Len Leatherwood, M.S.
Writing Coach
Writing Rules!
Private youth and adult writing Teacher
​
I specialize in short stories, poetry, personal essays, memoir, and college essays. With my guidance, many of my students have won writing contests and/or published their pieces in literary journals, anthologies, magazines, or e-zines.
​
Many of my high school and college students
have been admitted to their first choice undergraduate and graduate schools due in
large part to their superlative personal statements and college essays.
​
Sessions are conducted either in person in
Los Angeles or on the phone/Internet.
​
For Rates & Availability,
use the Contact Form above.
​
​
Local & International Writing Workshops
​
Click here for info on past and future
workshops. All levels of writing welcome!
​
To be the first to learn about our next adventure, join my mailing list!
​
online group
writing classes
​
Year-round, I teach classes through Story Circle Network, an organization dedicated to helping women share the stories of their lives and to raising public awareness of the importance of women's personal histories.
​
To see our current class offerings and learn more about the organization, click here!
Writing Workshop
Amalfi Coast, Italy
"There is no one I trust more with my essays, Len turns average writing into extraordinary works of art. The 1,500 mile gap between us
had no effect on how efficiently we were able to prepare my college application essays. I couldn't be more pleased with them and I'm excited to see what doors they have opened for me. She is truly fantastic."
​
Julianne N. from TX
Testimonials from School-Age Students and Their Parents
Student Comments
Parent Comments
“If you work with Len you learn how to write properly especially at the college level. Every paper that I have worked on with Len for school guaranteed me an A. She's friendly, non-judgmental and makes writing fun!”
— Elijah, Clairemont McKenna College.
“Working with Len on any writing assignment has been a pleasure. Len has the ability to make the writing process inviting. Her clear precise instruction in regards to sentence structure, idea formation and grammar have helped me to produce wonderful pieces of writing.”
— Linda recently earned her Master's candidate at Antioch Graduate School of Clinical Psychology, LA
“Len taught me the skills and creative writing strategies that I needed to produce writing that reflected everything I care about. By the end of my sessions with her, I learned a variety of skills, and had constructed an essay that would stand out from thousands of others and encourage colleges to read a second time. Thanks to her help, I will be attending my first choice university in Fall, 2015".
-- Jack L. recently graduated from DePaul University in Chicago.
"Len has helped me in ways that no other teacher could. She set the foundation for strong writing and helped me develop into a better writer. She is patient, smart, efficient, and fun! I learned something new every minute I was with her. She has pushed me to limits that I never thought I could reach."
--Eli A. UCLA
“Len Leatherwood is an extraordinary writing mentor and teacher. My son's work took exponential leaps in originality, structure and he always looked forward to time with Len.”
— Stacy T.'s son graduated from Brown University is currently applying to medical school.
“My son used Len's services for writing and reading and she not only is an awesome tutor, who I highly recommend, but she is also a fabulous friend to us both. She understood exactly what my son needed and modified her lessons in order to keep his interest and focus. She always made learning fun for him. We LOVE Len and are huge fans!”
— Azy F.'s son attends school in Beverly Hills.
“Len leatherwood has taught my kids all kinds of tutoring. But the reason my family and I love her is her wisdom and her talent to be patient, listen, and give advice to the kids. She treats all her student with care and love.”
— Farah B.'s three sons attended Hawthorne Elementary and Beverly Hills High School. One graduated with honors from Tisch School of the Arts in Dramatic Writing at New York University; a second just graduated from UC, Santa Barbara, and a third is a student at UCLA.
Len is one of the best writing teachers that I know, and anyone who has had classes with her at any age will tell you of how much they have enjoyed their learning experience with her. I first met her 12 years ago when my children needed help with writing and grammar. All my four kids have had a fabulous experience with her; they learned a lot and enjoyed every second of their classes. She made it fun for them to learn.
Finally, it was my turn and I began taking classes, as well. Len has such a warm, nice personality, I found myself enjoying every minute that I spent with her. We laughed and cried during our writing sessions, and I learned a lot about myself. She made me feel good about whatever I was writing about, and her encouragement helped me to become more and more interested in writing. Before I started my classes with Len, I didn’t know that much about writing, but now I have several full journals and it is much easier for me to write since it has become a form of meditation.
Len is an amazing woman with a beautiful attitude. She is also a great listener and is very caring. It is my privilege to know Len and I would highly recommend her to anyone, young or old.
--Elena's daughter Natasha graduated from USC and is currently finishing law school. Her son Nathan will begin medical school at Georgetown in the fall, her middle son Brian is applying to dental school and her youngest son Eli is at UCLA.
