Writing Coaching for Lasting Results.
Admissions essays guidance, academic writing support, and creative writing mentorship for middle and high school students—from a professional writer with 20 years of experience in education.
Admissions Essays
I teach students to craft powerful admissions essays in their own authentic voice. We focus on idea generation and developmental revision—not heavy-handed adult editing. Students not only get into top schools, but build lasting skills (and everyone feels less stress).
Academic Writing Support
I help students interpret teacher feedback, level-up their writing skills, and navigate a range of essay forms—using creative, practical tools that prepare them for in-class and at-home writing. Students tend to love our positive, humor-filled rapport.
Creative Writing Mentorship
I help students learn to express their voice, ideas, and creativity with newfound confidence. Together, we explore poetry, fiction, personal narrative, and more through engaging, customized lessons that impart a lifelong love of reading, writing, and learning.
“Ashleigh is the best. Don't hesitate to work with her! My teenage son ‘hates writing’ but looked forward to his sessions with Ashleigh. His writing improved, but perhaps more importantly so did his confidence. Ashleigh's approach is both relatable and creative and she was really great with my teen. She's also an excellent communicator and very reliable.”
— Stacey H.
“Ashleigh turned the college essay process from dread and anxiety into fun and delight, twice! After the first session, both kids…emerged from their rooms with a smile on their face, and from then on, they [looked] forward to their sessions. The final essays were beautiful, and the kids got into their dream schools.”
— Lorenz R.
“Ashleigh’s approach was completely different. She taught my son how to use mini-prompts to brainstorm genuine ideas and write in his own voice. He started to enjoy writing and telling his stories in his own words. Ashleigh supported him with his high school application essays, and he was accepted to 4 of the 5 top NYC-area schools …and waitlisted at the fifth.”
— Janelle L.
“Not enough stars or space available to tout the unique abilities and talents of Ashleigh. While her technical skills are exceptional, it is her wonderful ability to connect with kids on their level, and help them discover a voice they possibly didn’t know they had. Aside from being a complete ninja of an educator she is a wonderful person with a beautiful soul.”
— Eric F.
Admissions Essay Success
College acceptances include into Columbia, UPenn, UVA, WashU in St. Louis, University of Maryland Honors College, UC Santa Barbara, Boston College, Babson College, Macauley Honors College, UT Austin, NYU, and more.
NYC high school acceptances include Regis, Trinity, Hackley, Beacon, Avenues of the World, LREI, Poly Prep, St. Ann’s, Dwight-Englewood, Columbia Prep, Fieldston, Berkeley Carroll, Riverdale, and more.
You can find me or my writing here:
Students today are facing a major challenge.
They need their voice to write admissions essays, speak with authenticity in interviews, express their ideas and feelings in personal relationships, navigate AI as a tool and not a replacement—and more.
Yet when it comes to writing, students often:
Get stuck before they’ve even started, stifling their ideas and creativity instead of freeing them.
Lack strategy for expanding ideas with meaning.
Seek AI shortcuts that fail to connect them to their ideas, voice, and vibrant inner world—much less strengthen their skills.
Do these challenges sound familiar? Let’s connect.
Three College Essay Mistakes—and How to Fix Them.
Curious about 1:1 admissions essay guidance?
What Sets Write Well Brooklyn Apart?
Hi! Well, first, I'm a New York Times-reviewed author with bylines in Newsweek, G&G, New Stories from the South, and elsewhere.
More importantly, young people tend to connect easily with my personality…since all the way back in my college days as an in-demand babysitter. I model authenticity, curiosity, and sheer enthusiasm. (I may or may not throw my hands up in excitement when students hit upon a particularly truthful moment in their writing….)
I also use unique writing strategies that work. Polishing sentence too early on, outlining before students can even explore their ideas, or a one-and-done draft—these strategies are ineffectual at best.*
*...and frankly, a direct result of too little diversity in academia for centuries—but that's for another soapbox.
Instead, I guide students from idea generation to polished final draft. I teach students developmental revision, using tools like subheadings and “puzzle pieces” to create flow and structure.
On academic essays, I provide the attentive explanations and focused practice that help students master analytical essays. Students synthesize teacher feedback and apply it meaningfully to their work; gain mastery over thesis statements and essay structure; and learn ways to take their ideas “from the brain to the page.”
Student successes speak for themselves. My academic students improve their grades and confidence. Admissions essay students get into top colleges and NYC high schools. Creative writing mentees place in New York Times and Scholastic contests, among other accolades.
That said, my favorite part of the job is witnessing teens grow and deepen as human beings. It’s what has kept me in this business for over 15 years!
My students learn strategies and insights that take them far beyond a single essay.
Want the full version of the Messy Model? It’s yours for free.
How I Arrived at Write Well Brooklyn
When I was a kid, I knew I longed to express myself in a big way—and at age 12, I got up the courage (despite being pretty shy) to audition for a musical. But when I opened my mouth to sing, no sound came out. None. Not even a squeak. Eventually, the accompanist suggested the other kids sing along—and while I managed to eke out the tune, it was the absolute opposite of that “big” self-expression I craved.
Decades later, and with an MFA in fiction writing, I fully committed to expressing my voice: I left a steady high school teaching job in Austin, Texas to write my first novel, and I supported myself with private tutoring.
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 teenagers, the more I realized our sessions involved something deeper than standard tutoring. My students not only learned skills, but gained confidence in their voice and began expressing themselves in new ways.
I eventually published that first novel, The Crocodile Bride, and moved to Brooklyn.
As a professional writer, I know first-hand how self-expression can empower, strengthen, and even heal us and others in surprising ways. As an educator, I love guiding students toward impactful self-expression, too.
With a long-time student (once much shorter than me…) in 2019.
With former students at a book tour stop in Austin, Texas in 2022.