I'm not currently taking any new students; however, please feel free to contact me if you'd like suggestions about other mentors and editors, or to make sure that I'm still not taking new students. I don't update my website as often as I should!

For new and experienced writers seeking help with

• Overcoming writer's block
• Strengthening your voice
• Refining specific techniques, including how to develop a scene and how to write compelling dialogue and descriptions
• Developing and completing a rough draft
• Turning a rough draft into a finished story, novel or memoir

Every semester I work individually with a small number of students from around the country. Some are published writers, others have never done more than keep a diary or write letters to the editor. I like having a mix of experienced and beginning writers—it's fun to discuss the fine points of technique with one while being reminded of the importance of starting out fresh with the other. All you need is to be committed and willing to try new approaches. I'll take your work seriously, regardless of where you are in the writing process. Whether you send me a nearly polished story or some diary entries, I'll read your work several times so that, if it's a diary entry, I can discover the potential it contains, and if it's a completed story or chapter, I can help you with the final polishing.

The majority of students working with me one-on-one send me between 5 and 30 double-spaced pages every month, along with a self-addressed stamped envelope. I review their pages, write comments in the margins along with a 1–2 page summary of my responses, and then I return their manuscripts, with my comments, in the mail. I also schedule a monthly one-hour telephone appointment with each of my students to discuss his or her work.

Some students, however, choose to send work every other month, and others prefer to send more than 30 pages. In other words, the possibilities are endless. If you'd like more information about mentoring, please write to dewittclasses@gmail.com and put "Mentoring" on the Subject line.