiction
While it retains its roots in moral and religious instruction, contemporary authors have found new ways to use the parable’s techniques to explore universal human concerns, allowing it to persist as a relevant and compelling form of narrative in modern literature. A freelance creative writing coach can play a significant role in helping authors incorporate parabolic writing into their work by providing guidance on structure, theme, and the use of symbolic language.
French Surrealism: Breaking the Boundaries of Traditional Storytelling
French Surrealism was a revolutionary movement that broke with previous traditions in both art and literature. An author working with a one-on-one writing coach can benefit significantly from exploring the unorthodox techniques of these writers. Their methods encourage breaking away from conventional approaches to storytelling and tapping into more imaginative, subconscious realms of creativity.
Poetry, Prose, and Visual Art: Claudia Rankine’s Hybrid Approach
For poets drawn to Rankine’s approach, mastering these hybrid forms can be a challenging yet rewarding pursuit. Writing coach services offer a practical and personalized way for poets to navigate the technical and conceptual demands of this style, providing tailored guidance to help them develop their craft.
The Surreal Worlds of Kobo Abe
An author inspired by Kobo Abe’s work can experiment with elements of his style by focusing on themes of existentialism, alienation, and the surreal, while using a creative writing coach to refine their approach. The guidance of an online coach can help structure these experiments and provide insight into how to integrate Abe’s literary techniques into the author's own voice.
Cosmic Horror and Indirect Revelation
Cosmic horror is a genre that emphasizes existential fear, the unknown, and humanity’s insignificance in the face of a vast, indifferent cosmos. A creative writing consultant can provide valuable guidance to an author by helping them understand and effectively apply the techniques of indirect revelation, such as unreliable narrators, found artifacts, and other subtle storytelling methods.
Reimagining Narrative Structure: How Writing Coaching Can Help You Think Like Cortázar
What makes Cortázar's writing unique is his ability to innovate within the boundaries of genre, structure, and language. He rejected the idea of literature as a passive medium and instead viewed it as a space for interaction and discovery. For those interested in playing with unconventional narrative techniques like Cortázar, a one on one writing coach can offer both technical expertise and the encouragement needed to push creative boundaries.
Learning from Rachel Cusk: Shifting Narratives Through Dialogue
Cusk’s method of using dialogue as a primary narrative tool can be complex to execute, as it requires careful control over character voices, pacing, and the thematic integration of conversation. A novel writing coach can guide authors through this process by offering practical feedback, suggesting techniques, and helping to refine the balance between dialogue and narrative structure.
Bruce Chatwin's Legacy: Redefining the Travel Log
Bruce Chatwin's contribution to travel writing and literature as a whole was not just in the stories he told, but in the way he told them. A creative writing consultant well-versed in Chatwin’s style can offer valuable guidance to a travel writer seeking to explore unconventional narrative structures.
Magical Realism: Challenging the Real and the Imagined
Magical realism remains an influential genre, with contemporary writers from around the world continuing to explore its possibilities. The genre's enduring appeal lies in its ability to capture the richness and complexity of reality, revealing the magical within the mundane. A professional writing coach can guide authors through the process of experimenting with the techniques that define magical realism, helping them to effectively integrate these elements into their work.