LELA House

Tag: fiction

  • Three Ways to Work with Dr. Roshaunda

    Three Ways to Work with Dr. Roshaunda

    Hi y’all,

    I’ve got big news!

    I am an Author Accelerator certified book coach!

    So what does that mean? Let me tell you.

    Author Accelerator is a year-long (approximately) course that trains people to become book coaches. Per the Author Accelerator website, a book coach is an editor, a mentor, and a cheerleader; a sounding board for creative ideas; a committed partner; an independent expert; an entrepreneur; a human.

    That last one–human–is very important in today’s world of AI. I’m not an AI detractor. I think it can be a great tool, but AI cannot write or read like humans do. AI cannot respond to a writer or their manuscript with expertise and compassion, with creativity and insight, with grace and accountability, with passion and love.

    And that’s what I do as a book coach: respond to you and your writing with expertise, compassion, creativity, insight, grace, accountability, passion, and love.

    So how is that different from what I’ve been doing? Let me tell you.

    It’s not so much different from what I’ve been doing as a coach for Black women in higher education as it is a beautiful expansion of the coaching I do for Black women in higher education.

    To my decades of experience in supporting academic writers, I’m adding dozens of practicum hours in fiction coaching: including how to move from idea to outline, from outline to draft, from daft to manuscript, and from manuscript to pitch package. And friends, these lessons do not only apply to fiction; they apply to academic writing as well.

    Not only can I now support you in your fiction writing, I can also help you bring the possibilities inherent in fiction into your academic writing. You want to work on the narrative arc of your nonfiction? I’ve got you. You want to narrate your nonfiction through the lens of a protagonist? I’ve got you.You want to frame your nonfiction in such a way that one scene causes the next? I’ve got you.

    My new certification as a fiction book coach enhances my ability to support Black women in higher education in all the ways. In other words, I’ve got you.

    So, my beautiful Black sistahs in higher education, there are three ways to work with me: SDJ, Dissertation Deliverance, and Strategic Semester. And you don’t have to choose just one. I recommend SDJ for everyone and then add Dissertation Deliverance or Strategic Semester, depending on what kind of writing you’re doing. Of the three options, choose one or two to best support your current needs and your future aspirations.

    SDJ (Sistahs on the Doctoral Journey) is a community of Black women in academia (from ABD through senior leaders), who support, celebrate, encourage, connect, and build together.

    Dissertation Deliverance: Weekly Accountability Coaching is private, personalized 1:1 coaching to help you navigate your doctoral journey once you’ve completed your coursework. You may be doing self-directed work, but you don’t have to work in a silo.

    Strategic Semester: From Idea to First 100 Pages in 16 Weeks is a 16-week cohort for Black women in higher education. You will go from being unsure of how to start your book project (fiction or nonfiction) and struggling to create a writing habit to having dedicated writing time, a blueprint for your book, and your first 100 pages.

    So what should you do right now, now that you know all of these wonderful things about my business and book and writing coaching?

    • Hug a human who means a lot to you, being grateful you get to exist in a world of beauty, writing, and humanity.
    • Sign up for at least one of the following: SDJ, Dissertation Deliverance, and Strategic Semester
    • On the off-chance you don’t sign up for any of my services, share this post with your network. You can repost on your various platforms; send the link to a friend, family member, or colleague; or even become a financial sponsor for someone you know who needs my services.

    Happy writing, and may God bless you on your journey!

  • Tell Your Story Now

    Tell Your Story Now

    I don’t believe anyone should spew hate. We should not hold hate in our hearts, and we should not act on any hate we find within ourselves. But I do believe in the US we have the right to speak hateful things. Yes, limits exist to free speech, but simply saying something a group of people don’t like doesn’t negate a person’s right to speak those things freely. Additionally, what we say and what we believe in our hearts affect the people around us. Hate doesn’t exist in a vacuum. I am deeply disturbed by recent developments regarding our penchant for spewing hate in the US.

    First, the US was built on spewing hate. Hate is built into our foundation. Chattel slavery. Atrocities against Indigenous peoples. Rampant misogyny. I could indefinitely list instances of hate permeating the US, because the incidences of such are endless. This endless march of hatred has shaped the US, and we shouldn’t pretend that it has not. Removing images and teachings of this hate doesn’t erase it. Instead of helping us remember our sordid history and learn from it, removing uncomfortable truths from the public sphere helps us to pretend like our past didn’t happen, enables us to repeat it, and facilitates a return to a society where only wealthy White men enjoy the full rights and safeguards of US citizenship.

    Secondly, no one should die because they have said something someone doesn’t like. And no one should lose their jobs for this reason. And television shows should not be canceled for this reason. What I’m watching happen is that it’s ok for some people to exercise their right to free speech but not for others. Recent assaults on the First Amendment are disturbing, and more importantly, they are dangerous. They are leading us ever closer to an Orwellian future where “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

    So if you have a story to tell that promotes a history that will likely be erased, tell it now. If you have a study that safeguards the lives of people whose lives seem to matter less and less, write and publish it now.

    Now is the only time in which you can do anything, and, friends, the world needs to hear from you now. That novel that’s been burning in your soul? Bring it into the world now. That idea that keeps you up at night? Bring it into the world now. That research you have pored over? Bring it into the world now.

    Take the next step and get some support for your writing endeavors. I’m here to help with Book & Writing Coaching and Life & Accountability Coaching. Click to book some time with me. And if we work together or not, please bring your art into the world now. We need it. I’m rooting for you. And for all of us.

  • Introducing Dr. Jones

    Introducing Dr. Jones

    I have a character, Dr. Laila E. Jones, who runs a university writing center. In my head, her story unfolds through her writing – her emails, journal entries, Teams messages at work, text messages with loved ones, conference proposals, etc. I honestly have no idea where her story will take her or any of us, but I’m excited for her adventure to begin. Below is the first installment.

    June 5, 2017

    Dear Diary,

    Well, that sounds ridiculous – like I’m an angsty preteen, oh, I’m sorry, TWEEN. I sound like an angsty tween. Why even do we use that word? What was wrong with preteen that tween came into existence? I mean preteens were functioning just fine as pseudo adolescents (like pseudopodia perhaps?), and then somebody (who was it I wonder?) 

    Alright I’m back. According to Wikipedia it was J.R.R Tolkien referring to hobbits in their twenties prior to their coming of age, so it’s a blend of teen and twenty which makes so much more sense now. Why do we even use it for angsty prepubescent children? And should I have written portmanteau? It’s the word that was in my head (probably because it was in the Wikipedia article, but I didn’t have to look it up, so I feel good about that), but it felt pompous and self serving. Can I be pompous and self serving in my own diary? Is this a diary or a journal? It’s a journal. I do NOT plan on doing this daily, despite the advice of my therapist.

    So there. Journal reboot begun. And tween is a cool Tolkien word that I should figure out how to repurpose in society, so it’s less angsty. Like me. Ugh. I’m done.