“I had a complicated story to tell, and wanted to learn how to tell it to myself as well as to others. I’ve been a reader since I was four or five (not novels or memoirs at that age, though!) and have always been drawn to multi-layered, multi-populated narratives.”

“My mentoring has been described as “motivating” and “fun.” As a mentor, I do my best to welcome a writer’s worldview, experience, and identity, and help guide that writer toward achievable and rewarding goals.”

“I emphasize the idea of the ‘nominal and the substantive/ in a work—asking the writer to look at not only what the story is (plot and characters) but what that story means to the writer—what’s it really about? Figuring that out can be hard work for a new writer, but good writing (and reading) reveals layers of meaning. The best guidebook for that concept is Vivian Gornick’s ‘The Situation and the Story.'”

“I’m excited to work with writers who are readers, inspired by the craft in the books they love, and who want to try their hands at the techniques that intrigue them.”

“Realistic, believable dialogue is so important to portraying a character that readers can see and feel.”

“The editor of my first book, “Invisible Sisters,” suggested that the ending I’d written wasn’t the most solid ending for the book. She tasked me with revising the manuscript, not to change the outcome of the story (it’s a memoir, after all, and she didn’t want me to change the story of my actual life!) but to change the structure. Her advice led to my reorganizing the way I presented the story’s timeline while keeping to the truth, which created a much more powerful book. Thanks to her, I’m forever fascinated by the effect that structure and pacing can have on story.”

“Successful mentorship is a working relationship focused on the writer’s craft, creativity, and professional goals for their project. By the end of the program, I want that writer to feel confident about their work, well-grounded in their basic understanding of the publishing or literary landscape, and to have a draft manuscript in hand that they feel excited to revise.”

“Don’t feel that you have to write the story in order. If your next blank page is Chapter 2 but you feel stuck there, write a random scene that goes somewhere yet to be determined in the manuscript. If you’re really stuck, get away from the project for a few days and do something else creative; play music, make visual art, garden. Let your mind wander. And always notice what you’re thinking about as your mind wanders, because that can lead you back to the page in surprising ways.”

“I completely devoured Patricia Lockwood’s “Will There Ever Be Another You.” Her style and language inspired me to return to a project after a dry spell. (The title sounds like a romance, but it’s a deliciously innovative autobiographical novel.) Arundhati Roy’s memoir, “Mother Mary Comes to Me” was a fascinating exploration of her relationship with her charismatic and difficult mother, as well as the roots of Roy’s own political awakening.”