Got Myself a Writing Coach

I'm very excited. I have found a writing coach.

Her name is Cynthia Morris and she's in Boulder, Colorado. I came across her website, Original Impulse, and the more I looked around, the more I thought, This chick's for me.

• I really liked her emphasis on creating a writing life--my biggest challenge. I've had the training in craft, but I need to figure out how to actually get the writing done without becoming a hermit.
• I liked that she's a writer herself, so she knows whereof she speaks.
• I liked her passion for all things French (she leads writers' trips to Paris!).
• I liked the financial empowerment component of her work, because my second biggest challenge is figuring out a sustainable way to make money.
• And I liked her business savvy: she does a great job of promoting herself and her work online, with a blog and several ezines.

So I ordered her book, Create Your Writer's Life, which came with a free coaching session. And I was so rarin' to go, I emailed her right away to schedule it:

Cynthia,

Thanks, I look forward to getting the book!

I haven't gotten instructions for how to arrange my coaching call, but I'm anxious to set it up.

I recently quit my job so I could freelance and have more time for writing. I published a book of short stories five years ago, and I'm working on another manuscript now, trying to finish before I become a mother (my husband and I are adopting from China, sometime this year).

So I'm quite drawn to working with a coach at the moment ... and also possibly to becoming one. In February I started a new website (www.wrestlingtheangel.com), wanting to share some of my own struggles with writing, and I've found the process and feedback really energizing. I've started to dream about another career, possibly as a writing coach, which would engage more of my skills and interests.

I'm probably getting ahead of myself -- we haven't even spoken yet. But I wanted to give you a little intro about me and the kind of work I'd like to do with a coach, before we make contact.

She responded really quickly, and we scheduled a time to talk on the phone. She gave me some homework to do before our call: I was to journal on my vision for writing.

I'm going into a lot of detail here, and that's because I've decided to chronicle this coaching process here at gresik.ca. I think it'll make for interesting reading, especially if you're curious about what writing coaching looks like. It gives me a way to record the experience for myself, and stay accountable. And this way I won't have to do my coaching homework AND write blog entries. :-)

Next: The Intro Session