Getting Unstuck: a 1-hour session, one-to-one
I have availability for these sessions throughout July 2025! You can send me enquiry via the form at the bottom of this page.
Based on my experiences of stuckness (as a writer and as an editor/mentor working with authors who’ve felt stuck) these one-to-one clinics are for writers who have hit a hump, or have lost momentum, motivation, or direction in their work, or are just seeking to find fresh enjoyment in their writing.
Maybe you’re feeling stuck between drafts of a short story, or perhaps you’ve hit a wall midway through your novel, or maybe you’re just feeling flat about your writing in general. The conversation is designed to locate the energy that’s trapped in the stuckness and release it, anew…
How the session goes:
We will have a 1-hour phone call, where you will talk at me about your work, your writing, the problems you’ve identified, and I will listen and interrupt and ask questions – all with the view to drawing you out, and to help identify what might be underneath the impasse you're experiencing. I won’t be giving detailed feedback on your work (if you’re looking for feedback, you can try my Going Deep mentoring); rather, these sessions are about making space for authors to hear themselves think aloud about their writing and their creative process. It’s a place for you to articulate what you’re seeking to do, and what you’re presently doing, and a chance for us to identify any limiting beliefs or unhelpful ‘rules’ – on or off the page – that might be holding you back. My hope is that through airing your doubts we can begin to reframe your writing problems as opportunities, allowing you to return to your work with vigour and a revived sense of possibility.
About me
Working with writers is genuinely one of the greatest joys of my life. As an editor and a mentor, I have been proud to work on stories and books by authors including Nicole Flattery, Rebecca Ivory, Michael Magee, and Chetna Maroo.
For over a decade I worked at The Stinging Fly. As Editor, I read up to 1000 stories a year, selecting and editing this work for publication in the magazine. As Editor at Large, I commissioned and edited reviews, essays, and short stories, and ran the Stinging Fly Writer Development Programme where I mentored a number of authors working towards their first books.
As a teacher and facilitator, I have delivered workshops, talks and seminars at universities across Ireland and the UK, including University College Cork, where I taught on the MA in Creative Writing. I have also taught and given talks for institutions and organisations such as The Irish Writers Centre, The Faber Academy,The Stinging Fly, and The Arvon Foundation.
Nowadays I work with writers on a freelance basis and through state-funded initiatives such as the National Mentoring Programme.
My approach
If you’re looking for a sense of how I approach things, the following articles/podcasts might be useful:
Notes on Rejection – I commissioned and edited a series of short essays reflecting on the experience of rejection, and wrote an introductory essay.
One Night Stands – I commissioned four writers (Marie-Helene Bertino, Rebecca Ivory, Stephen Sexton, Jon McGregor) to each write a story in a single night. Afterwards, I recorded a two-part podcast where I spoke to the authors about the process: Part 1 | Part 2.
Next steps
If you’re interested in receiving mentoring and/or would like to know more about the process and rates etc, you can drop me a short message below: