Training The First Rule of Coaching is to read without a pen or pencil in your hand. Read the draft the way you read a book or a newspaper article. Sit on your hands if you have to.
The Second Rule of Coaching is to find something that works in a piece of writing. We say: “Look for a strength—it could be an idea, a single word, or the rhythm of a particular sentence.” Tell the writer what you found and why you think it is a strength. Apply this rule based on reality—it’s not a matter of giving empty praise. Instead, finding strengths is the force that drives revision.