Writing & English Tutoring, Editing

Hello. Communication is a key to success. For business, academic, and personal communication, writing clearly and effectively can mean the difference between mediocre and brilliant.

In the Baltimore area, I can meet with you one-on-one in a public place (coffee shop, library, etc.) to evaluate your writing skill and offer straightforward suggestions on improving it. Online, there are no limits to our collaboration. Assessment and tutoring includes:

• evaluation of writing sample
• specific suggestions and comments to help you correct common mistakes
  
• tools and exercises to quickly improve grammar, syntax, and style issues

My rates are reasonable, and I have related references. As stated in my profile, I am a college writing instructor, and I have been working in education since 2001.

For serious inquiries please e-mail me here:
info@timjnelson.com

Chuck Klosterman and the Writing Life

If you are a fan of fiction, specifically the novel, you may have read Chuck Klosterman's Downtown Owl -- maybe not (I haven't yet). In his latest book, he returns to the form that made him popular: the essay. According to the interview referenced here, some of the essays in this collection were written right before he submitted the manuscript to the publisher in May 2009. Eating the Dinosaur is this collection. Check it out. Currently, I am halfway through Irving's Last Night in Twisted River, and reading some poems by John Ashberry, while wearing slippers and smoking my pipe, of course. [No, not really -- smoking is really bad for you, as you know.]

Personally, as a busy parent & husband dude, I find it challenging, as other writers do, to find time to write these days. Years ago, I was able to type a few drafts of a screenplay while I was between jobs. When I got into education, I wrote on breaks and holidays, and I was able to complete another screenplay this way, along with some other writing. This is the glamorous life of a writer, at least in these united states, writing whenever you can until you can afford to write when you want. I wouldn't have it any other way, despite what my relatives might tell you. Oh, I grumble -- all writers do -- but (here comes the cliché ) living one's life and having real experiences are what living is all about. Sure, fiction writers can invent events and characters, but creating these from the inspiration of hard-edged life makes it realistic, creates the verisimilitude needed.

Support writers and local bookshops and keep reading. Thanks for reading this.

- Tim