Coaching, Manuscript Consultations, and Teaching

Coaching

When you’re working with me on an ongoing basis, you’ll send me a selection from your work in progress (novel, short story, memoir, or creative nonfiction essay). In each session, we generally look at up to 5000 words, though we can make arrangements for longer selections. I read your work, and then, a few days later, we have a 45 minute or so video chat or phone session to talk through ideas and questions. Sometimes we also look together at your notes or outlines for context and discussions of structure. When we work by video rather than phone, I include an audio recording and a transcript of the session as well, so you can refer back to them later.

The writers I work with like this interactive approach—a conversation rather than a written response—because when a suggestion or idea seems particularly exciting, we can brainstorm about it. We can also change course easily if a question sparks a new line of thought or set of possibilities for you.

This process has been transformative for writers generating first drafts and also for those working through an entire book in revision. In our discussion, I give feedback on large-scale structural questions, character development and interactions, and any relevant craft or thematic questions, along with specific notes on particularly great passages and those that raise questions. These sessions are both serious and fun as we discover more about your characters, their lives, the book’s themes and craft possibilities, and the world you’re capturing on the page.

The most frequent interval for these sessions is monthly. Coaching/critiquing provides accountability and regular feedback in ways that help keep your writing a priority. For more information, please write to me at sarah(at)sarahstoneauthor.com or use the button below to reach my contact page. I look forward to hearing from you and to learning about your characters and your world.

MANUSCRIPT CONSULTATIONS

Depending on where you are in the process, you might want an overall read and editorial letter or a full developmental read (a longer, more in-depth letter and margin comments). Either way, we discuss the comments a week or so later via a Zoom or phone session for brainstorming and setting up a revision plan. Afterward, I will send you an audio recording and an automatically generated transcript of our session. And you’re welcome to email me with follow-up questions.

Once we begin a consultation, I give your book a focused structural read, write you a response, and then we have a conversation about what you’re already doing well, areas for further exploration, and specific next steps. Depending on your questions and the manuscript, we look at plot and structure, character development and relationships, point of view, patterns of language and imagery, dialogue, world-building, backstory, narrative tension and pacing, and any questions particular to your book.

If you’re interested in discussing the possibility of working together on a partial or full manuscript, please send me an email with a description of your project, the kind of help you’re looking for, and five or so pages of your work. I will email you back with initial thoughts and questions, to help you see if this sounds like what you’re looking for. I’m also interested in anything you have to tell me about your process and history as a writer.

I look forward to hearing from you and am happy to give you more details and to answer any questions. For more information, please write to me at sarah(at)sarahstoneauthor.com or use the button below to reach my contact page.

Teaching

I teach classes through the Stanford Continuing Studies Creative Writing Program, including the Online Certificate Program in Novel Writing. This fall I’m teaching Novel III in the Certificate program, and in the winter, I’ll be teaching a course on writing flash fiction (open for registration on December 1):

Lightning in a Bottle: Crafting Flash Fiction and Nonfiction

The author Charles Baxter defines “flash” writing as falling “between poetry and fiction, the story and the sketch, prophecy and reminiscence, the personal and the crowd.” Although flash is typically between 300 and 1,500 words, the form is expansive. A micro story or essay might span an instant or years, offering an unforgettable character or experience. In flash, we can revel in a single moment or take the long view, intensify a mystery or pose an urgent question. Making a powerful impact in so few words is no easy task. How do we handle structure or convey the passage of time? What’s the balance between richness and concision? We’ll read a wide range of international flash fiction and micro essays, discuss these models in class, and write short pieces inspired by them. Everyone will post up to 1,500 words twice for brief, supportive feedback from both the instructor and peers. By the end of the course, you’ll know how to craft flash fiction or essays that resonate—and you’ll have a deeper appreciation for the elegant ambiguities of the form.

