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.

One Wednesday
7:00 to 10:00 pm
March 13, 2022
Enrollment limit: 8 students
$100 new; $90 returning

Political unrest is nothing new, but now in the year 2019, we are fighting for the environment, income equality, and rights for refugees, LGBTQ individuals, women, and children. Many in our communities are rising up against policies that seek to limit their resources and freedom. Yet what can we as poets and lovers of poetry do in response? During the twentieth century, poems such as "I, Too" by Langston Hughes, "Yo Soy Joaquin" by Corky Gonzalez, "Puerto Rican Obituary" by Pedro Pietri, and "ID Card" by Mahmoud Darwish (to name a few) helped spark major political and cultural movements. In this three-hour seminar, we will read twenty-first century social justice poems by Fatimah Asghar, Chen Chen, Khadijah Queen, Emmy Perez, and others to study strategies for turning personal trauma, anger, and anxiety into authentic and inspired lyrical poetry. Through in-class writing prompts and experimentation, we will work together to turn chaos into offerings of witness and refuge.

This class will take place at Book Show in Highland Park, where wine, 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.

One Saturday
10:00 am to 2:00 pm
March 30, 2021
Enrollment limit: 8 students
$130 new; $120 returning

Every book has "the scene”: that moment you can't forget, the confrontation of the characters, the action-packed climax, the emotional epiphany. Whatever the memorable moment, it usually comes in the form of a scene. But what exactly is a scene, and how can you craft one that will leave readers with a searing memory of the moment? In this one-day seminar, we will focus on writing the most important scene from your memoir and bringing it to life. How do you balance the interior with the exterior? How do you know how much dialogue to use or where to begin the scene? By reading sample chapters and exploring tools of dialogue and flashback, we will reach into memory to craft the scene that readers will remember.

This seminar is open to students of all levels. The class will be held in Encino, where coffee, sparkling water, and light snacks will be served.