DSDS Services

Workshops for Creative Professionals

The meticulous oddity of a poet’s fascination with, love for, and use of language, it turns out, has many applications in professional writing work: The Sound of Words: Influencing Energy and Emotion, Breaking Free: Slang and Other Powerful Transformations of Language, Layers of Meaning: Implication and Connotation, Rhythm in Line and Phrase, In/Animate: The Emotion of Objects, and others. Or, perhaps a customized workshop that addresses your specific professional needs or a particular project.

Developmental Editor

Having the powerful idea or experience and actually writing a powerful book or essay or story are very different things. Everyone has unique, potentially interesting experience. Many people say they’d like to write a book. Why don’t they? Because it takes time, effort, focus and a knowledgeable plan to turn thought and experience into writing other people will enjoy and be moved by. From the earliest planning and outline stages, through the effortful writing, to the final edits, and with the encouragement it all requires, DSDS can help you get it done.

Writing Coach

Ever talk to people about your writing and end up feeling like they just don’t get it? They probably don’t. So much of writing well is particular to your personal experience, habits, and psychology, especially with creative writing. It's part of a fascinating larger creative process that integrates intellectual and emotional discovery into the more rigid logic of language and grammar. It’s very difficult to keep all this objectively in mind and assess the various ways these forces are locking or unlocking your creativity and productivity. DSDS can help you clarify your writing goals, assess performance, offer practical tools and solutions, and provide the support and understanding that will help you not just get work done, but evolve as a writer.

Writer

Writing is everywhere, good writing is not. That's because it's difficult and dependent on technical facility as well as more subtle concepts like voice, tone, and consideration of audience. DSDS can help you explain and communicate your ideas with clarity and strength, generate compelling content, or articulate your vision.

For "Unique Biographical Portraits," researched and written with Steven J. Hanley, PhD (psychogenealogist.com), visit us at Your Storied Life.

Editor

Write for very long and you come to realize the profound importance of a second set of eyes, thoughtful consideration, and a qualified outside opinion. Whether in the earliest planning stages, in the thick of drafts and development, or pacing through the meticulous final line edits, DSDS offers efficient, articulate feedback on your work or manuscript.