~ Offerings ~
~ Testimonials ~
As we work together, here are some things I have come to expect from her guidance: clear, direct honesty delivered with kindness, gentle understanding for topics that are difficult to navigate, actionable and practical suggestions for staying on track, sensitive perception for the authentic voice of my characters and most of all, enthusiasm for the story I’m writing.
Corinne keeps my story alive just by reading and responding to it. Her energy helps me to push through on weeks when I lose momentum, feel hopeless, wonder if this novel writing thing is really the way I want to spend my energy. There are so many other things I could be doing besides creating this work, but then, once I step away for too long, I start to feel like a lost soul who has abandoned something intangible but necessary for my inner life. While writing, I’m thriving, but I discovered that I don’t want to be alone in this process for long.
Having weekly coaching support from Corinne is invaluable to me. After having suffered through intense and often misdirected, ego-fueled table readings in a local writer’s room and other competitive workshop experiences, I am deeply appreciative for the wise support of a knowledgeable, experienced coach who cares about me as a person and understands my highly sensitive introverted nature. Beyond these gifts, her skill in holding with care the quality of my work never wanes. I can depend on Corinne to stay curious and invested, even when I’m not! Over the years of our conversations, I consider her to be one of my most trustworthy friends. This might mean that she could be “soft” and “heart centered” in her critiques, but she also holds me strictly accountable to making the story she knows I want to write. While Corinne holds the story I’m writing firmly, she holds my heart carefully. She shows me where I’m writing out of bounds, and through her strength and dedication, my focus deepens and the story moves forward, almost of its own accord.
Having Corinne as my coach means having someone I fully trust with my tender, vulnerable, first pages of a new work that I am often insecure with. Like many writers I sometimes fall into the trap of wanting to keep everything I’ve written, because it is so difficult just to sit down and get anything out. For example, Corinne suggested that one of my scenes may be too harsh for my target audience of younger readers, and I thought it was so important to the story that it just HAD to stay. I admit to having very protective feelings about it, and she understands this, but still holds her ground. I haven’t convinced her yet that it must stay, but I haven’t cut it, either. All this to say, Corinne is my friend, but she is not afraid to show me what I need to see, or hear what needs to be said. And so, as we navigate this project together, I am growing stronger and finding my way through the wonderful, creative mess of my first book. For this, I can’t thank her enough!"
~Jennifer Hoppins
Playwright, author, creative
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