FALL 2012 CLASS SCHEDULE

Please email writingworkshopsla@gmail.com to enroll in any of the classes listed below.

***

POETRY

Mixed Levels Poetry Writing Workshop (with Elline Lipkin in Beverly Grove)
Tuesdays, 7:30 to 9:30 pm
October 9, 2012 to December 4, 2012 (no class 11/20)

This 8-week mixed-levels class is designed to immerse students in the power and pleasure of poetry. Each week students will consider a particular theme through an in-class writing exercise, read examples of other poems, and be given an assignment sheet of poetry prompts to use during the week. Students will explore different types of poetic forms, practice using a variety of writing techniques, and offer feedback on each other’s work. This class is an opportunity for students to explore the art and craft of poetry at any level with the chance to experiment with words and feel inspired.

This course will take place in Beverly Grove, where wine and sparkling water—and the occasional gourmet cheese—will be served.

Enrollment limit: 8 students
$380 for new students; $340 for returning students (payment plans available!)
If you enroll before 9/15, you will get a $20 parking pass FOR FREE!
**After 9/15, students have the option of paying $20 for a street parking pass; or, they can try for a metered parking nearby**

If you’re interested in signing up, please email writingworkshopsla@gmail.com

***

NONFICTION

Blogging for Writers: Seminar and Workshop (taught by Amelia Morris in Echo Park)
2 Saturdays, 12 to 4 pm
October 6, 2012 and October 20, 2012

This two-day course is designed for writers of all levels who are interested in launching (or re-focusing) their own blogs. In the first meeting, the class will read and reference a variety of notable blogs (both monetized and non-commercial) and use these examples to examine the reader experience and discuss the specific considerations of blogging, i.e. aesthetics, visual assets/elements, quality content, branding, and consistency.

Each student will be expected to arrive at the first class with three blogs they follow/enjoy. For the second meeting, two weeks later, students will have handed in the name of their blog, a sentence or two summing up their concept, and their first post (due one week prior), which will all be workshopped in class.

This course will be held in the instructor’s home in Echo Park, where sparkling water and some manner of fancy snacks will be served.

Enrollment limit: 8 students
Course fee: $150 for new students; $130 for returning students

If you’re interested in signing up, please email writingworkshopsla@gmail.com
***

Mixed Levels Nonfiction (taught by Seth Fischer in Echo Park)
Thursdays, 7:30 to 9:30 PM
October 4, 2012 to November 29, 2012 (no class 11/22)

In this 8-week mixed levels course, students will read, discuss, and write essays (or chapters) that will explore the genre(s) of personal narrative and memoir. The readings will be selected to stimulate thinking, exemplify different techniques and styles, and suggest techniques for engaging personal and creative expression. There will be in-class and homework exercises that address topics such as persona, audience, story, description, memory and truth, and ethical considerations specific to the genre. Students will have the chance to workshop their writing in a serious environment meant to challenge and inspire each member of the class.

This course will take place in the instructor’s home in Echo Park, where wine and sparkling water—and the occasional gourmet cheese—will be served.

Enrollment limit: 8 students
Course fee: $380 for new students; $340 for returning students (Payment plans available!)

If you’re interested in signing up, please email writingworkshopsla@gmail.com

***

FICTION

Young Adult Fiction Writing: Seminar and Workshop (taught by Cecil Castellucci in Silverlake)
2 Sundays, 12 to 4 pm
October 21, 2012 and November 4, 2012

This two-day course is designed for writers of all experience levels who are interested in writing young adult fiction but have yet to fully embark on a project. In the first meeting, the YA genre will be examined and demystified, and the instructor will discuss–among other topics–what makes a book YA, and address fears about what is, and isn’t, allowed in the genre. Students will do in-class writing exercises to get them exploring their stories and characters, and there will be an option to share some of these exercises with the group. Each student will be expected to bring their favorite YA novel to discuss with the class. For the second meeting two weeks later, students will have handed in ten pages of prose (due one week prior), to be critiqued in class.

This course will be held in the instructor’s home, where coffee, sparkling water, and light snacks will be served.

Enrollment limit: 8 students
$150 for new students; $130 for returning students

If you’re interested in signing up, please email writingworkshopsla@gmail.com

***
Fiction I (taught by Adam Cushman in Beachwood Canyon)
Tuesdays, 7:30 to 9:30 pm
October 2, 2012 to November 20, 2012

This 8-week course will introduce beginning writers to the basic techniques of fiction writing such as characterization, dramatization, dialogue, point of view, and so on. In class, students will discuss published fiction from a craft perspective and do writing exercises designed to tackle particular techniques. Each week students will have short writing assignments to do outside of class, which will be turned in for feedback from the instructor. As this course is designed for beginning writers, there won’t be any formal workshopping. The class is also open to more experienced writers who simply want to brush up on the basics.

This course will take place in the instructor’s home in Beachwood Canyon, where wine and sparkling water—and the occasional gourmet cheese—will be served.

