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I HAVE BEEN WITNESS for 25 years to Brenda Wilbee's consistent and outstanding professional talents and personal fortitude as a writer and editor. Some people are easy to recommend. She is one. She writes fiction and nonfiction equally well because she has the intelligence and raw talent to switch between different styles and narrative demands. A tenacious and indefatigable researcher, she also teaches, plans and organizes writer/publishing events, and writes in all genres that, to put it mildly, is enviable. She does all this with a personal grace and charm that makes working with her a joy and delight. It was a privilege to acquire and publish her book Taming the Dragons while I was at HarperCollins.
BRENDA GOT ME REFOCUSED ... telling me what I needed to hear, not what I wanted to hear. She pulled me through the rewrites and challenged me to excel. She got chapters reorganized. She corrected verb tenses, sharpened my dialog. She found key words buried in hasty conclusion. At times she hurt my feelings, bruised my ego. I'd whimper, "She's the worst Comp 101 professor!" She wasn't. She was an honest, caring critique for someone who'd asked to learn something bigger and better. Brenda is tops.
MY ASSOCIATION with Ms. Wilbee is of several years' duration. She is reliably hard working ..., a talented writer, a lively evocative teacher, constantly devising new strategies and developing new materials to enhance, inform, and enlighten her students. A contributive colleague, her mind is unfettered and her intellectual integrity downright breathtaking.
I HAVE BEEN WITNESS for 25 years to Brenda Wilbee's consistent and outstanding professional talents and personal fortitude as a writer and editor. Some people are easy to recommend. She is one. She writes fiction and nonfiction equally well because she has the intelligence and raw talent to switch between different styles and narrative demands. A tenacious and indefatigable researcher, she also teaches, plans and organizes writer/publishing events, and writes in all genres that, to put it mildly, is enviable. She does all this with a personal grace and charm that makes working with her a joy and delight. It was a privilege to acquire and publish her book Taming the Dragons while I was at HarperCollins.—Roy Carlisle, Acquisitions Editor, Independent Institute
BRENDA GOT ME REFOCUSED ... telling me what I needed to hear, not what I wanted to hear. She pulled me through the rewrites and challenged me to excel. She got chapters reorganized. She corrected verb tenses, sharpened my dialog. She found key words buried in hasty conclusion. At times she hurt my feelings, bruised my ego. I'd whimper, "She's the worst Comp 101 professor!" She wasn't. She was an honest, caring critique for someone who'd asked to learn something bigger and better. Brenda is tops.—Deanna Nowadnick, Signs In Life: Finding Direction In Our Travels With God, Boquets of Wisdom
THANK YOU! Your input was magical! I just heard from Meteor Publishing that the editor likes Double Predicament! We have a winner!
—Darlene DiDonato, Double Predicament
MY ASSOCIATION with Ms. Wilbee is of several years' duration. She is reliably hard working ..., a talented writer, a lively evocative teacher, constantly devising new strategies and developing new materials to enhance, inform, and enlighten her students. A contributive colleague, her mind is unfettered and her intellectual integrity downright breathtaking.—Laura Kalpakian
Former Writer In Residence at Western Washington University
Author of Collette, Steps and Exes, Crescendo, The Dark Continent, and more.
Former Writer In Residence at Western Washington University
Author of Collette, Steps and Exes, Crescendo, The Dark Continent, and more.
WITHOUT EFFORT, Brenda emanates warmth and trust—essential for tapping into unexpected creativity. Her flair for being immediate and responsive creates a climate that entices writers to draw upon themselves to inform their work. Moreover, she's an energetic educator on the "how-tos" and is dogged in her expectation for excellence.
—Barb McHugh, Adjunct Faculty, Whatcom Community College
BRENDA WAS ABLE TO GRASP THE COMPLEX-ITIES and intention of my novel. She far surpassed my expectations! Her editing was exhaustive, her insight keen, she wasted no time. She's a remarkable editor and teacher, a stickler for detail yet also creative—particularly when it comes to problem solving. In short, she's exceptionally intelligent, her skills muliple, her energy limitless, her interest and concern contagious.
BRENDA WAS ABLE TO GRASP THE COMPLEX-ITIES and intention of my novel. She far surpassed my expectations! Her editing was exhaustive, her insight keen, she wasted no time. She's a remarkable editor and teacher, a stickler for detail yet also creative—particularly when it comes to problem solving. In short, she's exceptionally intelligent, her skills muliple, her energy limitless, her interest and concern contagious.—Scott W. Wyatt, Beyond the Sand Creek Bridge,
Thompson Road, and Dimension M
Thompson Road, and Dimension M
MS. WILBEE IS A DYNAMIC and insightful teacher who not only teaches but helps each person in class effectively discover and develop his or her own voice.
