editing and coaching for every step of the writing journey
Working alongside new and experienced authors alike, from blank page to publication.
Ready for a fresh perspective?
Mentoring and Coaching
Whether you have a specific project you’re dreaming of bringing to fruition or a skill you’d like to develop, I provide the support and structure that unlock the freedom you need to make progress. My coaching is informed by you, your writing, and where you are in the midst of it, so I can offer you the mix of accountability, guidance, and inspiration that will get you to where you want to be.
Editing
When you’ve completed a draft, but reached the point when you need a fresh perspective, I turn my eye to questions of structure, flow, and the musicality of individual lines. While my approach is thorough, I am particularly attuned to each author’s unique voice, making certain the editing process is compassionate and collaborative— and, ideally, leaves you even more excited to write than when we met.
It was a pleasure to discuss specific choices of vocabulary, tone, and nuance with Cheyenne, whose literary depth and taste are exemplary. Cheyenne is both scrupulous and efficient—she never misses a deadline. And she does the work with such evident pleasure that her calm enthusiasm infuses the entire project.
— Marguerite Feitlowitz, Author and Translator
Hi, I’m Cheyenne!
And I love the nitty gritty details that make stories work.
As long as I’ve been reading, I’ve been fascinated by the mechanics of storytelling. The choices of narrative distance, character development, tone: all the bits that come together to build a written work. It’s this curiosity that I bring to my work with writers.
Writing should be a joyful experience but, too often, the isolation of trying to protect a project by not sharing it—or the overwhelm of a barrage of advice when one does share—makes the page a fraught ally. I conceive of editing and coaching as an opportunity to support your relationship with your work: not just deliver a clean manuscript.
My editing and mentoring combines a keen eye with an understanding of process. I help writers to see their own work more clearly, improving their craft by learning to see what works in their writing and letting go of unproductive internal (or external!) criticism. When writers are stuck, uncertain, or overwhelmed by the possibility in the blank page, I help them hear their own voices more clearly. My goal is to help each writer I work with deepen their understanding of—and confidence in—their craft and their own creative instincts.