I offer one-on-one mentorships for creative writers of all levels.
For creative writers who have a larger project in mind, I offer mentorships designed to help you cultivate your project’s authentic voice and style. We’ll work together to develop your novel, memoir, short story collection, poetry collection, or hybrid manuscript; and if publication is a goal, I’ll offer support and preparation for the querying and submission process.
One-on-One Mentorships for Advanced Writers: (3 or 6 months)
Potential mentorships begin with a consultation over email to discuss your writing goals and what larger project you’d like to focus on. If we decide we’d make a good fit, we’ll mutually discuss what kind of mentorship works best for you, agree on a date to begin working together, and schedule an initial face-to-face consultation in Zoom.
During our first Zoom consultation, we’ll tailor a schedule to fit your specific aims and needs. Together, we’ll decide upon how and when we communicate (through Zoom, phone, email, or all three), a timeline for specific milestones you’d like to reach, and form a schedule to help you achieve your goals.
Our work will begin with a discussion and analysis of your current manuscript or ideas (poems, essays, stories, or a novel). Our conversation about your work will likely contain reading suggestions, writing prompts designed to generate new ideas for your project, and time for asking and answering questions regarding your work, the writing life, or publishing.
For fiction writers, we’ll focus on developing narrative arc, characters, dialogue, world-building, and creating tension in the plot. For poetry, we’ll focus on theme, word choices, line structure, form, and cultivating your authentic voice and vision. For memoir and essay we will focus on the confluence of factors that make engaging creative non-fiction, working to develop your unique narrative to embody its strongest and most resonant form.
As a team, we’ll form a plan for each new draft, and will have regular, weekly or bi-weekly check-ins with structured feedback to help you reach your project’s best potential. Should the publication of your finished manuscript be a desired outcome, meetings toward the end of our mentorship will include help writing a query letter, a cover letter, and/or an author bio.
If an issue arises between our regular meetings, I’m available at any time to answer your questions via email, and will always respond within 24 working hours (usually less).
Testimonials
“Lauren edited my first and second full-length poetry collections. Her feedback was consistently balanced, thorough, and because of her discerning eye, I felt so much more confident releasing my work into the world.” – Lauren Davis, author of Home Beneath the Church and When I Drowned
“Lauren gave me room to grow and showcase what I can achieve as both a creative writer and reader. I’m so grateful for her mentorship and her insights, which have genuinely made me a better writer.” -Alex S. (aspiring author and former mentee)
“Lauren did a wonderful job keeping me engaged and giving me the space to grow and improve as an argumentative writer. I’ll definitely work with her again in the future.” -Troy N. (former mentee and undergraduate student)
“Lauren is phenomenal! She is extremely passionate, kind, and smart. She always has my best interests at heart and makes great points on how to improve my writing. One of the best writing instructors I’ve had. She is also very organized and is an overall great teacher” -Megan K. (former mentee and undergraduate student)
Let’s chat about your project and goals!
Lauren Brazeal Garza 