"My experience taking the MFA in a Bottle series? Jubilant, rapturous, dazzling. Working with Clemintine is a kind of alchemy.

She is able to access your truth and translate it to the page. Her unique blend of technical knowledge and skill combined with her refreshing, metaphysical approach to evoking creativity is one of the most transformative professional (and personal) processes I've been through.

Clementine’s authenticity and thoughtful nature meets you exactly where you are and leads you to where you are destined to be."

Nicole Williams, Best Selling Author, President of Ella Works, Sag Harbor

“Clemintine taught useful, technical aspects of the craft that are so essential, it’s hard for me to understand why I only discovered them in her class!

I’d been writing longform fiction for ten years at that time, but until Clemintine’s class, I didn’t know how to use white space, how to consider scene and summary to construct and pace fiction, or how to grammatically move in and out of flashbacks. 

Along with structural guidance, Clemintine’s teaching included brilliant open-ended exercises.

I remember coming into class to discover a table covered with bizarre pictures: a rusty door, a man standing in front of a 1970 Dodge Challenger, a window of warped glass shrouded in ivy.

We were instructed to intuitively pick a picture and dream into it, and then write, shaping from the image a story or a scene.

Another day, Clemintine taught us an exercise that included playful movement and breathwork followed by a fabulous visualization involving a hat with a green light rotating above our heads.

This mental shift proved to be as useful as learning about white space!

She taught us to value the weird and surprising in our work and in life and how the desire and mystery of character drives fiction.

Writing a novel is terrifying. Clemintine helped me to maintain confidence in myself through both my first and seond novel.”

Amanda R. Howland, author of Beasts and Creature and Mona Cost Returns to the Black House.‍ Cleveland, Ohio.

"I found working with Clemintine to be astonishing, even revelatory!

I always thought I was going to be a doctor and when that didn’t work out, I was adrift. Clemintine taught me that painful life experiences and conflict are “writer’s gold.”

Now I feel like not one moment of life is wasted. I find myself looking at everything through the lens of a writer. She sees the light in other people and is one of the wisest people I know. "

Jennifer Barthe, Mental Health Activist, New Orleans

I am so grateful for this experience. This burst of creativity and productivity wouldn't have been possible without Clemintine's invaluable coaching and guidance.

I got my bachelors in fiction writing fifteen years ago. Now in my late thirties, I had a great job, a partner and a kid, but hadn't produced a single complete piece of fiction since I was 22. Clemintine’s Novel Cohort released something in me I didn’t imagine was possible. In a year and a half I finished an entire draft of a novel and six short stories!

~Sarah Chin, Chief Strategy Officer at Metro Nashville Public Schools

“Clemintine has a unique ability to make complex ideas simple. And she can see what each writer needs, meeting them where they are to help them achieve their vision.”

I've written short stories on and off, but I had never attempted a novel until recently. I had a loose idea, but didn't really know where to begin. Within six months, Clemintine took me from concept to first draft. She is the most gifted teacher I've ever worked with. She consistently got me unstuck and pushed my thinking in ways that led to something I could never have written without her. She gave me incredible examples, exercises, and coaching that were relevant to my style and interests - all while offering a ton of encouragement.

~Elizabeth Ramsey, Senior Director Program Strategy at Instruction Partners, Nashville

“Clemintine took me into the labyrinth of my first draft, pushed down a few walls, opened some doors and windows and showed me exactly where to take myself next.

Clemintine is a genius and getting her views has been enormously helpful to me. She's an intuitive and sympathetic reader and I couldn't recommend her more highly.”

Barbara Flowers, Queensland, Australia

“I owe Clemintine a huge debt in my growth as a writer.

She combines her gifts of insight and intuition with an amazing expertise in the technical mastery of craft.

In just the right measure, she offers keen analysis, highly informed commentary, and a generous portion of encouragement and kindness, acting on the genuine desire to guide students into a realm where they can discover and foster their own voices.

A masterly teacher, she is fun, smart, and powerfully committed to her students' work, without bias toward a particular aesthetic.

Though we are students of very different approaches, interests, and levels of experience, she deftly leads us beyond our previous limits, exposing us to writers and concepts we had not considered before, and helps us excel in ways that continue to surprise us.”

Priscilla Turner, Seattle

“Clemintine didn’t encourage me to jump—she pushed me from the ledge.

She nourished me with Gaitskill, Shepard, and Carver…taught me the difference between dribble and draft, and pressed my spirit until writing became routine like breathing.”

Elisha Wagman, Brooklyn