How Being a Writing Coach Inspired my Writing

By Danielle Grandinetti

In April, A Strike to the Heart, my historical romantic suspense novel releases from Iron Stream Media. I’ve been writing since grade school and I’ll never forget I wrote one of my first stories after a public assembly in third grade. I cannot recall the assembly itself, but I remember the assignment. Sitting at my desk, surrounded by other children my age, putting pencil to paper to tell a story about a basketball and a star. While that may not sound like a life-altering moment, for me it has always felt like the beginning of my writing dreams.

In fourth grade, I wrote my first chapter book. Albeit, some of the chapters were but a paragraph. Still, I managed to get my story to twenty-five pages and I was proud of each one. Then I had to learn the tough part about writing: editing. Fortunately, I had incredible role models: my dad, an English major, inspired my creativity; and my mom, an expert technical writer, lovingly showed me how revision only makes my writing better.

Why do I tell this origin story? Because when I grew up, I became a writing coach to middle schoolers.

I began teaching in college, first piano, then I was offered the opportunity to teach writing to a classroom of sixth-twelfth graders. I leapt at the chance. What started as one class, turned into tutoring, which morphed into coaching. Coaching writing is a cross between tutoring and editing. The student writes an assignment based on a course lesson, then I coach them through three stages of revisions.

First is the big picture stage. The one where I suggest changing structure, adding or subtracting content, or switching perspectives all together. Next is the grammatical corrections, spelling, and mechanical fixes. Lastly, the student receives a score based on how well they revised their work.

The tricky part? I coached online and only through my comments on their papers. That meant I had only my words to convey my instruction. It’s not hard to guess how easy it is to misconstrue words, especially taking guidance as criticism. The other challenging part of being a coach is to not morph into being an editor. I couldn’t make the changes for my students, I had to teach them why such a change was important and then how to make those changes. And this is exactly what made coaching an inspiration in my own writing career.

Now, when I sit down to write, I can hear my advice to my students. The encouragement to shut off their inner editor. The numerous words I suggested they cut out in order to keep to the topic. And, from my favorite of all the assignments, the keys to writing description.

I’ve long felt description is my weakest area as a writer, however, teaching description was my favorite class. Likely because I taught mainly sixth graders, or eleven and twelve year olds, and the boys, in particular, loved this assignment. And I loved it right along with them because it was my opportunity to help them express their vivid imaginations.

In the first draft, I’d continually ask them to use a sense other than sight. What did that gross thing smell like? Heavens, what did it taste like! What sounds did you hear in that haunted house? Was the floor creaking? Did cobwebs stick to your clothes? And my students rose to the challenge. One particular assignment proved especially memorable. I was in the first trimester of my first pregnancy and morning sickness was all day sickness, when this student proved a remarkable ability in his description, to the point where reading his paper triggered my nausea. While I managed it through the assignment, that student received a high score. Why? Because he brought his topic to life.

As a writer, I must ask myself: does my description do that? Do my readers brush away imaginary cobwebs because my character’s skin is tingling from the slightest skittering of a spider’s legs? Do my readers smell the flowers in the meadow? Taste the apple cobbler on the dinner table? See the glorious sunset?

Step two for my students was the mechanical revision. When it comes to description, this edit is all about word choice. For example, when a student writes “very sunny,” I suggest removing the “very” and put the weight of the description on the word “sunny.” Sometimes that means changing “sunny” to a different word or phrase that conveys “very sunny,” such as “sunlight pierced my eyes,” which is both a feeling and an action, not just description.

My students, if I can brag on them, always did exceptionally well on these assignments. I was continually impressed by them. And, indeed, inspired. Could I turn my stories into such vivid tellings? Whether I succeed or not is for my readers to say. However, the inspiration behind my description is definitely due to my students and all the papers I’ve read over the years.

After over a decade of coaching writing, and two decades of teaching, I left that job around eighteen months ago in order to be home with my two young boys. However, the inspiration my students gave me remains. I know I’m a better writer because of them. And middle school remains one of my favorite ages. I have a few years before my own boys get there, so for now, I’m letting the memory of my students continue to inspire my writing.

If you would like to learn more about me and what I’m reading and writing, visit me at danielleswritingspot.com. You can also preorder A Strike to the Heart, my historical romantic suspense, on Amazon (https://books2read.com/AStriketotheHeart) and purchase the prequel, To Stand in the Breach at your preferred retailer (https://books2read.com/TSITB). 

She’s fiercely independent. He’s determined to protect her.