WriteHive Mentorship Program

A.J. Van Belle is a Rhysling finalist and Best of the Net nominated author, scientist, and literary agent. Their poems, fiction, and essays have appeared in journals and anthologies from 2004 to the present. With a PhD in biology, they have a blast drawing on their science background to inform the world building in their fiction. A.J.’s nonfiction book on the urban heat island effect, Hot Cities, is forthcoming from Orca Books in 2027 (writing as Alexandra Vivelo). They live with their family on Vancouver Island.

My ideal relationship involves lively discussions about plot and character development, and in that relationship I also see myself passing along encouragement and positive motivation. I’m happy to work with a mentee via whatever combination of communication methods works best for them: email, chat, text, phone, and/or video chat.

I’m excited to engage with my mentee in discussions on writing and plotting. Ideally, together we’ll be eager to find ways to make their book better but I’ll also respect the mentee’s idea of what the book is trying to accomplish. The mentee’s book is ultimately their own. My advice is always only a suggestion, and the author has to feel confident that the book is a true representation of their creative vision. If I was confident they understood the reasons for my suggestion, yet the suggestion didn’t feel right to them, I would be glad to accept their decision.

Ideally, my mentee and I will communicate frequently and go through at least two rounds of revision to get their book polished and ready for querying. I would also like to offer query and synopsis discussion and critique.