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Write and finish your damn (good) book!

Hi! I'm Claire! An enthusiastic and imaginative author coach who uses way too many exclamation points, talks too much about my beloved pittie mix, Kira, and is fueled by inspiring and motivating fellow writers! From first spark to final page, I help fiction writers ditch the rules, fall back in love with writing, and finally finish their damn (good) stories! Sign up for mini-book coaching in your inbox, subscriber only specials, and general shenanigans.

Perfect Your Process Summit starts tomorrow!
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Don't get FOMO. Summit starts tomorrow!

Hi Reader! Just a quick reminder, in case you haven’t gotten your free ticket yet, the summit starts tomorrow! Join me and a bunch of other amazing speakers here. Among MANY others, here are a few of the talks I’m especially interested in: Structuring Your Memoir with Marion Roach Smith (I have a memoir about all the dogs I’ve loved in my life in my idea bank that is demanding to be written!) Your Writing Personality: The Hidden Key to Your Creative Process with Rachel Clair How to Find the...

Hi Reader! I know I’ve been asking a lot of you lately, and here I am again with another thing that’s happening! 🫣 I had the honor of being invited to speak at Daniel David Wallace’s Perfect Your Process summit. This is an annual writing habits and practices summit happening over the weekend into next week! I hope you'll come and see my presentation! It goes live on March 23rd at 4pm MST (that’s 3pm Pacific, 6pm Eastern) If you're here reading my newsletters and articles, you probably love...

A woman holds a peach up toward a full moon while manuscript pages flutter around her.

Hi Reader, I’m coming in with a little cheek today (get it? Peach emoji… butts… cheek?) The listening tour (see footer) has been going on for a few weeks and one thing I’ve noticed so far is, when asked “What do I do in your words?” The answers are… all over the place! 🫠🙃🫣 I think one person came close when she said, “You’re like a life coach... but for writers.” So, to help explain what I actually do around here, I wrote a little ditty about it. You can read that here. But never fear. I’m...

Hi Reader, I’ve sent a couple emails about this already, and I’m going to send one more just in case you were on the fence about joining the workshop on the 25th. Because there might be something I’ve failed to mention: This workshop isn’t about tips and tricks. It isn’t about plotting. It isn’t about “how to be marketable.” It’s a creative reboot. It’s for the writer who: Keeps overthinking their beginning (👋 hi!) Feels creatively rusty Misses the version of themselves who used to write...

Two blond dogs with pink noses and Pooh and Piglet toys.

WRITE AND FINISH YOUR DAMN (GOOD) BOOK Hi Reader, Today is my husband’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Husband! (yes, I do call him Husband as a term of endearment, usually with a strange accent, so it’s like Hoos-bahnd). If you are celebrating a b’day in January, Happy Birthday to you, too! In fact, if you’re celebrating a birthday at any time this year, happy birthday! 😜 I have a LOT of ideas this year (now that my brain has come back online). In order to work on what will best serve YOU, I’d...

WRITE AND FINISH YOUR DAMN (GOOD) BOOK Hi Reader, I don't usually email more than once a week, but I can’t ignore it anymore. I know I usually come in here with sparkles and sunshine and creative chaos, but today I’m feeling things differently and I'm running out of effs to give. The world sucks right now. It’s killing my desire to write and be creative. Maybe because my head feels like it’s full of goo, like Slimer’s ectoplasm, but it’s also just the incredulity of the things going on in the...

Blond dog in a downward dog style stretch

WRITE AND FINISH YOUR DAMN (GOOD) BOOK 💌 Loving this newsletter? Forward it to a friend who’d enjoy it too. Got this from a friend? You can sign up for your own copy right here. Hi Reader, Last week, I wrote about not being ready with “new year new me” energy (it was more like, new year, who dis? 🤨). I was so happy to get a bunch of replies that made me feel less alone! Oh the resonance, amiright? Last September, I participated in a program that changed me. Not in the, I now have a hand...

A blond dog with a golden bow lays on an orange blanket

WRITE AND FINISH YOUR DAMN (GOOD) BOOK Hi Reader, How are you? Oh, Happy New Year if you celebrate the calendar new year, which I don’t… Okay, that’s not true. I celebrate it, but I don’t personally acknowledge it as The Time of the Year in Which All the Things Must Be Figured Out for the Coming Year. For me (and this is just my humble opinion of course!): Winter is a time for rest, recuperation, incubation, and did I mention rest? Winter is not a time of renewal (though you’d never guess it...

WRITE AND FINISH YOUR DAMN (GOOD) BOOK Hi Reader, I hope you had a lovely November. In the US we celebrated Thanksgiving, and I want to tell you today, I’m grateful you’re here allowing me into your inbox! I’m grateful you’re here writing your stories and sharing your gifts with the world. Thank you for that. Truly. Writers like you make this work feel so meaningful. For the rest of 2025, I’m entering a season of rest, rumination, incubation. I hope you are giving yourself permission for...

Yellow dog with a tiny angel halo

WRITE AND FINISH YOUR DAMN (GOOD) BOOK Hi Reader, First, thank you for sticking with me through the Write Anyway summit* promo. The fact you’re still here, whether you joined the summit or not, means the world to me! There's still time to grab a pass* in case you're feeling a little bit of FOMO. As a horror author, Halloween is my favorite holiday. In fact, in the before times, I used to be the Queen of Halloween. I won the company costume contest year over year. The only time I got beat out...