Online
Six Sundays
1:00 to 3:00 pm (Pacific)
February 24 to March 31, 2021
Enrollment limit: 8 students
$315 new; $285 returning

In this six-week mixed levels class designed for both short story writers and novelists (poets and screenwriters also welcome), we will break down the writing process using twelve interrelated questions to help structure your work. The questions are taken from the instructor's recently released craft book The Thorn Necklace: Healing Through Writing and the Creative Process. Each week, students will meet online for a short lecture on craft and receive a five-ten page assignment of scene work. These assignments will be completed and then emailed to the group for online discussion a week after they are due. We will also address the way the writing process, including the development of character and plot, can provide healing for the author on his or her own personal journey.

This class is open to students of all levels and will meet online in real time using the Zoom platform. We will contact you with details closer to the date of the class.

Online
Two Saturdays
11:00 am to 1:00 pm (Pacific)
March 2 and 9, 2019
Enrollment limit: 8 students
$130 new; $120 returning

There’s one thing all writers need in their stories: conflict. It’s the propulsive element that elevates the work’s tension and drama. So how do we tell when a work-in-progress has enough heat on the page to arouse the curiosity of a reader? In this two-day online seminar for fiction and nonfiction writers, we’ll talk about techniques to generate dramatic action. We’ll ponder how to establish and nurture our protagonist’s internal and external stakes, all the while making sure we’re putting the right obstacles in their path to impede their journey. The seminar will feature a range of influences, from the modernists to pieces published last week. Great works of art all have conflict thrumming through their pages, and students will leave our time together with a deep understanding about how to maximize the dramatic opportunities in their stories.

This class is open to students of all levels and will meet online in real time using the Zoom platform. We will contact you with details closer to the date of the class.

Online
Two Saturdays
11:00 am to 1:00 pm (Pacific)
March 16 and 23, 2019
Enrollment limit: 8 students
$130 new; $120 returning

Is writing about music like dancing about architecture? Let’s find out! Whether you’re writing a musician character, a story inspired by a song, an essay about the impact of music on culture (or vice versa), or a review of an album or a musician’s memoir, great things happen when literature and music meet. In this two-day online seminar, we will look at various models of music writing and students will write and share two new original pieces: one short essay and one piece of fiction, review, journalism, or a hybrid of these forms.

This class is open to students of all levels and will meet online in real time using the Zoom platform. We will contact you with details closer to the date of the class.

Online
Two Saturdays
11:00 am to 1:00 pm (Pacific)
April 6 and 20, 2019
Enrollment limit: 8 students
$130 new; $120 returning

Have you been working on a novel or other long project and have a multiple drafts all over your computer? Do you have folders of notes from all the workshops you’ve taken your project through? Do you have a long, glitchy Word document that takes forever to load? Along with talking about practical analog tools for drafting and revising longer projects, this two-day online seminar will walk you through how to use Scrivener—a software word processing and project management program aimed at writers—to help you draft and organize your novel or memoir.

We’ll work on figuring out the best way for you to divide your manuscript and upload it to the Scrivener interface, plus how to use tools like the virtual index cards and how to easily save multiple drafts. We'll also talk through alternatives to Scrivener like organizing your writing through Google Docs. This class is recommended for students who have longer projects, but it can be useful for anyone interested in learning about Scrivener and gaining tools for structuring and revising your writing. Students will receive a discount code to purchase the Scrivener 3 program before the class starts.

This class is open to students of all levels and will meet online in real time using the Zoom platform. We will contact you with details closer to the date of the class.

Online
Two Saturdays
11:00 am to 1:00 pm (Pacific)
March 23 and April 6, 2021
Enrollment limit: 3 students
$550 new; $500 returning
(Payment plans available to returning students.)

Publishing companies and small presses are increasingly asking authors to do more of their own publicity, and agents often consider platform as part of a query’s appeal. As a result, it is more important than ever for writers to have a well-designed website. However, a professional website by an experienced designer can cost over $1000 and easily much more, leaving the writer without knowledge as to how to update content.

This two-day online seminar will walk you through creating your own Squarespace site from scratch. In the first week, we will cover best practices for author websites, discuss the different considerations that go into choosing a template, and learn the basics of how to navigate Squarespace and create a site. Writers will then spend the week customizing their own websites. At the second meeting, we will reconvene to provide feedback on the sites and discuss any questions or issues that have come up. The second meeting will also offer a basic introduction to setting up a newsletter and social media, using CSS to code design workarounds, and how to use the Squarespace forum when in doubt.

The class will meet online in real time using the Zoom platform. We will contact you with details. Even if you’re not a writer, you’re welcome to come create a website with us.

Two Saturdays
11:00 am to 2:00 pm
February 16 and 23, 2019
Enrollment limit: 8 students
$190 new; $170 returning

From novels in verse to epic fantastical tomes, young adult fiction is an exciting genre that continues to produce compelling work. Whether you grew up reading Judy Blume books or just picked up The Hate U Give, this two-day seminar will explore plot, dialogue, and world building in young adult fiction. Through the use of generative writing exercises and critical analysis of contemporary works, you will learn how to use character studies, write genuine dialogue, and avoid talking down to your readers. You will leave with an understanding of how to capture a realistic young voice.

This two-day seminar is open to students of all levels. It will be held in Los Feliz where coffee, sparkling water, and light snacks will be served.

