"Nelsie gets to the point and does it in a clear
and very supportive manner!
She sees the big picture,
and the little snapshots that get you there."
-- Constance Shulman, Memoirist
"If it weren’t for Nelsie, my memoir may well have been
put in a drawer to collect dust. Before I started working with Nelsie,
progress on my memoir had slowed to a crawl.
When we discussed what I’d written so far, her insightful comments and unmistakable enthusiasm immediately rekindled my own excitement for the story.
[She] continually encourages me to dig deeper - to be funnier, more honest and visceral - while never letting me lose sight of the story’s main theme.
She’s helped me take my writing, and how I approach it, to a whole new level;
I’m producing more pages - of much higher quality - every week.
Fortunately for me, I now have a great partner in moving it forward."
- - Jen Smith, Memoirist
"Nelsie Spencer is a gem!
Her instruction was specific and useful,
and her feedback encouraging and enthusiastic.
My confidence in my own voice is already stronger because of her.
I came away at the end of each session feeling better about my writing than I did at the beginning.
[Nelsie's}support and enthusiasm were largely responsible for that.
Thanks so much for everything."
-- Helen Van Dongen, Humor Writer
"Nelsie has a rare gift for unveiling the story that you are burning to tell and the one others will want to read. She listens for clues and connects the dots until the strongest themes emerge. What I've been able to accomplish with Nelsie in a short time is not only invaluable to me as a new writer,
it's the equivalent of 10 years of therapy.
Except, in the end, I'll have written a memoir. I'm afraid to sing all my praises because I don't want to share her..."
-- Petra, Retired Pop Star, Monologist, and Memoirist
"Nelsie not only provides useful and insightful feedback on my writing, but motivation and structure when I’m struggling to produce content. She understands my voice better than I do sometimes and has always found a way to get me back on track when the process feels too overwhelming. I hadn’t written anything creative since high school and never thought of myself as a writer, but Nelsie’s encouragement and enthusiasm as a teacher, and then mentor, has given me the confidence to continue writing and pursuing something that gives me a great sense of pride."
-- Meagan Gorham, Humor Author
"Nelsie is such an inspiration.
She has this magical ability to stir up the writer inside us all, and breathe life back into our stories. After just one session, I was so inspired, I immediately wanted to jump back into writing a story that had long since felt inspirationally dead to me. Now I am on the verge of making the script into a short film.
Thank you Nelsie."
-- Angela Morse, Screenwriter and Filmmaker
“Nelsie's Round Table... got my creative juices flowing.
Hearing the other writers share their work is quite moving and inspirational. I can feel the support and it has inspired me to commit to really doing it. Nelsie's insights and guidance help me get clear about my next steps so moving forward is starting to feel easy rather than overwhelming.
...a whole new chapter (pun intended) is opening up for me
thanks to Nelsie and her Round Table.”
-- Carsten Spencer, Playwright
"There are lots of [writers] groups.
What makes them different is the participants and the leader,
and Nelsie’s RT shines on both scores.
The group varies by age (24 and way up), sex, gender, location ….
But everyone is writing and everyone is nice.
Nelsie’s comments reflect the fact that she’s been doing this a while (she’s not the 24 year old) and is good at it.
-- Peter Flom, Author
“…it is terrific to have the chance to share my writing in a safe space. The roundtable is always something that I look forward to
and it motivates me to keep writing.
I always come away with tons of productive edits and fresh ideas. Highly recommended for anyone who wants a community,
and to take their writing to the next level."
-- Sarah Backstrand, Humor Writer
"Nelsie's Round Table is... a place for inspiration, community and motivation... three things that are very hard to access by yourself sometimes.
It's often difficult to put aside the time, or to value my story or the way I tell it. Yet, every time I am in on our Round Table I hear something
in someone else's piece that helps me stay motivated,
or helps know how to approach a particular piece. It... a very safe and encouraging environment that keeps me going.
More that - after every session I am eager to get back to my story and tell it...
It helps me visualize and 'see' an audience for my piece.....cuz they are [there]every week, eager to hear what I've got to say."
-- Orlagh Cassidy, Actor and Memoirist
"Nelsie Spencer has a knack for zeroing in on the heart of a piece—
whatever the genre—and helping you figure out how to make it work.
Her notes are always spot-on; she can do everything from brainstorming, "story sessions" to line edits. (What I like to call the forest and the trees.)
More important than any of her technical skills is her energy.
Nelsie brings such enthusiasm to her work; such a genuine love of writing and writers, that I don't think it's possible to work with her without coming away feeling more confident about yourself as a writer. She's been there. She knows all the self-sabotaging tricks, all those nasty things the 'devil on your shoulder' tells you—and she teaches you how to send them packing. I've written more since I started working with Nelsie than I had in the previous five years!"
-- Jodi Lustig, Playwright, TV Writer, and Blogger
“I’m a musician, damn it, not a writer!
But Nelsie showed me that maybe I can write.
She’s an incredibly intuitive, interested, and most importantly, inspiring teacher.”
-- Scott Healy, Musician (Basic Cable Band, Conan), Grammy Nominee, and Screenwriter
"Nelsie Spencer, what an amazing lady she is...
I came to her to have her help me write my life story,
Dig My Hole, Lift My Face. She has a gift, straight from God, to put your story on paper and make you feel very special while she’s doing it.
She sees the scene from two or three words that I tell her.
I don’t know how she does it!
She has given me so much more than I expected.
It’s almost like she’s psychic!"
-- Bettye Ann Freeman, Fine Artist and Writer
