Serene Writing
WRITING COACHING | FOR THE EVERYDAY HUMAN
Serene Writing is a writing coach service provided by scholar and artist Karyn Renee Bailey. The name Serene Writing is inspired by the flow state: a relaxed state of being in which our best writing can prevail. Karyn’s background in pedagogy informs her research-based teaching philosophy, which is rooted in metacognition and embodied cognition. All of that’s a fancy way of saying, she brings the ease, so you can channel your brilliance.
About You
You are a business owner, a student, a fiancé, a daughter, a retiree, or something else entirely. Regardless of your many identifiers, you need help with some form of writing. Writing may not be your strongest suit. Perhaps your stomach tightens just thinking about it, but you know you need to do something very important with your words. You yearn to express the ideas in your mind on the page, to show the person reading what you wrote who you are, in the best light, in a way that ensures they truly understand your brilliance, your passion, your commitment, or some other aspect of your being.
About Karyn
Karyn is an artist, scholar, performer, best friend, romantic, and many other things. Beyond all that, she longs to help others express themselves through writing. Karyn believes that we are all expert communicators because we do it constantly. She yearns to empower others to hone their ability to write, because she knows that writing has everything to do with how we communicate who we are inside. This is why Karyn believes any form of writing, from an academic paper to a cover letter to a wedding vow, all come down to the human condition. This is at the heart of her coaching philosophy: to discover who you are through writing, and, reversely, to write yourself into being.
Karyn's Credentials
Karyn received her M.A. in Literature and Writing Studies from California State University, San Marcos and her B.A. in English from the University of California, Irvine. She has worked as a writer for Hive Media Group, Mama Lion Productions, and ByProxy, and as a Teaching Associate and Graduate Assistant for CSUSM. Karyn’s academic background spans creative writing, composition, and pedagogy in equal measure. Some of her other achievements include being the editor-in-chief of WALL Literary Journal, being an embedded and freelance tutor, winning the “Outstanding Student of the Year” award in English Composition, and successfully defending her poetry thesis, a collection entitled “Every Seed is a Longing.”
Services
Academic
Think of me as your glorified tutor: a guide with the experience of a student and the training of a professor. Whether you’re looking to get into the school of your dreams or ace your next essay, I’ll aid in coming up with ideas that actually trigger your interests and connect you to the subject on a personal and compelling level.
Professional
From cover letters to website pages, writing permeates the professional world. If you’re looking to get a job, start a business, or accomplish any professional task in between, I can help you write both appropriately and authentically for your specific writing task.
Sentimental
A beautiful part of human connection is being able to communicate how that connection impacts you. Perhaps this is why more and more couples are opting to write their own wedding vows, or why personalized cards are so heartwarming. Whether you’re gearing up for a wedding, a retirement party, or another special occasion, I will help make sure you get across all that you want to say exactly the way only you know how to say it.
A Note
There is no requirement to stick to my three-phase work flow. Some writers may opt to just schedule a session for one or two of the phases (such as a brainstorming meeting, or a meeting with a first or final draft), or one phase multiple times over (such as large-scale notes on various drafts). Whatever your unique needs, I’m here to support the areas in which you would like guidance.
Workflow
1. Conceptualizing
For this phase in the Serene Writing process, I will guide you in a discussion about your task. For students, we may look at your assignment or application prompt. For those in business, we’ll discuss the nuts and bolts of what you’re trying to communicate and clarify your target audience. For sentimental pieces, we’ll imagine the event or project this writing is intended for and set parameters for the piece. During your meeting, I’ll take notes that help me envision an outline for the piece. This outline will be your guide in producing your first draft.
2. Producing
After your first draft is complete, we’ll meet to discuss the work. I may have you read the piece to me aloud while I read along. Depending on the length of the piece, I may request that you send it to me ahead of time to allow more time for discussion. During our meeting, I’ll provide feedback that is predominantly large-scale. This means we’ll discuss things like the overall organization, tone, and my impressions as a reader.
3. Fine-Tuning
Once you’ve applied any desired edits, we’ll go over your next draft. Workshopping this draft may look a little more specific, depending on the project. I may have more technical feedback, such as pointing out distracting grammar choices, and I’ll give any lingering notes I’m gathering as a reader. This meeting is exciting because we’ll get to see how far this process has taken you, the writer! You’ll have transitioned from idea to materialized product, and you’ll have something substantial to show for it.
Message here for a free 15 minute consultation
Pricing
1 hr
1 hr
1 hr
Testimonials
Garrett B.
I felt like the process was perfect for what I was looking for, we had 3 meetings, each one with a different focus (outline, first draft, final draft) and I felt like that was perfect for what I needed, and Karyn gave me lots of ideas, and led me in the right direction to make sure that my speech came across exactly how I wanted it to. Overall, the process was seamless, effective, and exciting.
We started with an outline which got me going, gave me a good structure, and helped me get the rough draft written, then in our rough draft meeting, Karyn and I went through the rough draft, and she pointed out some spots that could be adjusted, expanded on, or cut down, which really helped me curate the perfect speech. In our final meeting, the final speech had been crafted and just needed a few more edits.
Before I spoke I felt very good about it, I got emotional saying it, which is what I was going for, and I felt like it was the perfect for what I was going for. During the speech I could tell that my point was coming across because people were laughing and crying at the points I wanted them too, so I knew that we had hit the head on the nail. After, I got so many compliments from people telling me how wonderful it was, which just confirmed that Karyn was successfully able to help me craft the perfect speech
Brittney H.
Karyn has an incredible talent of providing a sense of ease while improving writing. I was overwhelmed with application essays for nurse practitioner programs, but the way Karyn broke each question down into parts and focused on answering one piece at a time together gave me comfort.
She made sure I included logos, pathos, and ethos in my answers so that they were comprehensive and strong. When I provided my answers based on past experiences, she helped me expand on them by asking me detailed questions which put me back into that moment. She also made sure that my answers had an underlying theme that would be interpreted between the lines, emphasizing the “show not tell” method of writing. She provided ideas on how to connect each experience to each aspect of the question while maintaining a consistent theme.
Her enthusiasm while working together was contagious, and with each session we had together I felt more confident and ready to tackle the application. Karyn is especially talented at providing ideas for seamless transitions between paragraphs and the overall flow of writing when tying multiple concepts together. She helped me capture my experiences in an eloquent manner that I truthfully could not have done without her.
She is passionate about what she does and gives a lot of encouragement throughout the process. Karyn maintains the proper balance of providing insight while pushing the inner creative writer out of me. Most importantly, she turned my overwhelm into excitement, and helped me put out strong essays that I was confident in.
Samples
It is truly a privilege to help others put their hearts onto the page.
If you don't believe me, just check out these samples from real Serene Writing clients.
We'll get the tissues.
Retirement speech by Garrett B.
Personal Statement by Brittney H.
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