Writing Together : Debra Marrs - Editor and Coach for Writers - Creative Writing - Online Writing Classes - Editing Services

Writing Together : Debra Marrs - Editor and Coach for Writers - Creative Writing - Online Writing Classes - Editing Services - Writing Instruction

WHO IS DEBRA MARRS, EDITOR AND COACH FOR WRITERS?
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT DEBRA MARRS
READ RECENT CLIENT SUCCESS STORIES

MEET ME

Hello, my name is Debra Marrs. For the past 14 years I've been working with writers like you to help them take their writing projects from conception to delivery.

WRITING TOGETHER IS where writers come for:

You've come to the "write place" if you need help with:

organizing your memoir project

getting started on a book proposal

editing a current manuscript

generating ideas for a how-to book

writing instruction

clearing writer's block

clarifying your writing goals

ongoing writing support with a coach who inspires

writing classes

Together, we design and personalize the best, most creative approach for you to reach your writing project goals.

Debra, you are a great listener, teacher and editor. It's hard to find people who have a mind that's as concise, uncluttered and sensible as yours. I am so grateful for your coaching and for uplifting my spirit so I could write this book. Thank you, thank you.

- author Deborah Day Poor,Peace At Any Price

You may be an ideal prospect for writing together with Debra Marrs if you are a creative non-fiction writer working on the following:

freelance magazine articles

You're a great teacher and you've helped me a lot. More importantly, I'm remembering how much satisfaction I used to get from writing.

- Donna Murray, repeat student and client

How we might work together:

manuscript assessment and recommendations

formative and substantive editing

writing instruction

inspiration and idea generation

exploring your personal path to creativity

project planning

goal setting

accountability with enforced deadlines

You always perk me up and inspire me to keep on going. You said in the very beginning that that was part of your job; you are doing it well. Thanks so much for the encouragement.

-- memoirist Janice Coupe

Let's write together!

Debra Marrs is an editor and coach for writers. She has been teaching life story writing and other creative nonfiction classes since 1992. Her articles have appeared in Entrepreneur, Bride’s, San Jose Business Journal, as well as numerous business and education newsletters. She is currently working on a series of personal essays for her book entitled, Those Who Shaped Me.

Debra's award-winning flash fiction Madness in the Garden will appear in the forthcoming anthology On A Whim, scheduled for release October, 2007.

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT DEBRA

Just wanted to thank you for reviewing both versions of my short story. I appreciate your insight greatly. No matter how many times I say it or write it in an email, I can't tell you how much of an impact you've had on my writing. You get me to see what's possible.

- novelist and memoirist David A.

Wow. I can't believe I reached this point with my manuscript. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for your guidance, patience, direction and constructive criticism. You have made my experience rich, educational and inspirational. I am not given to fits of adulation, but your keen insight, critique and most of all your undying support and belief in my ability sustained me when I wanted to quit. I thank you most heartily for that alone. It is very encouraging to beginning writers, like myself, to have had the opportunity of meeting a teacher/instructor/motivator like you. For me, you are an indispensable asset.

- author, Albert T., Cuban Love: Lost and Found

Debra, I can't thank you enough for your help and advice. You have given me inspiration to write better and the courage to face rejection. Thanks again.

-- novelist Kathy Dillenbeck

Debra Marrs is an extraordinary writing coach and speaker. She is a master with non-fiction books, how-to articles for magazine or website publication, short stories, and memoir writing. Debra energizes and empowers individuals and groups and is a joy to work with. If you are looking for someone to lift your writing to a higher level, look no further than Debra.

- Leslie Hamp, www.forwardmomentum.biz

Thanks for all of your comments on pieces #2 and #3! You teach me so much through your feedback -- both by what you like and what you suggest I do differently.

- memoirist Marcia Smith

RECENT CLIENT SUCCESS STORIES

Don't Go To Rome Without This!

