Creative & Academic Editing & Coaching
Hello
My name is Victoria Reeve. I research, write and publish in scholarly books and journals on literature, culture, genre, reading, embodied cognition, and emotion. My work is interdisciplinary, crossing over into the social sciences. That means I can help academics and students in the humanities and social sciences seeking guidance on making their writing persuasive and compelling and creative writers who want to make their stories engaging.
If you've ever had trouble fleshing out an idea (whether for a story or an essay), or if you find that the opposite is the case and need to get your word count down, I can help.
It's often a matter of structure, and it's always about what your reader wants from your writing.
When it comes to writing, there are many ways to shape an essay, article or story. Writing well is like building a house. Some houses are more appealing and inviting than others. Some are more functional or better able to withstand the onslaughts of nature. A well-written essay, article or story, like a well-built house, is organised with people in mind. So, it can help to think about who will be reading your writing. Will it be a lecturer or tutor, an editor, a peer, a fan of sci-fi fiction, a literary agent or a publisher? Getting clear about who your reader is and what they expect from you is an excellent place to start. It's surprisingly easy to forget when you are in the thick of writing. But a builder needs to build the house to meet client expectations of size, shape, and style. And it's the same for writing.
Will your writing withstand the scrutiny of an editor, agent, or marker? If you're anxious about this, I can help you hit the mark. I've helped young writers get out of the rut of starting but never finishing, students who can't begin to see how they might cut 1000 words from an essay and still achieve a great mark, and I've edited academic texts and supervised big research projects like MAs and PhDs.
Whether you are a creative writer, a student of the humanities or social sciences, or a published academic, I can help you develop your writing to meet your goals.
My Story
I was awarded a PhD in Literary Studies by Melbourne University (2011) and an MA in Creative Writing by the University of Tasmania (2021). (Would it be bragging to mention that I scored the prize for Best English Honours Essay at a time when Melbourne Uni's English Department was ranked No. 1 in the world? What can I say? I love writing essays! And yes, I guess that is bragging :)) Anyway, what it means is that I take to editing and coaching in essay writing like a duck to water. I began offering coaching in creative writing after being repeatedly told by my writing peers on online courses that my feedback was the best part of their learning experience. Although I research, write, and edit, I'm also an experienced tertiary teacher and I know how to get students motivated and enjoying their studies. I've had students describe me as the best English Lit teacher they've ever had, and that my teaching has inspired them to take their studies further.
While gaining my degree, I worked as a research assistant to Professor John Frow, and tutored and lectured in literature and cultural studies at the University of Melbourne and the Australian Catholic University. I was a senior lecturer in literary studies at the University of Fiji from 2014 until 2016, when I returned to Australia to settle in Clunes, Victoria. Clunes is a small rural town of less than 2000 people. We have an annual festival to celebrate books and writing. And I just love living here. I live in a house made of wood, painted blue, with my two dogs Jack (a rescued Jack Russell Terrier) and Maggie (a little butterfly dog smaller than a cat!). Working online helps me stay in my community. I love connecting with people via Zoom, or simply by email. Some of my best writing pals are people I've never met face to face!
I love metaphors, which is why my site, ahousemadeofwood.com, has such a curious name. KANDOU is the name of my sole trader business. It's phonetically positive (Can-do). But if you say it a little differently (Can-dow), it means "empathy" in Japanese ("kandou" describes that feeling when your heart is moved). So as a scholar of narrative empathy and emotion who helps writers create moving and engaging stories and scholars of all ranks master their academic writing, KANDOU at a house made of wood feels like the right fit for me.
I work from an office above a bookstore on the main street. If you ever visit Clunes, call by! And please feel free to drop me a line or reach out for a quote.
Contact
I'm always looking for new and exciting opportunities. Let's connect.