For writers, etymology can be a powerful tool, opening up new vistas of language and enhancing your craft in various ways. This essay explores how an understanding of etymology can enrich a writer's skill set, adding depth, precision, and creativity to their work. We’ll also provide examples of how a professional writing coach might support you in this endeavor.

Creative writing isn't just a way to tell stories; it's a powerful tool for personal development and emotional healing. Recent peer-reviewed studies have highlighted the numerous benefits of this artistic practice — benefits you can experience for yourself under the guidance of a professional writing coach or writing tutor.

For many, autumn awakens the impulse to write, to explore the depths of personal experience, to make sense of our internal rhythms that mirror the external world. But harnessing this desire to create something tangible can be elusive, like trying to catch the leaves that flutter from branch to ground. This is where the guidance of a skilled writing coach can be invaluable.

A poetry writing coach provides personalized guidance, helping us refine our voice, explore techniques, and structure our verses. They foster an environment where our raw ideas can flourish into impactful, genuine poetry.

This season, many of us are settling back into our routines and wondering: How can I connect with my creativity again? There is a lot of good advice out there: prompts, good attitude, workshops. But when you already have a personal writing coach, I’ve found that the most effective way to empower yourself is by dedicating a new space in your own home for writing (and writing only.)

A writing coach can talk with you about tools like Bork’s PROBLEM acronym, and how you can use them in your own work. Never hesitate to ask your writing coach about advice you hear in podcasts or find in online articles so they can help you figure out what’s most relevant to your projects.

A writing coach is someone who has likely encountered many of the issues you might be currently facing with your own writing practice, and has figured out ways to overcome them. This means writing coaches are often incredibly resourceful people, who at the same time that they guide you through your process can help you discover how to teach yourself and grow as a writer for a long time after your work together. A writing coach online can refer you to internet-based resources that can help you with the specific project or projects you have in mind. Whether you have grammar questions, or need to think through your story structure, the internet likely has free resources that can help.

Dialogue is the bread and butter of the play. As a writing coach with Gilliam Writers Group, I’m one of several writing coaches with a background in dramatic writing. So if you need some tips on dialogue for your own novel or short story, here are a few from the theater world, where no one stops talking.

Whether you’re writing an essay for school, revising a chapter in your novel, or composing a sensitive email to coworkers, translating the words in your head into writing can be a frustrating process. A literary translator knows this feeling well, and moreover, accepts it as a natural part of the work of writing. With advanced degrees in diverse topics, including translation, writing coaches at Gilliam Writers Group can offer unique and surprising insight into what makes great writing.

A writing coach can help new authors by advising them on how to pitch a story idea to a magazine. At Gilliam Writers Group, our writing coaches have written for top publications and can offer expert advice on any potential pitch. When approaching a magazine, a subtle shift in mindset can help.

The most basic work of a writing coach is helping their client find their novel’s shape. Although narrative, or plot, has taken many different shapes, one in particular recurs again and again. This is the triangle, the pyramid, the arc: the three-act structure.

My first piece of advice: You, the writer, decide who is telling the story, and how much information they, as the storyteller, are supposed to know and expose.

At some point during our first consultation call, every prospective coaching client asks me the same question. It goes something like: “What is it like to work with a personal writing coach?” or “Can you explain more about your methods?” or “How does a writing coach help you write?” Understandably, most writers, or aspiring writers, who contact me want to know exactly what a coach can do for them.