Retainer program
Get personalized help with your writing project
"I love how my book is finally taking shape, with your remarkable guidance and amazing gift for eliciting my best work." "Your help and excellent counsel has helped me persevere to write my first book. I can't thank you enough." “You've given me so much—to not only jump start my rewrite in response to the agent feedback I received, but also to keep improving my writing on future projects." "My work has grown exponentially. Your comments were right on point." "You opened up for me a whole new realm of possibility that I couldn't seem to figure out!" "I was aware of many of the problems you identified in your report but not sure how to address them--now I have great tools to move closer to completion!"
—past retainer clients
Five weeks of private coaching with weekly check-ins by email, customized assignments, and evaluation of up to 250 d/s pages of your book-in-progress. Limited spaces available. Now booking for spring and summer 2019. Email Mary for details: mary(at)marycarrollmoore(dot)com.
Winter writing retreats and independent study
at Madeline Island School for the Arts, Lake Superior
Your Book Starts Here: How to Plan, Write, and Develop Your Memoir, Novel, or Nonfiction Book
Five-day retreat/workshop, July 22-26
Best creative week ever! My book took a leap forward. Wonderful community, relaxed, yet productive. I can see why writers return every year.
—past attendee
Give yourself—and your creativity—a week away, where you can focus on your book, have plenty of time to write, plus gain craft skills at your level through workshops and daily coaching sessions with Mary. Excellent accomodations, beautiful locations, where you can get quiet enough to hear your own words. For writers at any level with a book project in any genre. Click on dates above to find out more. Find out more >
Summer in-person workshops
at the Loft Literary Center, Minneapolis
Writing Your Life: How to Plan, Write, and Develop Your Memoir
Saturday, July 20, 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Whether you are trying to write the story of your life for publication or as a family legacy, this class by the author of two memoirs will show you how to organize your stories into a readable, interesting work. You will be introduced to a simple formula that successful authors use to find the central conflict in their story, then plan, organize, and write scenes and chapters around it.
We'll explore essential book-writing techniques such as the value of themes, how action and reflection balance one another in memoir and creative nonfiction, and the author's voice versus the narrative voice. Find out more >
at Grub Street, Boston SOLD OUT--WAIT LIST ONLY!
Your Book Starts Here: How to Plan, Write, and Develop Your Book
Saturday, June 22, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
All books need strong structures to keep readers engaged and turning the page. This workshop taught by the author of thirteen books in three genres will lead you through the steps to explore your book idea and its possible structures, get feedback on your idea, and come away with a visual map to help you plan, write, and revise your book. Find out more >