Today, we're highlighting guest instructor Aja Gabel, whose novel The Ensemble has been receiving a lot of buzz in advance of its May release. "Following these four unforgettable characters, Aja Gabel's debut novel gives a behind-the-scenes look into the competitive, mysterious world of high level musicians. The story of Brit and Henry and Daniel and Jana, The Ensemble is a heart-skipping portrait of ambition, friendship, and the tenderness of youth." We're delighted that she will be offering a one-day seminar for us this spring: When We Talk About Love—Writing About Relationships on May 6 in Silver Lake.
______
Aja Gabel's debut novel, The Ensemble, is forthcoming from Riverhead Books / Penguin Random House in May 2018. Aja's prose can be found in Kenyon Review, New England Review, Glimmer Train, BOMB, and elsewhere. She has taught fiction, nonfiction, and literature at the University of Virginia, the University of Houston, Sweet Briar College, and Pacific University, as well as at undergraduate creative writing conferences and community workshop organizations. She earned her BA at Wesleyan University, her MFA at the University of Virginia and has a Ph.D. in Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Houston. Aja was a fellow at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown 2012-2013, and she currently lives in Los Angeles with her dog, Bear.
______
When We Talk About Love—Writing About Relationships with Aja Gabel in Silver Lake
Sunday
10:00 am to 2:00 pm
May 6, 2021
Most of us have grown up on love stories, everything from Shakespeare and Jane Austen to Sweetbitter and ’90s rom coms. All writers write about relationships—to the self, to friends, to family, to the world. And most writers at one point or another take on our most trodden subject matter: romantic love. But when we sit down to write our own, what are we really writing? What structures and tropes should we be aware of? What biases are revealed and how can we make our stories true and new and original? What are we really talking about when we talk about love?
In this one-day seminar, we’ll look at common pitfalls when it comes to writing a love story and creative ways around them. We’ll examine love stories of all different kinds and find original ways into familiar narratives. Students will write and develop their own personal manifestos for love stories and leave with inspiration and tactics to tackle their own work.
This seminar is open to students of all levels. It will be held in Silver Lake where coffee, sparkling water, and light snacks will be served.
Enrollment limit: 8 students
$130 new; $120 returning
For more information or to enroll, please visit www.writingworkshopsla.com/seminars.