Dear Writer,My passion is helping those who want to break explore new forms, revise effectively, generate more writing or facilitate the writing of others. I work with those wanting to write personal essays, poetry, fiction, and more meaningful writer`s journals, in addition to book-length memoir, how-to books and novels. I specialize in helping people excel in their writing by allowing writing a serious place in their lives. I write articles on writing and the writing life for subscribers to sheilabender.substack.com and as a guest writer for blogs, newsletters such as Working Writer and Medium magazine sites.

Be sure to browse past articles in the archive right here on Writing It Real. You will find a search bar to use with keywords to find interviews, prompts, and much more.

After publishing many poems and essays in North American literary magazines and anthologies, I published my first book about writing (Writing in a Convertible with the Top Down) in 1991 with co-author Christi Killien, and since then, I have continued to produce more books on writing. Currently, Creative Writing Demystified from McGraw-Hill is available in e-book format and Sorrow’s Words: Writing Exercises to Heal Grief is available both in print and eBook format. Writing and Sharing Personal Essays is an updated edition of my earlier book on writing the personal essay. Christi, now Christi Glover, and I have updated Writing In a Convertible with the Top Down, which is available in print and ebook format.

In September 2009, my prose memoir, A New Theology: Turning to Poetry in a Time of Grief, was published by Imago Press and reprinted in 2023 by Writing It Real. After working with many clients who were writing college (and graduate school) applications, I put my experience into the book Perfect Phrases for College Application Essays. When Chronicles Software asked if I’d write content for LifeJournal for Writers, I was eager to take on the job. In 2013, Imago Press published a collection of my poems, Behind Us the Way Grows Wider, now reprinted by Writing It Real.

In-person, I’ve served as Distinguished Guest Lecturer for Seattle University and over the years presented at national writers’ programs, conferences and festivals, including the Mendocino Coast Writers’ Conference, Centrum Writers’ Conference, The Whidbey Island Writers’ Conference and low-residency MFA program, the University of Dayton`s Erma Bombeck Conference, the San Francisco Jack London Writers’ Conference, the Conference on College Composition and Communication, the Society of Southwest Authors’ Conference, Field’s End, and Edmonds’ Write on the Sound. Today I serve on the Council of the International Association for Journal Writing (IAJW).

So many of us want to write more completely, more regularly and with more incentive to explore and do so best if we know we have a class, coach or editor (even all three!) waiting to hear from us. I continue to offer online and in-person instruction.

Please browse my Substack posts to learn about the ways I can help you.

I hope to read your work soon,

Sheila