And later this winter I’m teaching a single virtual session on plot for Off Campus Writers’ Workshop:

The Art of the Secret: Puzzle Boxes and Narrative Engines

Off Campus Writers’ Workshop, February 19, 2026, 9:30 a.m. to noon (CT). Secrets can drive plots and subplots, complicate relationships, activate slow moments, and reveal characters’ psychological make-up, as well as highlight the constant tension between who we wish we could be and who we are in reality. If not handled well, though, this fundamental fictional element can feel manipulative or unbelievable, turn readers against our characters, and call too much attention to the story’s machinery. We will discuss successful examples and have quick writing exercises to discover new secrets for our characters and make deeper use of those we already have. Our explorations will include secrets in long and short narrative arcs and in both stories and novels. We will consider what kinds of secrets can be left unexploded, how to nest secrets, and how to make the connections between secrets, yearnings, and satisfaction.

Testimonials

“I have had the great fortune to get Sarah Stone’s feedback on my writing for many years, and I always come away from her reading with brilliant notes that give me enthusiasm to dig in to the work again. Sarah is that rare editor: someone who gets inside another writer’s project, really trying to see it for what it is, for what it wants to be, without trying to change its peculiar essence. Her reading is always ‘for’ the work, but it’s also very rigorous. Anyone who is lucky enough to get her editorial input will be sure that she will not ignore failures of nerve or missed chances for complexity and depth. Nevertheless, she delivers her opinions in a way that makes the problems seem clear and solvable. She is widely read—from mainstream to experimental fiction, from literary to genre novels—and she brings her knowledge to the discussion to suggest works that might inspire or inform the project. Sarah is a trusted, sensitive, experienced reader. You would be lucky to have her in your corner.”

— Lisa Michaels, author of Split and Grand Ambition

“Sarah Stone is an extraordinarily accomplished author, as anyone who’s read her novel, The True Sources of the Nile, can attest. She is also a brilliant, experienced teacher, with the ability to suggest a variety of approaches to the development of character, plot and structure as well as language and style. I’ve been fortunate to have her read and respond to most of the stories included in my first book, and she read my second book, a novel, in at least three different drafts, providing me the feedback and encouragement to press on with new perspective. I enthusiastically recommend Sarah to beginning, intermediate and advanced writers at any stage of their novels or short stories.”

— Angela Pneuman, author of Home Remedies and Lay It On My Heart

“Sarah Stone is among the most insightful and generous readers I’ve ever encountered. From the level of the sentence to the manuscript as a whole, she articulates exactly what a writer most needs to hear. I can’t imagine publishing anything without first showing it to her and receiving her brilliant feedback.”

— Ann Packer, author of The Children’s Book

“Working with Sarah Stone transformed my writing. I always felt as though Sarah, an incredibly generous reader, cared about my characters as if they were her next-door neighbors. Deeply curious, she would go to the depths in thinking about their lives within the story, what this moment meant for them, and what motivated them. My stories returned with margin notes that praised interesting moments, phrases, suggested compression, and the kinds of questions that pushed my writing to the next level. In a way that I hadn’t experienced for some time, I saw that Sarah believed deeply in my writing and that she would challenge me to come closer to and explore those truths that fueled it.”

— Adrienne Perry

“I came to Sarah with a strong sense of what I wanted from my stories. Sarah read them on their own terms and highlighted where the craft could be improved so that the writing elicited the right emotional responses from my readers. Through her guidance I learned to refine my craft techniques and sharpen my sentences; she allowed my stories to breathe and flourish. My scenes and dialogue became more complex and the tension in those moments rose. In a sense Sarah taught me to make my stories into the journey I wanted them to be for my readers.”

— Somayeh Shams

“As a new writer of a debut novel, the idea of having an editor parse through my work was daunting. Sarah made the process as painless as possible, always emphasizing the positive while still ensuring that the manuscript was as good as it could be. She has that rare ability to inspire confidence through what can be a difficult process. At the same time, she taught be how to be a better writer. My manuscript was much improved by her contribution.”

— Julia York

“Sarah Stone is a wonderful writer and a generous reader of other people’s work. She reads thoughtfully, with insight, and I always understand my work better after hearing from her.”

— Cornelia Nixon, author of Jarrettsville and The Uses of Fame

Stanford CS Course Participant Evaluations

“Sarah is probably the best teacher I’ve ever had, for anything ever. She’s incredibly knowledgeable, generous with her time and expertise, and very astute with her critiques, immediately sizing up what the manuscript might need and what the writer might need. I really enjoyed this class and learned a lot.”

