Jessica Van Devanter
CREATIVE WRITING COACH
"I believe the most important single thing, beyond discipline and creativity is daring to dare."
MAYA ANGELOU
Are you...
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Battling writer’s block caused by perfectionism, self-criticism, overwhelm, or imposter syndrome?
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Having difficulty staying motivated and holding yourself accountable, telling yourself you just don’t have enough ”self discipline”?
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Unsure of where to start or the next step to take?
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Finding yourself procrastinating or avoiding writing altogether?
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Struggling to meet your goals or deadlines
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Feeling burnt out, even considering giving up on your writing dream?
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Trying advice from craft books and podcasts, but they just don’t seem to work for you?
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How I Help
External Ecosystem
We will look at your goals, lifestyle, and individual personality to discover ways to make your external world support you by exploring ways to improve your writing environment, schedule, organization, and accountability.
Internal Ecosystem
We will discuss mindset and goal setting to empower you to overcome the internal blocks caused by perfectionism, defeatism, self-criticism, and self-sabotage as well as setting addressing and preventing burnout caused by unsustainable expectations and approaches.
My Approach
I know first hand how burnout and writer's block feel. During my writing journey, I hit a burnout wall and spent a long period unable to write. It wasn't until I made a drastic shift in my mindset and started addressing my external and internal environment that I broke out of my stagnation and fell in love with writing again. I am here to help you do the same.
What I do:
I personize each of our one-on-one sessions, meeting where you are now and with an eye on where you want to be. I help you to develop your "Writer's Ecosystem," an internal and external environment that will allow you to flourishing and get you and keep you writing, even when times get tough, as well as brainstorming, troubleshooting, and discussing craft.
I help my clients embrace imperfection, experiment, and learn to quiet your critic. I will never shame you, and I will encourage you to not shame yourself either. My coaching is focused on you as a whole. I work with writers of all skill levels and genres to help you build a practice that will sustain you and empower you to keep growing and learning so you can become the writer you deserve to be.
What I don't do:
I don’t read or edit work. In our sessions, you are welcome to read passages or short pieces aloud for feedback or to ask a question, but I am not an editor or beta reader. My goal is to give you the foundation to produce your best work long term, not just while you are working with me.
Why I focus on increasing your productivity over editing:
I do this because I find that edits can distract from empowering your long term success through developing a writing practice. My number one goal is to get you writing consistently and in a sustainable way to prevent burnout, because that is the only way be the writer you want to be. We will take a deep dive into your internal and external environment to get - and keep - you writing and meeting or exceeding your goals.
Contact me for a free 15-minute consultation call
About Me
Hi, I'm Jessica,
I have a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Hunter College in New York City, where I received a comprehensive education fiction writing. While at Hunter, I studied with amazing authors including New York Times best-selling author Tea Obreht, National Book Award winner Colum McCann, Booker Prize winner Peter Carey, and Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner Adam Haslett. I was also a research assistant for Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead on his novels Nickle Boys and Harlem Shuffle.
I specialize in contemporary fiction. My own work tends to have surreal or magical realism elements and I have a passion for flash (or micro) fiction and short stories. My work has been published in online and print literary journals since 2016.
Prior to my time in New York, I studied in the Creative Writing Certificate Program at UCSD Extension in San Diego, CA.
I am now back in my hometown of Seattle, WA.
Coaching Sessions
1 hour one-on-one virtual coaching
Single session
$100
3 session package
$285 ($95/session)
5 session package
$450 ($90/session)
Contact Me
To request to book a session with me, set up a free 15-minute consultation call, or for any questions, fill out this form or email me directly.