Neurodivergent Writing Coach for Authors, Memoirists, and Academics
Neurodiversity-affirming approach
Helping neurodivergent writers unlock creativity and tell compelling stories
All writers welcome!
About Me
I tell stories about the outsiders, the misfits, and the beautifully complicated.
As a bipolar-AuDHD author and essayist, I know what it feels like to be stuck, to lose the thread, and to doubt whether a project is worth it. I also know what it feels like when a project finally comes together. That’s what I offer as a writing coach and editor: a conversation with someone who has been there.
I am an award-winning author of more than fifteen books and countless essays on writing, neurodiversity, and the spaces where they meet. As a former professor of disability studies, I’ve spent decades thinking about how different minds make meaning on the page.
I have more than 20 years of experience teaching writing, and I served as an AWP Writer-to-Writer Mentor. For six years, I was the co-publisher of a small, independent press, so I know the ins and outs of getting a book into the world. I am currently a faculty member in the Drexel University MFA writing program.
I earned my master’s degree in creative writing from the Johns Hopkins University Writing Seminars; I also hold a doctorate in rhetoric and a law degree. I am widely published in literary magazines and am a Pushcart Prize nominee.
I live in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with my neurodivergent family and our many rescue pets. In my free time, I’m an avid equestrian, competing in dressage and showjumping. I might also spend some time watching motorsports.
What is writing coaching?
A writing coach helps you develop your book or story idea, helps you create a writing plan customized for you, listens to your struggles and helps you through them, helps you assess your progress and modify your writing plan if necessary, and more.
Writing coaching is very personal, and both new and experienced writers can benefit from it.
I use a neurodiversity-affirming approach in my coaching practice that accounts for how different brains work, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. It views neurodivergences such as autism, depression, ADHD, PTSD, and anxiety as having both strengths and struggles, not just deficits.
Coaching Services
Getting Started. I can help you get started from a blank page. I can also help you get your ideas under control, whether you have a partial or finished draft. I can help you figure out what kind of book you want to write. Or, I can help you organize a book you already have in mind.
Staying On Track and Getting Unstuck. I can give you pep talks, hard deadlines, encouragement, or whatever type of support works best for your neurodiversity. I can help you create a writing schedule and stick to it so you don’t lose your way. Weekly chats can make sure you achieve your writing goals. If you hit a wall with your project, don’t worry. It happens. Let me help you break through with proven strategies.
Publishing. Are you ready to share your book with the world? I can guide you through all of the steps of the various paths to publishing with agent and publisher guidance, query letter and proposal writing, and more. I can even help you self-publish.
The Neurodivergent Momentum Method for Writers
Sometimes regular meetings with a coach aren’t enough. You need more: more support and also someone to read your work and provide feedback as you go. You need my Neurodivergent Momentum Method for Writers. It uses coaching, developmental editing, and high-touch support to help you get your draft into the world.
Developmental editing (DE) is an integral part of the Momentum Method. DE is a deep consideration of all aspects of your manuscript to help you succeed in publication. DE helps a writer with the structure, organization, pace, characterization, and other fundamental aspects of a manuscript.
When using the Momentum Method, I make adjustments based on your individual needs. Plus, throughout our time together, I give you high-touch support: you can email me any time when you have questions or need support.
Here is a sample schedule for a writer working with me using the Momentum Method:
- Week 1: Initial coaching and planning session.
- Week 2: I read your first ~5000 words and give feedback
- Week 3: Second coaching session to review feedback and plan revision. Then, you revise the next ~5000 words with that feedback.
- Week 4: I read your second ~5000 words and give feedback.
- Week 5: Third coaching session to review feedback and plan revision. Then, you revise the next ~5000 words with that feedback.
- And so forth until your book is complete or you feel confident finishing on your own.
By the end, you will have gained immense skills in structure, storytelling, revision, and more. Plus, you will have far more than a first draft; you will have a strong revision well on its way to being finished.
Contact me for a Momentum Method quote.
Before you go…a free resource for you
I created a free ebook for writers like you and me: The Neurodiverse Writer’s Toolkit: A Brain-Based Guide for Writers Who Want to Break Through Anxiety and Perfectionism.
It is perfect for all neurodivergent writers: writers with ADHD, anxiety, or depression; Autistic writers; and more.
Coaching Testimonials
With Katie’s guidance, I became empowered to edit my entire manuscript. My argument became strong and clear, my organization better served the thesis, and I felt emboldened to write the book I wanted to write. Without Katie, I would not have continued the project, nor would I have gotten a stellar review on the revised manuscript. Many people can tell you what’s “wrong” with a piece of writing. Only a select few can tell you how to improve it. Katie possesses that rare gift of being able to explain how to make writing better.
As a coach, Katie gives excellent advice. Plus, she is calm and thoughtful, especially in times of crisis.
Katie coached me with the rewriting and revision of my first novel. She helped me restructure my plot so that each scene moved the story forward and made sure each character had both a purpose and a voice. With Katie’s help, I was able to tackle a project that I had been struggling with for over a decade.