Welcome to Writing and Research Skills, the English writing consultancy based in Meilen, in Kanton Zürich, Switzerland.
My name is Dr Kate Paine (Kate!), and I love writing. I also love taking existing text and turning it into something beautiful that does what you want it to do and says exactly what you want it to say.
There are a few ways we can work together:
Writing and Research Skills
I’ll coach you in how to plan, research, write, review, and edit your writing. This could range from assistance with grammar and syntax through to the synthesis of ideas or how to plan and structure your writing.
After an initial consultation, I will create a structured and flexible programme tailored to suit your writing needs. I’ll help you fill any gaps, bolster your skills, find your voice, and become a skilled and confident writer.
Academic: academic research papers and essays; dissertations up to and including postgraduate, including masters and doctoral; journal articles and papers; further writing based on your existing research and dissertation text
Non-academic: long and short prose, including creative nonfiction and fiction; business articles and papers; social media
Editing
I edit existing text, providing you with detailed annotations and recommendations. This process can focus on:
Copyediting: the focus here is on the text, including the obvious such as grammar, spelling, and punctuation, but also your choice of words, sentence and paragraph structure, the clarity of your text, the overall fluency and flow of your writing, and ensuring your voice is consistent throughout.
Developmental editing: the focus here is on the big picture, and is most suitable for fiction and creative nonfiction. I will provide an analysis and strengthening of the overall structure of your work, including plot, character choice and development, dialogue, genre, and pacing.
Content creation and development
Having the right copy/text is essential if you want your words to say exactly what you would like them to say. You might have the ideas but not the time, inclination, or skills to write the text yourself.
You send me whatever you have, we talk about it in detail, and then I craft text that is compelling and fluent, and does what you want it to do.
Collaboration
We work together.
This is a flexible combination of any or all of the above. You might have text you have already written and are looking for feedback, but also have ideas for further text and want to be able to bounce around ideas. You might be unsure how to write something but don’t want to hand it all over to someone else.
It could be a small project or something much bigger, and it might be that even just a few hours will be enough to give you the confidence to continue by yourself. Or you like the idea of touching base with me every now and then to help you review and plan and keep you on the right track.
Interested? To talk about how I can help you and to arrange a free consultation, please visit the contact page.
