About Write to Do
Structured Support for People Who Have Stuff to Write
Write to Do provides writing instruction and coaching for academic and professional purposes. Our clients include students at all levels, the occasional creative writer, businesspeople, professionals, individuals, and organizations. We consult with academic and business institutions to provide off-the-shelf or custom programming to help their students and employees write clearly and concisely.
Why Write to Do? We demystify writing. We liberate you from vague advice and judgments about writing. We don't give you more “rules.” You learn to apply tools that help you determine what will or will not work for your reader. Simply put, your writing will become clearer and more effective to help you meet your goals:
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earning a degree,
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excelling at your job,
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winning more business,
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advancing your career,
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creating a new program or organization,
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reaching a wider audience or
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achieving other personal goals.
What Our Clients Say
Martin Fuller
Student, Effective Writing I & II
"I thoroughly enjoyed Effective Writing I. I must confess, when I first read in the syllabus, 'The aim of the course is to demystify what it means to write...,' I was very skeptical. I have heard talk of demystifying things so much in my academic career and I wrongly guessed that such a statement was merely empty academic lingo. I was wrong! You actually demystified writing for me!
p.s. One of my colleagues has already noticed a positive change in my writing.
Cardiologist, researcher, Student, Effective Writing I & II
Maria Toumpourleka
“…I just got my very first grant funded! I had applied several times in the past, and always got rejected. But this was the first grant I submitted after completing EWI and EWII. I strongly believe it is no coincidence.”
Mark Heaney
Executive, Poet
Graduate,
Master of Liberal arts Program
"...I hope you remember how grateful I was for the time, care, and candor you shared with me. I think of your gift often. …
… the work you do—helping students become stronger, more confident writers—is enormously valuable and ought to be accessible to every student."
Our Story
I started Write to Do after teaching writing and coaching for over 25 years. The feedback on my work has always been amazing! It was time to bring my approach to more people because typical writing instruction is not good enough.
I’ve seen too many people assume that their writing is “bad” and they don't know how to "fix it." This has real consequences in academic, professional and business contexts. I want to undo all of that.
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Describing writing as “good” or “bad” is a waste of time. Learn how to meet the needs of readers instead.
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The key to effective writing is learning principles that help you “see” your writing so that you can revise it.
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Writing matters. Most endeavors, whether academic, professional or business, require writing to succeed.
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AI can be helpful, but it doesn't write "better" if it doesn't express your ideas precisely.
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Writing is a means and an end. It’s a means of figuring out your ideas in order to let others know what you’re thinking and what you want to do.
Millie Rey, Founder
Meet Your Instructor
Lead Writing instructor, Coach & Consultant
I am the founder of Write to Do. I started it for two main reasons:
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To help people by applying my superpower
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To help people by changing how writing is taught
My superpower consists of being able to read a text, determine what is unclear, and then provide reliable feedback and guidance on how to revise it to meet the needs of the reader. Unlike other superpowers, mine didn’t come from being submerged in a vat of toxic waste, getting bitten by an arachnid, or coming from another planet. Its source was way scarier - Mrs. Peterson!
My story begins when I was a little girl, frightened by writing. It was panic fueled by extreme laziness. Writing the night before, feeling terrified, and yet somehow pulling it off. That’s how I made it through middle school with decent grades and disregarded feedback. That worked until high school when Mrs. Peterson demanded more.
Mrs. Peterson was my freshman World Civ teacher. She assigned sophisticated academic tasks like writing a book review. I had no idea how to write a book review. “Don’t tell us the plot; write about how the argument was developed and whether it succeeded.” I think she said something like that. I’m not sure how, but I wrote it -- in a low-grade panic. I still expected the usual outcome: a good grade and feedback I wouldn’t look at. However, when she returned my paper, her words sent shock waves through my body:
WHAT? That wasn't supposed to happen. I thought I would die, but it may have been the exposure therapy I needed. I was confronted by my worst fear – that my writing was "bad." According to Mrs. Peterson, my writing WAS REALLY bad. It was embarrassing. I felt stupid and unworthy.
That experience set me on a course of exactitude and precision. I was determined to write clearly even if the fear didn’t go away entirely.
I worked hard at it. My writing started to make more sense. In college, a professor gave me an award for the best paper in the class. As a PhD student, I received a lot of praise for my writing, and I even published a book review (!) in an academic journal – without edits. I became a writing instructor in the Writing Program at The University of Chicago. There, I learned the principles of clear and effective writing for academic and professional purposes. Those principles undergird my focus on the whole person. In other words, I am able to help students and clients with the technical aspects of writing while I also attend to their concerns, fears, and uncertainties about writing to push past obstacles. I became an award-winning instructor of writing.
My calling is to help everyone feel proficient, confident, and successful in writing. My approach is supportive, practical, and rigorous. I demand a lot, but I aim to spare everyone the "Mrs. Peterson reckoning."
“Your paper was so bad. I couldn’t grade it.”
Who We Work With
Students
Empowering students to demystify academic writing and excel in their programs.
Academic Institutions
Consulting with organizations to provide custom programming for groups.
Businesspeople & Professionals
Helping business leaders and employees communicate with clarity and precision.
Other Individuals
Supporting individuals in completing other creative projects.
1:1 Coaching
Guidance tailored to your projects. We work with you individually to develop your voice, clarify your message, and overcome writing challenges in real-time. We keep you moving.
How We Help
Courses & Workshops
Structured learning environments designed for groups. Our workshops focus on concerns and pain points specific to your organization to develop clearer, more impactful communication.
Cold Reads,
Warm Feedback
Honest, constructive, and gentle critique of your work. We provide a fresh set of eyes to help you see what's clear, what isn't, and what we would like to hear more about. You're still in charge. imposing