SERVICES
no creativity without empathy.
no innovation without inclusivity.
no communication without curiosity.
CONTEXTUAL is based in Berlin and New York City. All services available on site or digitally.
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Comprehensive research services tailored to your individual or team needs. Drawing on years of experience in archival and secondary research, I’ve worked with authors, journalists, CEOs, and busy professionals to make sure they get the information and insights they need. Whether you want help navigating databases, finding reliable sources, or tracking down pockets of obscure knowledge, I’m here to streamline your research process and deliver thorough but digestible results.
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Words have power. Make sure yours reflect the diverse world we live in. Diversity-conscious copy fosters inclusivity, avoids harmful stereotypes, and connects with broader audiences.
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Ensure your written content resonates with diverse audiences and reflects your commitment to inclusivity. Services include DEI benchmarking, auditing existing texts for sensitivity and accessibility, editing for inclusive language, and providing tailored consulting to help you develop an effective, justice-informed communication strategy.
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Gain detailed analysis and actionable feedback on your script's representation of diverse identities, ensuring authentic and resonant narratives that connect with global and local audiences. Close attention will be paid to plot arcs, world building, dialogue, and character development, with a focus on crafting inclusive and socially conscious narratives.
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Unlock your storytelling potential with personalized writing, storytelling, and creativity coaching. Whether you're crafting a memoir, screenplay, or marketing strategy, I'll guide you through the creative process, offering tailored feedback and support to help you refine your craft and express your unique voice. Together, we'll explore your ideas, overcome obstacles, and empower you to become a more confident and impactful writer.
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Unleash your potential with tailor-made educational offerings designed to foster creativity, emotional intelligence, awareness, and effective communication. Explore the power of play, learn about restorative justice practices, or master the art of storytelling – together, we’ll develop a program that suits your or your team’s needs. Choose from short, intensive workshops, in-depth seminars, or ongoing training programs.
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Play Your Way to Creative Breakthroughs. Rediscover the joy of play and unleash your team's creative potential with this 90-minute workshop. Designed for corporate clients seeking to foster innovation, collaboration, and out-of-the-box thinking, this interactive session embraces the power of playfulness to ignite imaginations, break down barriers, and spark groundbreaking ideas. Drawing from the principles of creative writing and improvisation, participants will engage in a series of playful exercises that encourage experimentation, risk-taking, and spontaneous expression. Through laughter, curiosity, and a willingness to let go of perfectionism, they'll tap into their innate creativity and develop new approaches to problem-solving, communication, and team dynamics.
Introduction to Creative Writing: This course is built on the belief that mastering the techniques of creative writing can profoundly enhance all forms of writing. To that end, we’ll explore a variety of literary forms – from short story to poem, TV script to graphic novel. By learning to pay closer attention to words, sentences, and paragraphs, you’ll cultivate both greater facility and greater confidence with language. The six-module course hones your skills through a mix of solo exercises and collaborative group sessions, including a workshop where you’ll receive constructive feedback and learn how to integrate it. We’ll also develop practices for accessing and unleashing creativity and using language to think outside the box. By the end of the course, you will have developed a basic understanding of narrative craft, made your writing more engaging, and hopefully had some fun along the way.
Structuring the Creative Process: Unlocking Innovation in Corporate Settings. In today's fast-paced corporate world, creativity and innovation are crucial for staying ahead of the competition. But creativity can often feel elusive or unmanageable. This workshop aims to demystify the creative process by providing practical strategies and techniques for structuring creativity in corporate settings. Participants will learn how to foster a creative environment, overcome creative blocks, generate and refine ideas effectively, and translate creativity into tangible outcomes that drive innovation and business success.
Corporate Innovation: A Creative Writing Approach. Tailored for corporate clients, this 90-minute interactive session dives into the core principles of creative writing to empower your team to generate compelling narratives, innovative ideas, and captivating content. Participants will explore the fundamental elements of plot, character development, and world-building, while learning practical techniques for outlining, drafting, and revising their work. Through engaging exercises and collaborative activities, they'll discover how to harness the power of storytelling to captivate audiences, strengthen brand messaging, and drive meaningful results.
Storytelling for a Better World: A Transformative Justice Workshop for Writers' Rooms. This 4-hour workshop equips writers' rooms and communications teams with the tools to incorporate equity and social consciousness into their narratives. Learn to craft stories that challenge stereotypes, amplify marginalized voices, and promote a more just and inclusive world.
Pen to Paper. Interested in writing but not sure how to begin? Started working on a piece of fiction but got stuck along the way? This one-day workshop is designed to get pen to paper. Whether you’re a first-timer or rusty after a long break, this course will help get your creative juices flowing. Together, we’ll discuss various approaches to literary creation – from plot-out-every-detail-beforehand to fu*k-it-just-wing-it to something in between. We’ll go over techniques and tricks you can use to push past roadblocks, and we’ll discuss writing advice from some of the greats. But most of all, we’ll write. Using prompts, exercises, and free-writes, we’ll spend a good chunk of the day putting words on the page.
Reading Like a Writer: A One-Day Workshop to Jumpstart Your Writing. To become a good writer, you have to be a good reader. In this ten-week seminar, we’ll learn how to plot, pace, and captivate from the masters – who better to teach you the ropes? Each week, we’ll explore one element of fiction on the basis of a short story or novel excerpt. Need some work on your dialogue? Zadie Smith’s got you covered. Could use a lesson in description? Let’s see how Toni Morrison does it. The goal will be to read the way writers do – with an eye for craft and a dogged commitment to figuring out how the author did it.
Release the Beast: Unleashing Your Inner Artist. Picasso famously advised us to learn the rules like a pro – so we can break them like an artist. In this ten-week seminar, we’ll focus on the second part of the equation: breaking all the rules. Each week, we’ll look at a different story that breaks the mold – from Lydia Davis to Lori Moore, Teju Cole to Claudia Rankine – and work on our own outside-the-box texts. Whether you’re specifically interested in “experimental” fiction or just in the mood to expand your sense of the possible, this course is for you. Our time will be divided between close readings, short writing exercises, and workshopping our own outside-the-bounds work. It’s a great chance for you to stop self-editing and let your creative energies roam wild. Release the beast!
The Power of Personal Branding: Leveraging Your Story for Career Success
Finding Your Voice and Values: A Creative Writing Approach
Repairing Harm, Building Trust: A Restorative Justice Workshop for Teams
Cultivating a Culture of Accountability: A Transformative Justice Approach
Lessons from Screenwriting: Engaging Your Audience with Powerful Storytelling