AMERICAN HORROR STORY—
HOW TO WRITE DARK COMPELLING FICTION
Lilliam Rivera
Enrollment limit: 8 students
$130 new; $120 returning
No longer the sole territory of Stephen King, contemporary authors are creating frightful works that would rattle the most fearless readers. Carmen Maria Machado, Kelly Link, and Shirley Jackson are just some of the writers who go beyond the stereotypical genre tropes to craft unsettling literary fiction. In this one-day seminar, participants will be introduced to the art of writing horror. Learn how to develop terrifying characters, create realistic conflict and tension, and find the dread within the most mundane aspects of the everyday. By completing generative writing exercises and reading some model scary tales, participants will leave ready to probe the existential fear that drives the most classic horror writing.
This 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.
SOLD OUT!
Los Feliz
One Saturday
10:00 am to 2:00 pm
June 2, 2021
Lilliam Rivera is an award-winning writer and author of The Education of Margot Sanchez, a contemporary young adult novel available now from Simon & Schuster. Recently named a "2017 Face to Watch" by the Los Angeles Times, Lilliam's work has appeared in Tin House, Los Angeles Times, and Latina, to name a few. She lives in Los Angeles where she’s completing her second novel.
Testimonial
"Lilliam Rivera's 'American Horror Story' seminar was the best fiction workshop I've taken in years! I came away from Lilliam's class so inspired that I had to pull off the freeway on the way home to write. After discussing all of the best in contemporary horror, both literary and genre, Lilliam offered one last prompt that helped me find a way into a story I had wanted to write for two years. In addition to fantastic readings and prompts, Lilliam's engagement with the subject matter was contagious. All students produced inspired writing in class without hesitation. As a former university professor, I can say that Lilliam's teaching style is top-notch. She was very organized but also left room to explore, encouraging each student to write according to her individual interests and treating everyone as equals. The creative process is often a difficult journey, but Lilliam Rivera's course left a lasting impression of its greatest pleasures."
–Lisa Sanchez-Powers
Reviews for The Education of Margot Sanchez
"A debut of great candor, depth, and empathy." —Booklist
"Introducing Lilliam Rivera, one of the most unique and exciting new voices in YA. The Education of Margot Sanchez is funny, poignant, compelling and authentic. She nails the music and conflict of an evolving Bronx, New York. I adore this novel." —Matt de la Peña, Last Stop on Market Street)
“In the hands of debut novelist Lilliam Rivera, Margot's choices—which friends? which boy? which future?—take on a tense urgency. Lively and telling, smart and compelling, Margot Sanchez is a character to take to your heart and Rivera a voice to remember.” —Karen Joy Fowler, The Jane Austen Book Club
“With a passionate voice, Lilliam Rivera weaves a layered, complex story of a girl awakening to herself and her family.” —Cecil Castellucci, Tin Star