Dear Writer,

My passion is helping those who want to 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, discussions of craft, 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 second book on writing, and Christi Glover (née Killien) and I have also updated Writing in a Convertible with the Top Down, both available in print and ebook format. You can find digital copies of A Year in the Life: Journaling for Self-Discovery and Writing Personal Poetry from Your Life Experience here:

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. In January 2022, my collection Since Then: Short Prose and Poetry made its way into the world when Ex Ophidia Press published it.

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 enjoy offering online and in-person instruction.

Please browse my Substack posts (sheilabender.substack.com) to learn about the ways I can help you. Or email me at sheilabender@gmail.com if you have questions.

I hope to read your work soon,

Sheila