Coaching & manuscript assessment
Single sessions, full manuscript development memos, and three-month novel or screenplay development packages. Written notes for every session, not just talk.
See packages and pricesStory & script coaching
Finish the book you keep starting.
Twenty years developing other people’s stories — from a film development executive’s chair, a novelist’s chair, and a ghostwriter’s chair. Now that work is available to you directly: coaching, manuscript assessment, and ghostwriting for writers who are serious about the craft.
200+Writers coached worldwide
20Years in development & coaching
36Ghostwritten novels
3Formats: novel, screenplay, stage
How I can help
Three ways to work together
Whether you need a second pair of eyes on one stuck chapter, sustained development across a whole novel, or someone to write the book for you.
Ghostwriting
Thirty-six novels written under other people’s names. Concept to finished manuscript, or the rescue of a draft that stalled. Complete confidentiality; your name on the cover.
How ghostwriting works
Craft guidebooks
Eleven focused guides — structure, character, dialogue, prose, worldbuilding, plot twists — at $2.99 each, because you don’t always need an entire writing book.
Browse the guidebooks
Who you’d be working with
I’ve been on both sides of every table in this industry.
I’ve published 13 novels under my own name and ghostwritten 36 more. I spent 14 years as a creative development executive, developing original content for film and television. I have three feature film credits as screenwriter and director, and I’ve taught screenwriting, creative writing and mythology at three Toronto-area universities and colleges.
Most writing coaches give you craft theory. I give you craft theory from inside a development executive’s chair — the person whose job was to find the reason a story wasn’t working, and then fix it.
What writers say
From people I’ve worked with
“The teacher is very dedicated, and the course is well worth the money. My novel is currently halfway through; thank you!”Che Ganxuan
“Shawn is a really great support. He is always there to respond, and the answers he gives are detailed and sincere.”Corinne
“Shawn offers clear, constructive feedback that really lands. After one session, I felt a door had opened — and that real growth was actually within reach.”Angela Jiang
Not ready to work together yet? Start with the free Story Planning
Guide — the four-step roadmap I use with every writer I coach.
Get the guide →
Start here
Tell me about your project
Send me the details, or book a free discovery call and we'll work out which kind of support your story actually needs.