Two Saturdays
1:00 to 4:00 pm
March 16 and 23, 2019
Enrollment limit: 8 students
$190 new; $170 returning

In this two-day seminar, we will address the particular demands and delights of the short story. We will cover elements of fiction writing such as characterization, scene, voice, tense, dialogue, point of view, and creating stakes. During the first class, we will discuss published fiction from a craft perspective and complete writing exercises designed to tackle specific short story techniques. During the second meeting, participants will have the opportunity to workshop a short short story.

This seminar is open to students of all levels. It will be held in Downtown LA where coffee, sparkling water, and light snacks will be served.

Thursdays
7:30 to 9:30 pm
February 21 to April 11, 2021
Enrollment limit: 8 students
$420 new; $380 returning
(Payment plans available to returning students.)

This eight-week workshop will use readings, exercises, and writing prompts to explore some of the tools of narrative storytelling. The class will cover using stakes, suspense, conflict, and backstory to develop a stronger narrative arc, the benefits and drawbacks of various points of view, what fiction writers mean by style, voice, and rhythm, and how to balance scene and summary.

We'll discuss published fiction from a craft perspective and do in-class and at-home writing to generate new work and experiment with new techniques. Students will also develop one longer piece for workshop with the group. The class is open to enthusiastic, serious beginners and also experienced writers who want to broaden and deepen their craft.

The workshop will be held in Pasadena, where wine, sparkling water, and the occasional gourmet snack will be served.

Thursdays
7:30 to 9:30 pm
February 21 to April 11, 2021
Enrollment limit: 8 students
$420 new; $380 returning
(Payment plans available to returning students.)

Lorrie Moore said, “A short story is a love affair; a novel is a marriage. A short story is a photograph; a novel is a film.” This eight-week workshop is all about love affairs and photographs: we'll read and write short stories, explore the elements that make up the genre, and experiment with different ways to craft our writing. The class is open to experienced writers and enthusiastic, serious beginners, and each student will write a short story to workshop with the group.

The workshop will be held in Silver Lake, where wine, sparkling water, and the occasional gourmet snack will be served.

Sundays
10:30 am to 12:30 pm
February 10 to March 31, 2021
Enrollment limit: 8 students
$420 new; $380 returning
(Payment plans available to returning students.)

Roald Dahl believed, “Good writing is essentially rewriting.” Ernest Hemingway claimed, “The only kind of writing is rewriting.” Michael Crichton said, “Books aren’t written—they’re rewritten.” Spontaneous eloquence rarely happens. Whether you've completed a first draft of a novel or memoir, it's now time to get down to the business of serious revision. This eight-week workshop is for writers who have completed a full draft of a manuscript.

We will begin by reading outlines of each book and together discuss ways to help each story move forward so the plot is best served. We will then look at complete chapters from each participant, starting with the first, and talk about introducing your protagonist and conflict as well as your use of language and appropriate style techniques. Finally, you will be able to choose any chapter and share that with the group. By that time, we will have a good introduction to your work and your intended outcome and we will be able to help you see how to edit, rework, and polish that chapter. You should leave the workshop with a good basis for continuing to work on your rewrite on your own, chapter by chapter.

Each participant will share an outline of their entire book and at least two complete chapters. The class will take place in Echo Park, where coffee, sparkling water, and the occasional gourmet snack will be served.

Tuesdays
7:00 to 9:00 pm
February 19 to April 16 (with no class on March 19)
Enrollment limit: 8 students
$420 new; $380 returning
(Payment plans available to returning students.)

This eight-week class is designed to launch students into their novels. Those who have already begun a novel or are gearing up to start one will hit the ground running as we discuss the tools of the craft, such as character, pacing, tension, progression, and voice. In workshop, students will share their work, explore their ideas for a novel, and begin or continue to develop their manuscripts. We will read and discuss novel excerpts to examine the tools of the trade and complete writing exercises designed to bring projects into sharper focus. Every week, there will be a five-page requirement to make sure students are writing and rewriting regularly. In this class, you’ll have ample opportunity to create, workshop, and revise material for the novel you’ve always wanted to write. The class is open to experienced writers and enthusiastic, serious beginners.

This class will take place in Glendale, where wine, sparkling water, and the occasional gourmet snack will be served.

Mondays
7:30 to 9:30 pm
February 18 to April 8, 2021
Enrollment limit: 8 students
$420 new; $380 returning
(Payment plans available to returning students.)

This eight-week intermediate workshop is designed for writers who have already begun the process of drafting their novel and who need constructive criticism and astute readers. Each week, a different aspect of the novel will be addressed. We will troubleshoot various aspects of each writer's work, tackling issues such as plot, pace, and character. Over the course of this class, students will workshop up to thirty pages of their novel. In addition, we’ll talk about techniques for sticking to a long-term goal, continuing to find inspiration and fresh ideas, and how to keep sight of the forest while surrounded by trees.

This class will take place in Silver Lake, where wine, sparkling water, and the occasional gourmet snack will be served.

Tuesdays
7:30 to 9:30 pm
February 19 to April 9, 2021
Enrollment limit: 8 students
$420 new; $380 returning
(Payment plans available to returning students.)

This eight-week mixed levels workshop is designed for both short story writers and novelists. For the first three to four weeks, students will complete in-class writing exercises and discuss published short fiction and excerpted novels from a craft perspective. During the last four to five weeks, students will be invited to bring in their own work to receive feedback from the instructor and their peers. The class will cover such topics as characterization, pacing, point of view, structure, voice, and theme, and there will be short take-home writing assignments designed to help students explore different topics and story ideas. Students will have the chance to workshop their writing in a serious environment meant to challenge and inspire each member of the class.

This class will take place in Culver City, where wine, sparkling water, and the occasional gourmet snack will be served.