About TWC
Welcome to The Writer’s Cottage!
The Writer’s Cottage (or TWC for short) contains many rooms designed for your unique writing needs. Please make yourself at home here. The Writer’s Cottage is here to help you turn your life experiences into inspirational writing to encourage others. Just as the street artists turn ugly graffiti into beautiful city art, so, too, you can turn difficult life experiences into beautiful, inspiring words and publications to encourage others. As your Editor and Writer’s Coach, I can help you create, finish, improve, edit, and publish your written words; I can edit your work; and, I can ghostwrite it with you, if you prefer.
Live.
Hi! I’m Sue Kern, your Editor and Writer’s Coach and the founder of The Writer’s Cottage. I started TWC in 2000 after having a vision of one place with many rooms to help writers and others who need writers. My focus is on writers who have experienced life–the good and tough sides of it–and want to write about their experiences and triumphs to inspire others. I know what it’s like. When I founded The Writer’s Cottage, I was living through particularly difficult times in my life, challenges that would continue for years (as I learned later). Getting me through it was a strong faith, the fabulous tools of a Twelve Step program, and writing. Yes, I said writing. Every day, I wrote in my personal journal for minutes, sometimes hours. I wrote down my fears, thoughts, gratitude, even my to-do lists! Some days, I would look back over my journal entries; some entries were months old. What I discovered was how much strength, faith, and courage I had, how God had helped me through every step of the way, and how some situations had even improved. Encouraged by these views of “success,” I continued to journal. My heart healed, my head cleared of worries, my soul felt peace and serenity.
Write.
Isaac Asimov once said, I write for the same reason I breathe; because if I didn’t, I would die.
I literally experienced his words that season in my life. I firmly believe that if I didn’t write during those years, I just might have died. Indeed, a family member said to me once during a particularly trying summer, I don’t know how you do it. If it were me, I would just take the bottle of pills and go to sleep, forever. Wow!
So writing literally saved my life, along with prayer, meditation, The Twelve Steps, and, of course, God. There’s more, though. When bad times became good times, weeping turned to laughter, and love came back into my life, I began to wonder about other people. I didn’t need to wonder for very long. God brought into my life people who had suffered and triumphed over challenges and crises. Before I knew it, I was encouraging these students, friends, and family members to write it down: tell others what you went through and how you made it through. Others need to know; they need to hear your story. They would ask me why, who would want to hear their stories. What does it matter? they would ask.
Inspire.
There’s a prayer in one of the Twelve Step programs–The Step 3 Prayer:
God, I offer myself to You–to build with me and to do with me as You will. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do Your will. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of Your power, Your love, and Your way of life. May I do Your will always!
That’s why you should write your stories, I told my students, friends, and family members–to inspire others. Your victories will teach others that they, too, can not only survive, but thrive because of their struggles and God’s power and love in their lives.
Let’s go back to the Summer of 2000. One weekend I was attending a Twelve Step retreat. I was sitting on a rock along the side of a creek. I had pneumonia and was very weak. I really shouldn’t have come to the retreat, which was held in a campground. I was sleeping in a damp cabin at night and wheezing my way through the days’ programs. But I needed to go on the retreat. I was at the lowest point in my life. My insides were as turbulent as the creek was quiet. I prayed on that stone, God, please show me the way. What’s going to happen to me? What should I do?
In the reflection of the still creek, I saw a vision of The Writer’s Cottage–a lovely house with writers of all types meeting, writing, studying, meditating, learning. That’s when this dream was born. In the years since, I mulled over ways to get that house. I put my dream aside. I picked it back up. Eventually, I decided to make it a virtual home for writers. Don’t worry, though, one day it will be a physical place for you to visit and, sometimes, stay.
In the meantime, come on in to the Web version of The Writer’s Cottage. Make yourself at home in one of our many rooms.
Stop in at the Editor’s Den for help writing book proposals and article queries, and information on ghostwriting, book and article editing, and navigating through the publishing process (traditional or self). I can coach you through these writing projects or I can write them for you. If you’re a business owner looking for help, I also edit, copy edit, proofread, and ghostwrite business, marketing, technical, and academic materials, such as sales and grant proposals, research reports, journal articles, research papers, white papers, technical documentation, and marketing communication materials (press releases, newsletters, flyers, e-zines, and email announcements).
In the Study is information about group or individual coaching and workshops on writing and English as a Second Language (ESL). Also, the Coaching Blog is filled with helpful tips and encouragement for your writing life. Click on Coaching Blog in the left-hand menu to view the blog in a new window. Once you’re there, remember to Subscribe via Email so that you get the latest blog sent right to your email address as soon as it’s published.
The Library lists my publications work and the Media Center links you to my and my clients’ publishing activities, and gives you updates on the latest here at The Writer’s Cottage and in the world of writing and publishing.
Please stop by our Guest Room to tell us how your stay was, and don’t forget to check out some great Resources I’ve listed for you.
Thank you for stopping by. I hope you are a frequent visitor here at The Writer’s Cottage. Remember: Live. Write. Inspire.
Sincerely,
Sue, Your Editor and Writer’s Coach
copyright 2012
Themocracy