What Sets Write Well Brooklyn Apart?
WWB is not your standard academic tutoring with a focus on test scores, grammar worksheets, or dry models of learning and writing. When families invest in my coaching programs and workshops, they almost always return for more. Below, I explain a little about why!
- Ashleigh Bell Pedersen, Founder
I'm an award-winning and New York Times-reviewed author of both fiction and nonfiction, with bylines in Newsweek, G&G, Electric Literature, and various literary journals. I also hold an MFA in creative writing from the University of Pittsburgh.
Young people connect right away with my unique personality…since all the way back in my college days as an in-demand babysitter! I’ve always found it easy to help young people feel safe, seen, and supported. In my 1:1 coaching and workshops, such connection is essential (and fun!) as students take what I call "the risk of effort.”
My training goes beyond writing and education. I’ve worked closely with meditation guides, somatic coaches, a Qigong teacher, and—I’m proud to say—a long-time therapist. I understand the importance of being present with students and how to gently help them get more present, too. I maintain boundaries to create safety and build trust. I own when I make a mistake. I pay attention to tone, facial expressions, and body language so I understand where students are at in a given moment—and if I’m not sure, I check in. I model authenticity, compassion, curiosity, communication, and enthusiasm for learning so I can help students do the same.
After 20 years in education, I know the problems students face…and how to help students overcome them. I’ve taught in middle school and high school classrooms, from creative writing to IB and AP English, held a teaching fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh, and worked as an adjunct professor at Quinnipiac University. I’ve visited with MFA candidates at various universities to discuss the craft of writing. As a writing tutor and coach, I absolutely love witnessing students go from stuck to finding their flow and gaining confidence.
For over a decade, admissions essays have been my specialty.
My NYC high school applicants have gotten into Regis, Hackley, Beacon, Avenues of the World, Spence, LREI, Poly Prep, St. Ann’s, Dwight Englewood, Columbia Prep, Fieldston, Trinity, Berkeley Carroll, Riverdale, and more.
My college applicants have gotten into University of Pennsylvania, Stanford, UC Santa Barbara, Boston College, Sarah Lawrence, Babson College, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Texas at Austin, New York University, Parsons, Savannah College of Art & Design, and more—and all with essays entirely in their own voice.
Last but not least, I use writing strategies that ACTUALLY work. Outlines too early in the process, unstructured brainstorming, or a one-and-done draft—these strategies are ineffectual at best.* I’ve developed mindsets and approaches that truly help young people write successfully. (If you want to explore one of my key strategies, sign up to receive the Messy Model HERE—for free.)
*...and frankly, a direct result of too little diversity in academia for centuries—but, ahem, that's for another soapbox!
Want to explore coaching programs for your kid or teen?
*SPACE IS FILLING!*
Admissions Essay Workshop for 8th Graders
Why Sign Up for this Workshop?
For over a decade, I’ve taught students to write powerful admissions essays in their own unique voice. I’ve also given talks and workshops for hundreds of parents and students on admissions essays at Parents League of New York.
My students gain entry into top NYC schools: Regis, Hackley, Beacon, Avenues of the World, Spence, LREI, Poly Prep, St. Ann’s, Dwight Englewood, Columbia Prep, Fieldston, Trinity, Berkeley Carroll, Riverdale, and more.
Most importantly, the students’ essays are all their own. They feel proud of their writing and where it takes them—and they grow into stronger writers along the way.
In this unique, one-time Admissions Essay Workshop, I can’t wait to help students unlock their voice and ideas—and to start tackling their admissions essays with confidence.
October 27, 2025, 6PM-8PM online
Admissions Essay Workshop
Objective: To unlock voice, ideas, and gain momentum on a NYC high school admissions essay.
How it Works: Students are invited to bring an essay prompt of their choice (otherwise, I will happily provide one!). With structured exercises and encouragement—and possibly the occasional unasked-for assistance of my dog, Ernie—students will:
➡️ Generate unique, original ideas
➡️ Draft a hook with compelling details
➡️ Access their unique voice—and understand why it’s key for powerful admissions writing
➡️ Practice the first stage of my favorite strategy, the Messy Model, and how to harness it for their essay
Afterwards, students will receive a personalized plan with next steps AND a 30 minute 1:1 coaching session with me.
Total cost: $450
THIS 8-STUDENT CLASS IS FILLING UP! CLICK THE BUTTON TO GRAB A SPOT.
Students today are facing a major challenge.
They need their voice to…
…write their stories on school admissions essays.
