Cheryl Jarvis
Writing Coach
I was the kid in school you probably found annoying because teachers tended to read my written work aloud to the class. I thought I’d die of embarrassment.
I never imagined then that I’d become a staff editor of a city magazine, editor-in-chief of a home design magazine, features editor of a startup daily newspaper, or tv producer of a national talk show.
And I truly never imagined that I’d write a book that was featured on Oprah, debated on the BBC, satirized in Jay Leno’s opening monologue and a New Yorker cartoon, and optioned by Goldie Hawn’s production company. Or write another one that landed on the New York Times bestseller list and was published in 19 countries.
As a feature writer for magazines and newspapers, I specialized in stories about ordinary people achieving the extraordinary: a 67-year-old nurse helicoptering into third-world countries to bring U.S. relief packages…
a long-married woman solo-walking the 2200-mile Appalachian Trail…. a privileged 35-year-old weightlifter defying family expectations to open an inner-city gym for African-American teenagers.
I’ve also drawn material from my own life, turning my most difficult experiences into the most meaningful. I’ve published essays about losing 15 years of writing samples in basement floodwater, enduring a week at sea with Outward Bound, surviving a year in L.A. with my millennial son as a roomie, discovering my parents’ love letters from World War II, and (baring all) having sex with one man for 25 years.
As much as I have reaped rewards from my writing, I find that teaching and coaching others is equally gratifying. I’ve worked with CEOs, lawyers, journalists, artists and designers, students and professors, novice writers and published authors. For 15 years I taught freelance writing at Washington University in St. Louis, as well as designed its classes Writing to Heal and Writing Your Family Stories. I’ve led writing workshops for groups ranging from guests at destination spas to formerly incarcerated women struggling to rebuild their lives. At the other end of the literary spectrum, I’ve helped friends rewrite their online dating profiles that ultimately led to marriage.
For three decades I’ve helped writers get published, win awards, land agents, book contracts and movie options. No matter what stage your writing is in, whether a completed manuscript, a first draft, or a germ of an idea, I can help you reach your goals.
To learn more about my work, visit my author page.