“Sarah Stone is an astute, alert, compassionate, and talented writer and teacher who is exquisitely sensitive to the ever-changing needs and challenges of her students. She went out of her way to provide original, insightful feedback to each and every student post and work-in-progress sample. I feel privileged to have been her student.”

“Sarah Stone provided me with a wealth of specific information on how I could improve the novel I am working on. She also provided a nurturing and positive environment in which I felt encouraged to go forward with writing my novel, which is no easy task. This was the best workshop experience I have ever had, and I’ve been in several others that have produced the opposite reaction. In short, she is an amazing teacher, extremely knowledgeable about the craft of writing, and willing to go that mile to impart that information to us, her students. I always felt nurtured and encouraged by her instructive hand in the learning process.”

“Sarah Stone was fantastic. She was informative, enthusiastic, encouraging, inspiring. She guided gently while encouraging us to think about beginnings, characters, plot, voice, settings. She gave us valuable information that will be extremely useful, and she lit a fire under all of us to write and express in our own voices. I would take another course from her in a minute and hope to do so in the near future. This was an excellent course with an exceptional instructor.”

“I’ve taken numerous courses through Stanford online and they have all been good. But Sarah was by far my favorite instructor to date. She was brilliant, inspiring, full of great suggestions resources and feedback, amazingly attuned to each student and their writing, and always kind.”

“A truly great teacher—informed, sensitive, respectful, present, available, incredibly knowledgeable, generous, kind and a terrific communicator.”

“This was the very first class I have ever taken online, and I was a bit unsure of what to expect in beginning the class. Luckily, I had nothing to worry about as Sarah was absolutely the most amazing instructor. Unbelievable amounts of thoughtful, diplomatic, intelligent feedback that was both kind and warmly presented- but at the same time she saw ways for every single writer to improve their work. Each of her suggestions, book recommendations, workshop responses, and comments were individually tailored to each writer’s needs/writing, and she opened my eyes to the possibilities of my work (and of literature in general) more than any writing instructor I have had in the past. Not only would I take another course taught by this instructor, but I plan to actively seek out the classes that she is teaching in the next term! I cannot thank her enough.”

“This is my second online Stanford class with Sarah Stone (and my fifth through the Stanford Continuing Studies program). Sarah is an exceptional instructor; she is a standout with your program and across my lifetime of learning, creatively or academically. Her generosity creates an exceptional online community for writers to celebrate their gifts and directly face areas for improvement. Her quick mind and unique perspective open doors about that are both fascinating and compelling. She is able to offer guidance and constructive suggestions that truly add depth to all of her students’ work. Her experience - as a fantastic writer, teacher and reader - are evident in every single one of her communications. It is a true privilege to learn from her, in all ways. I would sign up for literally any class she taught, sight unseen, because I know that any class she taught would be valuable, enriching and enjoyable.”

“Sarah Stone is both a gifted and dedicated instructor—her class was everything I’d hoped for and more. One of her greatest strengths is that she listens to her students—their work and their words, then zeros in on the level at which she should pitch her comments, lessons, exercises, and class discussions. In this particular class we had a group of smart, talented writers, so Sarah challenged us with more nuanced discussions and critiques, allowing us to take our writing to the next level. She also created a warm and friendly environment—both in the online and Zoom discussions. She stressed the fact that the scenes and chapters we posted were in-progress, freeing us to experiment without worrying about being perfect—both I and others made discoveries and breakthroughs with our characters and stories. I learned so much about the craft of writing from Sarah—from general craft elements (such as leaving a bit of suspense or mystery unresolved at the chapter’s end to entice a reader to turn the page) to specific ones that came up only in my manuscript…. And the impact of her class will reach beyond this fall: she provided such rich and multi-layered lectures and exercises, I plan to work through them all again as I move forward. Sarah also provided a wealth of resources for further study—enough to keep me busy for a year. For these ten weeks, Sarah was our champion—she read every post, answered every question, and made sure every student was heard and encouraged by the whole group.”

“Sarah was amazing. Incredibly knowledgeable, generous in her time and attention to everyone’s assignments, her feedback an amazing combination of detailed suggestions/areas to keep developing and hugely supportive mirroring and comments. One of the best teachers I have ever had, for anything.”