Story Master ToolkitShawn Whitney · Story & Script Coach Book a call
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For writers working in English as a second language

Your story first. The English comes after.

Most feedback for writers working in a second language stops at grammar. We work on whether the story works, and save the polish for when it’s worth doing.

More than 150,000 people around the world follow my writing-craft videos, and I’ve coached writers across four continents.

Book a free discovery call The order we work in ↓

Sound familiar?

Feedback that stops at the sentence.

  • “Editors keep fixing my grammar. Nobody tells me whether the story works.”
  • “I worry my English will count against me.”
  • “I think in one language and write in another.”
  • “I don’t know if the problem is my English or my structure.”
  • “Most writing advice assumes I grew up reading in English.”
  • “The story is clear in my head. It gets smaller on the page.”

Structure, character and stakes work the same way in every language. So we fix the story first, and polish the English last.

The order we work in

Story first. Language last.

We build and test the story before anyone touches your sentences, so the polishing happens once, on a book that already works.

  1. The storyStructure, conflict and stakes: does the book work?
  2. The charactersWho carries the story, and whether readers will follow them.
  3. The scenesWhat each scene has to do, and whether it does it.
  4. The languagePolish comes last, where it’s worth doing. When a book needs a copyeditor rather than a coach, I’ll tell you.

Where to start

Two ways in.

The full development

$1,200or 3 monthly payments of $400 · 3 months, 6 hours total

Novel Development Package

Three months of focused, sustained work on your novel, built around the way professional development actually happens.

  • Submit up to 15,000 words per month for review
  • Two one-hour video calls per month, analysing a different chapter each time
  • Written notes for every session
  • Twice-weekly email office hours
  • Flexible scheduling across the engagement

Spaces are limited — contact before booking.

Enquire about this package

$322

Single Session

A low-risk way to start: send a chapter and find out what working together is like.

  • Submit up to 10,000 words for review
  • One-hour video call
  • Written analysis within 48 hours (up to 2,500 words)
Enquire about a session

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 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

Questions

Before you get in touch

Is my English good enough to work with you?

If you can write the book, we can work on it together. We focus on the story, and I’ll point out language only where it gets in the way of the story.

Do you edit line by line?

Not primarily. My work is development: whether the story works, why it doesn’t yet, and what to do about it. Prose gets addressed where it’s doing structural damage, but this isn’t a copy-edit.

Where are you, and how do calls work?

I work with writers across four continents. Calls are by video and scheduled flexibly across the engagement, so time zones are usually workable.

How do I pay?

Once we’ve confirmed the package is the right fit, I’ll send an invoice. The three-month packages can be paid monthly.

Free · No obligation

Let’s talk about your story.

Twenty minutes to talk about the book and work out which kind of support it actually needs.

Book a free discovery call Send an enquiry