JO MORRIS
Meet your writing coach
Helping people make writing make sense.
For more than twenty years, I've worked with students, professionals, businesses, teachers and writers who all had one thing in common: they believed they "weren't good at writing."Almost without exception, they were wrong.
They didn't need someone to write for them.
They needed someone to help them understand how writing works.
That's why I started The Write Coach.
Why I do this
Early in my teaching career, I noticed something that has stayed with me ever since.
Bright students would receive comments like:
"Develop your analysis."
"Improve the flow."
"Be more concise."
They desperately wanted to improve, but nobody had explained what those comments actually meant.
The same thing happens in business. People know their organisations inside out, but struggle to explain them clearly on paper.
The common thread running through everything I do? Helping people organise their ideas into writing that readers can easily understand
What I believe
I believe writing is a skill.
Good writing isn't about using impressive words.
It's about understanding your reader, organising ideas and knowing why one sentence works better than another.
Once people understand those things, their confidence grows remarkably quickly.
That's what I love seeing - why I’m doing what I do.
Whether you're working on an assignment, a website, a speech or something entirely different, I'd love to hear what you're trying to achieve.
Together we'll work out how to make your writing make sense.
Over the years I've worked with everyone from:
university students to health professionals
government agencies to businesses
wedding, funeral, dinner and conference speakers
memoir writers to creative writers
I've coached everything from postgraduate theses and business proposals to wedding speeches and websites.
Although the writing looks different, the underlying principles are remarkably similar.
Frequently Asked Questions
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I work with a wide range of people, with a wide range of writing goals. These include business people who want to sharpen their written communications, individuals with writing goals, and groups who want to have fun writing together.
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This varies, because I specialise in specific, goal-focussed coaching and writing. Your goal could be anything from a one-off poetry workshop with friends, to on-going editing and support for your business writing. We’ll work out your timeframe together.
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We’ll work that out together. All my work begins with a consultation, where we look at where you are and where you want to be.
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Costs vary, depending on the length and nature of the work, where it takes place and how many are attending. You’ll find some options outlined on the Services page, but any can be personalised. Contact me to discuss your requirements and needs.
Meet Jo Morris
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I’ve taught English in secondary schools for more than 20 years. Sharing my passion for this subject with students and teachers has been extraordinarily fulfilling. Now I’ve taken that passion outside the classrooms. to focus on targeted, intensive teaching and learning with individuals, departments and schools.
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My ideas and insights will help you develop a distinctive voice for your business, company or organisation. I can work with individuals, small or large groups to help you achieve your communication aims, whether that be on your website, in publications or in your in-house communications.
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My own writing encompasses everything from academic writing, to blogs, to poetry. I understand the struggle that good writing involves – as Nathaniel Hawthorne once said: “Easy reading is damn hard work”. I love working with other writers in person or on-line, exchanging ideas and suggestions.
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President of the New Zealand Association of Teachers of English (NZATE) for six years; Council member for sixteen
Head of Department of English (later Faculty of English and Languages) for more than fifteen years
Recipient of an NEiTA (National Excellence in Teaching Award) in 2012
Recipient of a Woolf Fisher Fellowship in 2013
MA in English (Otago); MA in Creative Writing (Victoria); Graduate Diploma in Arts (Massey); Diploma in Teaching (Dunedin)
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Published in English in Aoteoroa and Interface.
Writing team member for Ministry of Education projects (Senior Secondary Teaching and Learning Guide for English, New Zealand Curriculum)
Writing team member for NZQA projects (Unit and Achievement Standards, Tasks, Revisions of Standards, Conditions of Assessment documents, Facilitator)
Recently led a two year, school-wide project examining and improving writing for assessment.
Producer of professional resources and workshops for NZATE
Convener for NZATE Conferences
Poems published in Landfall, Sport, Turbine, Cordite and Trout.