"I received my MFA from Columbia University in 2020, and have worked in literary offices in NYC and across the United States as a script reader and essayist. I have judged for writing contests, and have experience helping high school and college students work on writing assignments as well as cover letters for internship/job/college applications.

My approach is based on two foundational questions: 1) what is the writer trying to accomplish, and 2) how well are they accomplishing it?

For me, feedback always begins with a conversation around that first question. This may involve breaking down a prompt for a given assignment--or it may be a conversation about your personal goals for artistic expression. Either way, it's important to understand where we are trying to go before we can know how to get there. At this stage, I encourage free-writing without worrying about being tidy, capturing everything that comes to mind with openness and curiosity.

From there, we can arrange your ideas into a larger whole, notice the gaps to be filled in, and as your piece takes shape, we can begin to think about the second question: what feels like it's working, what doesn't, and why? We will look at syntax, grammar, logical flow--technical adjustments and the reasons behind them--and we will talk about what content needs smoothing over or expansion from my point of view as your audience.

Writing is a vulnerable thing to do, and I understand that it can be difficult to hear criticism about something we have put so much of ourselves into, or that we feel holds so much power over our future. Everybody has their own personal style, voice, strengths, weaknesses, modes of expression, ways of thinking about the world and describing our experiences in it. My job is never to break you down or discourage you with harsh criticism. Rather, it is to help you see how wonderful your writing can already be, just as you are right now." less...