—Ericka D. Johnson, student, Whatcom Community College
BRENDA IS NOT ONLY A TALENTED WRITER, I've also had the pleasure of working with her as an editor and coach on my novel and nonfiction writing. I find her reliably hard working, an instructor regarded with high respect.
ONE OF THE BEST WORSHOPS, EVER. Brenda Wilbee knows her stuff. Excellent outline. Insightful. Prepared. Wonderful depth. Great story telling. Impressive. Knowledgable and understanding. Helpful. Informative. Needed a longer session. Great group interaction. Clear, practical suggestion. Kept class on track. Lots of helpful information.
CURIOSITY AND PASSION are Brenda's gifts to the world. As an editor of a national magazine, she never disappoints. In addition, she invests her life and energy in training others in the craft, and her past involvement included bringing in for the first time Hollywood screenwriters and producers to the Pacific NW Writers Association. Her tenacity and work ethic are not to be matched.
A SKILLED STORYTELLER inspires readers to put on their travelin' shoes into world's unknown. Brenda has this in spades.
I GLADLY RECOMMEND BRENDA to anyone interested in honest opinions and serious, constructive criticism.
—Student, Whatcom Communtiy College
BRENDA IS NOT ONLY A TALENTED WRITER, I've also had the pleasure of working with her as an editor and coach on my novel and nonfiction writing. I find her reliably hard working, an instructor regarded with high respect.BRENDA SHARED AN EDITED TRANSCRIPT OF HER OWN WORK and my fear of being edited melted away. I love how she makes herself vulnerable and comes alongside us, teaching us into doing our best.
—Student, Whatcom Community College
BRENDA AND I JOINED THE FACULTY at Whatcom Community College in 1999, where we shared an office. I watched her work tirelessly with students and by the end of each quarter her success was evidence by the good rapport she shared with them and the creative portfolios they proudly turned in.
BRENDA AND I JOINED THE FACULTY at Whatcom Community College in 1999, where we shared an office. I watched her work tirelessly with students and by the end of each quarter her success was evidence by the good rapport she shared with them and the creative portfolios they proudly turned in.—Donna Rushing, Adjunct Faculty, Whatcom Community College...
BRENDA HAS A HIGH REGARD for tradition and historical fact, a sense of a writer's own predicament, an insistent regard for structure, style, and technique, as well as content ideas. She's also roughly insistent of the need for both scholarly and creative discipline.
—Don MacLeod, Professor
Fairhaven College of Western Washington University
Fairhaven College of Western Washington University
EXCELLENCE WAS DEMANDED IN OUR WRITING and THINKING as well. Brenda challenged us to think critically and required supportive evidence in all that we presented. She did this with compassion.
—Jennifer Halmick, Student, Western Washington University
ONE OF THE BEST WORSHOPS, EVER. Brenda Wilbee knows her stuff. Excellent outline. Insightful. Prepared. Wonderful depth. Great story telling. Impressive. Knowledgable and understanding. Helpful. Informative. Needed a longer session. Great group interaction. Clear, practical suggestion. Kept class on track. Lots of helpful information.—Participants, Write on the Sound Writers Conference...
BRENDA IS A STICKLER on grammar, punctuation, structure, transitions, citation, etc. She pushed me to think in new and challenging ways. She leaves Whatcom recommended by the voices that matter most—the students'.
—Monica Uruchurtu, Student, Whatcom Community College
CURIOSITY AND PASSION are Brenda's gifts to the world. As an editor of a national magazine, she never disappoints. In addition, she invests her life and energy in training others in the craft, and her past involvement included bringing in for the first time Hollywood screenwriters and producers to the Pacific NW Writers Association. Her tenacity and work ethic are not to be matched.—Jerry D. Jones, Editor and Video Producer.
A SKILLED STORYTELLER inspires readers to put on their travelin' shoes into world's unknown. Brenda has this in spades.—Katherine Grace Bond, YA author and speaker
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YOUR GENTLE PUSH BACK, asking me to rethink why I'm writing and your hours of helpful edits made me a better writer—and a better person. Thanks, Teach!
—Danny Waters, Student, Western Washington University
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