Enrollment limit: 8 students
$380 for new students; $340 for returning students. (Payment plans available!)

If you’re interested in signing up, please email writingworkshopsla@gmail.com

***

Fiction II (taught by Seth Fischer in Echo Park)
Wednesdays, 7:30 to 9:30 pm
October 3, 2012 to November 28, 2012 (no class 11/21)

This 8-week intermediate-level class is designed for both short story writers and novelists. For the first four weeks, students will do in-class writing exercises and discuss published short fiction and novel excerpts from a craft perspective. The class will cover such topics as characterization, pacing, point of view, structure, voice, and scene, and there will be short take-home writing assignments designed to help students progress with their manuscripts. For the final four weeks of the course, students will be workshopped in a serious environment meant to challenge and inspire every member of the class. Each student will have the opportunity to workshop either one short story manuscript or one novel excerpt (maximum 25 pages).

This course will take place in Echo Park where wine and sparkling water—and the occasional gourmet cheese—will be served.

Enrollment limit: 8 students
$380 for new students; $340 for returning students. (Payment plans available!)

If you’re interested in signing up, please email writingworkshopsla@gmail.com

***

Fiction III (taught by Edan Lepucki in the Pico-Fairfax area)
Mondays, 7:30 to 9:30 pm
October 1, 2012 to December 17, 2012 (no class 10/15 and 11/26)

This 10-week course is designed for experienced students who are interested in deepening their understanding of fiction writing craft and technique.

For the first few weeks, the class will discuss published fiction and do in-class writing exercises. Students will be given optional out-of-class writing assignments, and there will be short critiques of students’ work-in-progress and revisions. Each student will write two pieces of fiction (short stories or novel excerpts); one of those manuscripts will be workshopped by the class, and the other will be given to the instructor for feedback.

This course will take place in the instructor’s home in the Pico-Fairfax area, where wine and sparkling water—and an occasional assortment of cheese and chocolates—will be served.

Enrollment limit: 8 students
$410 for new students; $380 for returning students. (Payment plans available!)
If you’re interested in signing up, please email writingworkshopsla@gmail.com

***

Fiction IV (taught by Adam Cushman in Beachwood Canyon)
Wednesdays, 7:30 to 9:30 pm
October 3, 2012 to December 12, 2012 (no class 11/21)

This 10-week course is designed for advanced writers with extensive workshop experience who are interested in deepening their understanding of fiction writing craft and technique. This course is by application only.

For the first few weeks, the class will discuss published fiction and do in-class writing exercises. Students will be given optional out-of-class writing assignments, and there will be short critiques of students’ work-in-progress and revisions. Each student will write two pieces of fiction (short stories or novel excerpts); one of those manuscripts will be workshopped by the class, and the other will be given to the instructor for feedback.

This course will take place in the instructor’s home in Beachwood Canyon, where wine and sparkling water—and an occasional assortment of chocolates—will be served.

Enrollment limit: 8 students
$410 for new students; $380 for returning students. (Payment plans available!)
For more information about the application process, please email writingworkshopsla@gmail.com

***

Novel Writing I (taught by Ivy Pochoda in Downtown L.A.)
Tuesdays, 7:30 to 9:30 pm
October 2, 2012 to December 18, 2012 (no class 11/13 and 11/20)

In this 10-week course, students will write the first 40 pages of a novel. The class will spend the first few weeks doing writing exercises and discussing craft and technique from a novelist’s perspective. All assignments, both in- and out-of-class, will ask students to think deeply about their projects and aesthetic goals. There will be a weekly page-count requirement to keep students on task, and there will also be time set aside in class to work. The final weeks of the course will be devoted to workshopping student novel excerpts in an intense yet compassionate environment designed to challenge and inspire all members of the class.

This course will take place in the instructor’s home in Downtown L.A., where wine, sparkling water–and the occasional delicious snack–will be served.
Enrollment limit: 8 students
$400 for all students (payment plans available!)

This class is open to experienced writers only. To apply for entry, please email writingworkshopsla@gmail.com with a description of your writing experience. You may be asked to submit a short writing sample.

***

8-Week Fiction Writing Group (taught by Amelia Morris in Echo Park)
Tuesdays, 7:30 to 9:30 pm
October 2, 2012 to November 27, 2012 (no class 11/20)

In this course, students will have the opportunity to be a part of a fiction writers’ group facilitated by a published writer. Within a supportive environment, students will share new and in-process work, write from prompts, take home ideas for new stories, talk about writing, and ask questions about craft, creation and process. We will form our own writing community, giving and receiving feedback from one another, all the while having a good time. This is not a lecture class, nor will there be class assignments.

This course will take place in the instructor’s home in Echo Park, where wine, sparkling water, and the occasional snack, will be served.

Enrollment Limit: 8 students
Price: $250 (students must pay the full amount up front; no payment plans available for this course)

If you’re interested in signing up, please email writingworkshopsla@gmail.com
***