I help writers prevent the muddy middle without losing confidence.

Imagine a few weeks from now

You know the heart of your story, have a solid understanding for the world in which your story takes place and how it impacts your character(s), you have a sense for how your story might connect with readers and live in the marketplace, and you’re ready to write forward with an outline that marries the external journey (plot) with the internal journey (character arc). You are ready to write forward with confidence.

Hi, I’m Margaret

I’m an Author Accelerator Certified Book Coach and author who loves helping writers plan, write, and revise their novels. I have an MFA in fiction and an M.A. in English & creative writing, and I teach writing at the college level. When I’m not writing, coaching, or teaching, I enjoy painting, drawing, playing with my corgi, reading of course, and watching period dramas.

Are you ready to say goodbye to…

Muddy middles.

Endings that leave loose threads.

Stories that are too plot driven.

Stories that don’t have enough plot.

Plot holes.

Losing steam after writing 100 pages.

Writing in a void.

Feeling stymied by imposter syndrome.

This is for you if…

  • You want your story to connect with your readers in a meaningful way.

  • The notion of a giant outline feels daunting.

  • The notion of no outline feels daunting.

  • You want to understand how your story might fit in the marketplace without writing TO the market.

  • You like to leave room for discovery and play during drafting.

  • You'd like to work with a professional BEFORE you write so that you can write forward with more confidence.

  • You're ready to write in spite of mindset struggles.

How I help writers plan their novel

  • The Inside Outline

    We’ll work with Author Accelerator’s Inside Outline tool to map the most impactful scenes of your novel and connect the external and internal arcs

  • In-Line Comments

    I’ll provide feedback in the margins of your work to help you understand what’s working well and what could use some more thought and tweaking. I’ll help you understand why those elements are important for your story, and how your reader might respond to the decisions you’ve made in planning.

  • Coaching Session

    We’ll have a 30-minute coaching session to discuss my feedback, your story, and next steps. You’ll be able to bring questions about my written feedback (if you have any), and we can address any craft considerations, as well. A 1:1 coaching session helps you take the written feedback and start to think through how to best use it so that you can begin writing forward with more confidence.

Your investment for this service:

$100 USD

A few kind words from writers who have planned with me…

“Margaret is a true educator and worth every cent of the investment!”
— Carmen C.
“Margaret is knowledgeable, generous and gracious, and someone you want at your side while writing your novel and in your life in general.”
— Litsa D.
“Margaret has a big heart and a big bag of wisdom and education to offer to those who are willing to explore their writing in ways that feel nothing less than pure magic!”
— Sydney F.

This is not for you if…

  • You're not ready to dive deep into your story and gain new understanding of your novel and the craft of connecting with readers.

  • You're a pantser and do not want to try becoming a plantser.

  • You don't want a story professional to guide you through preparing to write your novel.

  • You're struggling with mindset and do not want to write through it.

Common Questions

  • I help beginner and experienced writers alike. I specialize in working with writers who have imposter syndrome because I do not believe that it is something we need to live and create with forever… because I myself have freed myself from its grip. But even if you don’t have imposter syndrome and you want to work together, we’d have plenty to talk about regarding your story that we can still work together.

    I’m happy to work with writers in any fiction genre except erotica. I have nothing against it, but it’s not a genre I feel comfortable coaching.

    I do not coach nonfiction, memoir, poetry, or children’s books. If you’re writing short fiction and would like coaching, feel free to reach out. I’ve coached short fiction writers in the past and loved it, but it’s not the type of work that comes across my plate frequently enough to have a package for.

  • Let’s talk about it. We’re all human and life happens. We can both be understanding with one another and give each other as much advanced notice as possible.

    I want you attending coaching sessions ready and well so that you feel like you can make progress.

  • AI has become so integrated with our entire online experience. Sometimes, like in web searches, it can’t be avoided. But I don’t use generative AI.

    I’ve sampled it, and while I liked it at first, my thoughts on it soon changed. That said, I know writers who swear that it helps them write where they wouldn’t be writing at all otherwise.

    I don’t judge my writers on whether or not they choose to use AI. I would prefer not to coach pages written by AI without the writer going through and making them their own, simply because I think AI’s writing gets a little boring to read.

    If you want to hear about my AI experience with creative writing, you can listen to this episode of my podcast (14:20 mins).

Let’s work together.

Interested in working on an Inside Outline with me? Fill out my intake form below and I’ll be in touch if I think we’re a fit. Then, we’ll have a brief discovery call and get you started!