…speak with authenticity in interviews.
…express their feelings in personal relationships.
…create narrative-driven business pitches.
…and so much more.
Yet middle and high school students often:
✏️ Get stuck before they’ve even started writing.
✏️ Feel trapped in perfectionist mode, stifling their ideas and creativity instead of freeing them.
✏️ Lack strategy for tackling a prompt and expanding ideas with meaning—not fluff.
✏️ Feel impatient with the process of writing, and seek AI shortcuts or other quick turnarounds.
In my 1:1 writing coaching programs, I empower students to access and express their own unique voice; teach them strategies to generate and organize ideas; and strengthen writing skills through context-based learning.
With dear former students on a book tour stop in Austin, Texas in 2022!
Write Well Brooklyn students are gaining confidence and achieving their dreams.
My students’ milestones are a testament to the skill, confidence, and authenticity they acquire through coaching work. Here’s a glimpse at their accolades so far:
Finalist in The New York Times Summer Reading Contest.
Entry into competitive NYC high schools, including Regis, Hackley, Beacon, Avenues of the World, Spence, LREI, Poly Prep, St. Ann’s, Dwight Englewood, Columbia Prep, Fieldston, Trinity, Berkeley Carroll, Riverdale, & more.
Entry & scholarships into competitive colleges, including University of Pennsylvania, Stanford, UC Santa Barbara, Boston College, Sarah Lawrence, Babson College, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Texas at Austin, New York University, Parsons, Savannah College of Art & Design, & many more.
Publication & awards in Stone Soup, a children’s literary magazine.
Completion of 20,000-60,000 word fiction & poetry manuscripts.
Scholastic Art & Writing Contest awards.
Want learn more about how my coaching programs can help your kid or teen?
How I Got Here
When I was a kid, I knew I longed to express myself in a big way, but wasn’t quite sure how. Then, at age 12, I got up the courage to audition for a musical—but when I opened my mouth to sing, no sound came out. The other young actors offered smiles of encouragement. I tried again, but again made no sound whatsoever. (I’m not kidding—not even a squeak.)
Eventually, the kindly accompanist suggested the other kids sing along. While their support helped me eke out the tune, it was the opposite of that “big” self-expression I’d craved.
Decades later, and with an MFA in fiction writing under my belt, I fully committed to expressing my voice: I left a steady high school teaching job in Austin, Texas to write my first novel, supporting myself with private tutoring.
Amid the many missteps of my early foray into working for myself, the 1:1 rapport with young people was a powerful constant.
I began to notice certain patterns in students. Whether writing for English class or a college admissions essay, they often got stuck before they even began, caught up by fear, self doubt, or perfectionism.
The more I worked with them, the more I realized my “tutoring” involved something deeper and more long-lasting than academic support alone.
My students were learning to access and express their voice—exactly what I’d struggled to do at their age (and what I was now focused on through a rigorous daily writing practice).
As my students grew, I did too. I published my novel, The Crocodile Bride, a New York Times Editors’ Choice. I moved to New York, Write Well Austin morphed into Write Well Brooklyn, and tutoring morphed into coaching (a term I find more fitting for my style of guidance).
Rather than á la carte tutoring, I developed programs that focus on voice and strategies to help students access and express theirs.
As a professional writer, self-expression remains a part of my everyday life. I know first-hand how it can empower, strengthen, and even heal not only ourselves, but the world around us.
At Write Well Brooklyn, I love guiding students toward more powerful self-expression, too.
Back when I was a baby high school teacher, 2012.
“On a scale of one to five—with five being you want to be a famous author, and one being you’d rather slither into the New York City sewer system than write—where do you land?”
I love posing this question to students the first time we meet—and it’s a good example of the openness, curiosity, and sometimes ridiculous humor I bring to every coaching session!
So why “coaching” and not “tutoring”?
I left classroom teaching in 2014 to finish writing The Crocodile Bride and support myself by tutoring—but “tutor” always connoted a dry, academic vibe, rather than the nurturing, tuned-in, humor-filled guidance I offer.
My sessions go beyond specific homework assignments or grammar rules alone. They include:
✏️ a supportive, joyful 1:1 dynamic
✏️ teaching in ways that connect with the student’s learning style
✏️ helping students understand and embrace my unique Messy Model
✏️ leaving students feeling empowered, seen, and heard
In such an environment, students can’t help but find joy in learning—and their skills and confidence take off from there.
A writing coach means a positive support system.
That’s me with a longtime coaching student in Austin, Texas, in 2017. (Used with permission.)