• Universities

  • Academics, Students, and Researchers

  • Schools and Multi-academy Trusts

  • Businesses

  • Local Authorities and Government Agencies

  • The Third Sector

  • Creative Writers and Creative Writing Groups

  • Individual Writers

My mission is to help every person and organisation I work with write their way to greater success.

Whatever your line of work you probably write your way through the day and what you write will matter. But how often do you get any specific training in this kind of writing? Rarely, if ever. That crucial assignment just lands on your desk and there you are, confronting the blank sheet of paper or the blinking cursor with the deadline looming.

That is why I founded Writing Works Consulting, to help you, your staff, your researchers, and your students take charge of what you write and get more of the results you want. A former academic and expert teacher, mentor, and workshop leader, I have 30 years of experience researching choice in language and bring a deep knowledge of the way written English works to my practice as a consultant. I offer a range of bespoke services, including

  • Workshops

  • Tailored courses

  • Writing facilitation sessions and events

  • Document analysis and critique services

  • One-to-one support

Because my services are tailored to your needs, costs vary. The first step is contacting me to discuss what you need.

Here at Writing Works, I work with UK-based

My approach to helping people improve their writing is innovative, informed by my research, and decision-based. Authors can choose different ways to write the same thing, and different ways to structure the same piece of work. Do you know on what basis you are making these choices? Are you making the best choices you can make? When you make changes to what you write, is it with the full knowledge of these choices?

I work with writers in diverse professions and contexts to help them understand the full range of linguistic and structural choices at their disposal, and to empower them to make decisions about these choices purposefully and with intention.

My approach to writing is not only different from what you might find elsewhere – it also gets results. After working with me,

  • University academics experienced greater success getting their work published

  • Students saw improvements in their marks

  • Schools noticed measurable rises in pupils’ achievement

  • Local authority staff learned valuable drafting and thinking techniques for writing with greater impact

  • Creative writers gained new insights into their editing and re-drafting practices

But of course, you won’t want to take my word for it – here are a few recommendations.

“I have accessed Susan’s expertise as a writing consultant for the last six years.

In particular, Susan helps me in making sense of the argument structure in the papers I write for publication. This has helped me develop my writing style immeasurably.

I highly recommend Susan as a writing consultant!”

Social Work Researcher

“Susan’s flexible and creative input has supported me significantly in my research. She has empowered me to find a writing approach that deepened my thinking and appreciation of the written word.

The strategies she demonstrated, and supported my development of, have enhanced the overall quality of my written work with all of the developments that this can bring.”

Simon Ripley, Lecturer and Professional Doctorate Researcher

Lift Your Writing. Lift Your Work. Lift Your Life. Contact me today to get your pen rolling.

I am the founder of Writing Works, a writing and language consultancy dedicated to lifting all the clients I work with to their highest level of achievement and professional fulfilment through more effective writing and thinking.   

A published author as well as a blogger, I have a PhD in English and Applied Linguistics from the University of Cambridge and 30 years of experience in researching and teaching pragmatic stylistics. Pragmatics is the study of how people use language, and stylistics is the study of choice in language. An expert in both these fields, I specialise in what really matters when we write: the choices we make and the effects of those choices.

For many years as an academic and an Associate Professor in Pragmatic Stylistics at the University of Sunderland in the UK (click here for a list of my publications), I had the opportunity to work not only with colleagues and students, but also with regional businesspeople, local authority staff, schools, and creative writing groups. As I taught, mentored, and led workshops, I realised the work of greatest and lasting value – and the work of most pressing need across a range of subjects and occupations – was all about writing, drafting, and thinking.

  • How do you take a pile of random notes and turn it into a persuasive argument?

  • How do you sort and sift through all your material to know what you should say first, and then next, and so on, until the conclusion?

  • How do you evaluate the information you’ve collected to communicate to others why it matters?

  • How do you move through successive drafts of your own work with deliberate purpose so that your final piece is effective and worthwhile?

Successfully working through challenges like these in my own writing inspired me to help others and that is why I started Writing Works as an independent writing and language consultant, to reach as many people in as many walks of life as I could to share what I know about writing with clarity and conviction.

About Susan

Confident, effective writing comes from knowing what you want to say and working out how best to say it.

Guiding people to do this is the core of my practice. Still wondering if I am right for you? Get in touch.