“To discipline something, in the proper sense of the word, does not mean to repress it, but to train it – to encourage it to grow, and act, and be fruitful, whether it is a peach tree or a human mind.”
Ursula Le Guin
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"Talk Story" Consultations
​and Coaching 

Talk story is a method I use to help writers discover and to deepen their stories and to overcome blocks. It's a simple, effective, and collaborative process that combines storytelling and deep listening and is useful at any time in the writing process. Sometimes, to hear your story clearly, you must be heard.  Writers schedule these sessions as needed. 

Developmental Coaching  is for writers who need personalized editorial support throughout the writing process. I help you conceptualize and clarify your artistic approach, identify your audience, and strengthen the dramatic structure of a story, be it long or short form, fiction or nonfiction. Each writer also receives developmental and structural editing on excerpts of their work and on guided writing exercises. The frequency of these sessions depends on the needs of the writer, but are typically monthly or bimonthly. 

A limited number of coaching sessions are available each month. Please contact me here or at maryvolmer(at)gmail.com to inquire or to schedule a free consultation.

Query Letter Coaching is for anyone preparing to submit to a literary agent or editor. I help you craft, refine, and edit your query letters so that they are irresistible to potential editors and agents.

Seminar Style Discussion Classes for Serious Readers ​

A series of facilitated discussion courses for anyone who craves the chance to read diverse and compelling texts and then to converse deeply on the ideas, philosophies, and cultural assumptions inherent within. This is not a lecture course. Your instructors - long-time faculty members of the renowned Collegiate Seminar Program at Saint Mary's College of California - will facilitate honest, open, and respectful discussions on a wide array of topics and texts. Never mind consensus or resounding agreement. Our goal is to gain a greater, more expansive and generous understanding of history, of ourselves as human beings, and of the living and nonliving world of which we are part.  

Click HERE to discover upcoming classes and to propose topics for study and discussion.   
This community welcomes people of all races, religions, genders, ethnicities, and economic circumstance.  And, yes, all genres! 

A Few Essays On Writing 


​​"Into The Lake"

"Writing as Laborious Play"

"The Tourist, the Expat, and the Native: A Traveler’s Approach to Crafting Historical Fiction"

AMCA Reading Series 

Join us online on the second Sunday of each month at 4:00pm (pacific). 

November 13, 2022 

A reading and discussion featuring
poet, novelist, playwright and cultural worker
Jewelle Gomez 
with Joan Steinau Lester 

REGISTER HERE for this free online event! 

 Writing Workshops​

September 22nd
and September 29th 
6:00pm - 8:00pm
​(on Zoom)
Writing Young Characters Authentically 
With Dallas Woodburn 
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How does one create teenage characters who feel honest and compelling to the reader? Whether writing fiction for teenagers or adults, it can be difficult to present teenage characters in an interesting and genuine way. This workshop will provide guidelines and examples, as well as writing prompts and exercises, to help writers create young characters authentically in fiction. 
 
To address this topic, we will look at examples from contemporary adult and YA fiction, delve into our own memories of childhood and adolescence through writing exercises, and discuss the boundary between young adult fiction and adult fiction featuring teen characters.
 
CLICK HERE: to learn more and to SAVE YOUR SPOT ​


Art is a Spiritual Act and a Human Right.

This community welcomes people of all races, religions, genders, ethnicities, and economic circumstance.  (And, yes, all genres!) ​