Flavors of Rome: How, What & Where To Eat In The Eternal City is a hot off the presses paperback that guides travelers to Do As The Romans Do-that is eat well and steer clear of the many tourist traps. Author Carol Coviello-Malzone has lived part-time in an apartment overlooking the Campo de' Fiori for 15 years, and has thoroughly immersed herself in the city's culinary culture. Included are reviews of 39 of her favorite moderately priced restaurants, a glossary to help you translate any menu, and a most informative "Rules of Eating" chapter where she covers everything from the basics -- "If you ask for a latte, you'll be handed a glass of milk" to "If you see an * next to a menu item, that means ingredients have been frozen, so it's better to order something else." The slim volume easily fits in a purse or jacket pocket - a must-carry for visitors looking for the best food in Rome. To order: http://www.flavorsofrome.com

Ruth E. Jones' essay personal essay/memoir, "Goodness Knows" was recently published in Voices of Alzheimer's, an anthology of healing. A physical therapist, Ruth wrote a touching personal story about one of her patients. To find out more about this anthology and the opportunity to write for future anthologies on healing, go to http://www.thehealingproject.org

Ruth's personal essays have also appeared in the St. Petersburg Times, including the Sunday Journal section.

Patient's Family Turn Tables On Physical Therapist

Campus Tragedies: Then and Now

Ruth began writing memoir during her first writing course Introduction to Writing Life Stories with Debra in 2004. She has continued her studies with Debra, most recently participating in the 90 Day Write Right NOW program.

Deborah Day Poor puts her personal wisdom in her book, Peace At Any Price: How to Overcome the Please Disease. She is working on a second book titled When Love Is Blind, about how we recreate our past and the cure for doing so. Order Peace At Any Price

Susan J. Nickerson's story "Baby Girl" was published in Open Mind Quarterly.

This is her second acceptance in Open Mind Quarterly. Susan's stories have also appeared in The Compassionate Friends' national magazine; the anthology Palm Prints; and Alone Together by Raven Publishing.

Susan has completed her novel, Amazing Grace, and is currently seeking an agent or publisher. AMAZING GRACE is a heart-wrenching, laugh out loud, coming of age story set amid the backdrop of the turbulent sixties in a family brimming with quirky characters and deeply rooted secrets. As Grace trudges through the messy muck of loss, she copes with an emotionally absent mother who finds solace in a bottle of Valium. Toss in an aging hippie uncle, his ethereal flower child girlfriend, Grace's sweet, loveable kid sister who believes just because they're from Salem, Massachusetts, witchcraft might actually bring their daddy back, and you'll understand why Grace dreams of a better life on the streets of Haight-Ashbury, where love flows and flowers grow. When a shocking family secret shatters what little faith Grace had left, she struggles to find a solid foothold.

When she retired in 2005 after 20 years as the Hillsborough County Head Start Director in Tampa, FL, Donna E. Glausser decided it was time to gather the family stories and write them down. Since then, she's completed three volumes for her family and is working on a fourth.

Her recent publications include:
Making High School Band Still Clear As A Bell
(a St. Pete Times Sunday Journal feature story)

Good Advice Comes Back to Haunt Him
(a St. Pete Times Sunday Journal feature story about learning to drive)

A Good Place to Be

We Got A TV (a Sunday Tampa Tribune Prime Time Feature)

Donna successfully completed all 3 e-courses in the WritingTogether Memoir Series and participated in Spring 2007's 90 Day Write Right NOW program.

Barbara Sartor is a publishing wonder machine. At the age of 82, the rest of us envy her creative energy. She is a regular contributor to the Christian Science Monitor.

Read her most recent personal essay
What The Well-Dressed Gardener Wears to Pull Weeds

Barbara is also a frequent contributor to the Sunday Journal section of the St. Pete Times.

He Had Her At Goodbye
Lessons from a Lunch Bag
From Bittersweet Past Comes a Present

Barbara was also an enthusiastic participant in Spring 2007's 90 Day Write Right NOW program. Tell us, Barbara. Where do you get all this creative energy?