WRITING DOULA
“Language is a skin: I rub my language against the other. It is as if I had words instead of fingers, or fingers at the tip of my words. My language trembles with desire…”
– Roland Barthes, A Lover’s Discourse
your writing has a soul, a divine architecture.
Aa a writing doula, I’ll act as a kind of therapist or mid-wife to your creative writing practice, your artistic agency. Writing becomes liberation when we’re no longer confined by the needs and wants of others. When we finally tune in to our own desires, the authentic scribe emerges and writing becomes a beloved practice we return to again and again.
Writing is wily, strange, mysterious. I often think of it as an instrument, a map, a sonar device, an extension of your limb, a dance with words—it’s just one of many tools to communicate your vision to the world. As your writing doula, I promise to hold your words with care and offer feedback that sustains your creative impulses first and foremost. Together we will trust and follow your vision.
“My unique writing voice and essence has only become more clear to me by working with them.”
“as a novice writer, their specific tasks, prompts, and feedback have provided me with the guidance I need, acting as a true compass.”
- soomi kim
actor, deviser, theater maker, and movement artist
is this for me?
YES. Whether you’re at the very beginning or in the thick of your writing journey, everyone deserves support. This is especially great for:
- Early-career writers looking for mentorship with their practice
- Anyone who want to venture into writing the first script
- Playwrights with a wild seed of an idea for the screen OR screenwriters with a wild seed of an idea for the stage
- Mid-career artist deep inside a process, shedding a skin, sitting with new or old drafts. You’re seeking depth, inspiration, perspective, and a little nudge.
On a case-by-case basis, I’m also available to come sit in on your development process, your rehearsals, your previews, watch your first cut and offer my insight and feedback. If you have any questions about whether your writing and/or project is a match, just reach out and we can chat: info@harunalee.com
“working with them was transformative for my writing. their practical industry insights—on pitching, structuring season arcs, and shaping character journeys—prepared me for the real world in ways theoretical coursework never could.”
haruna lee
is a theater maker, playwright, and screenwriter based in New York, with over 14 years of experience teaching playwriting, screenwriting, directing and devised modalities to artists nationally.
Lee teaches at Yale in the MFA Playwriting Program and was the co-director of the Brooklyn College MFA Playwriting Program from 2021-2023. They’ve also taught at Stanford, NYU, and Hunter. They’ve received an Obie Award for Playwriting, a Steinberg Award, the Susan Smith Blackburn Special Commendation, and have served as the co-chair of the American Theater Wing’s Obie panel for the last 4 years. In TV and Film, they’ve written for The Flight Attendant and Pachinko, and have developed a handful of series with companies like WBTV, Alloy, SKGlobal, Jackal, Chatham Grove, JuVee and Archer Gray.
They are also a trained anti-racist facilitator and have served as a consultant for many artists and theater companies looking to strengthen and expand their anti-racist framework. They will always approach writing with this lens.
what does a session look like?
Each session will be hand-tailored to you and your writing.
What feels exciting and generative? What feels stuck and challenging? Things we might discuss include intentions and goals, writing practice, the narrative, characters, landscape and the world, structure and form, triangulating your work with other artists, community, collaboration, relationships, audience engagement, how to build a sustainable practice forward, and much more. I may offer questions, tasks, prompts, and writing assignments to aid you in your writing. We’ll make sure there’s time to answer your questions, and we’ll come up with a game plan for how you’ll keep working on your project.
All first sessions are $200. From there, you can schedule subsequent sessions with me for $150.
