Just Announced: Poetry Master Class with Sarah Manguso

Our winter 2011 semester has begun with 5 classes total in fiction and nonfiction.  I’ve always wanted to offer instruction in poetry, too, so I’m pleased to announce that the acclaimed poet and prose writer Sarah Manguso will teach a one-day master class in poetry on Saturday, April 9th.  This will be a 3-hour course unlike anything Writing Workshops Los Angeles has offered before, both in content and course structure.  Sarah and I have discussed this seminar in depth, and I’m really excited to have it on the schedule!

Please scroll down for the course description and other information, including instructor bio.

Email writingworkshopsla@gmail.com if you’d like to sign up!

Poetry Master Class
(taught by Sarah Manguso in Los Feliz)

Saturday, April 9, 2011
3:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Enrollment limit: 8 students
Fee: $120

This one-day master class is designed for poets of all experience levels who want to become more attentive readers and writers. The instructor will discuss the various functional components — syntax, semantics, lineation, lexicon, imagery, rhetoric, tone — of one poem by each participant, with particular attention to the component that supplies that poem’s propelling engine. She will then present a “companion work” by an established writer that uses similar engines, and suggest possible revisions. She’ll also conduct two exercises: one an exercise in content generation, the other a revision/compression exercise that the class will do collaboratively.

This master class will take place in the instructor’s home in Los Feliz, where sparkling water, fresh lemonade, and snacks will be served.

Application protocol: Once you sign up, you will be asked to email two poems directly to the instructor.  The instructor will choose one poem to present to the group. Before the class, all participants will receive an electronic document containing all poems and companion works to be presented during the class.

A writing prompt can be provided for anyone who would like to sign up but is intimidated by the prospect of submitting work beforehand.

Instructor Bio:
Sarah Manguso is the author, most recently, of the memoir The Two Kinds of Decay (2008), named a New York Times Sunday Book Review Editors’ Choice and a Best Book of the Year by the San Francisco Chronicle and Time Out Chicago. Her next book, The Guardians, a prose elegy, will be published next year. Her other books include the story collection Hard to Admit and Harder to Escape (2007) and the poetry collections Siste Viator (2006) and The Captain Lands in Paradise (2002), which was named a Favorite Book of the Year by the Village Voice. Honors for her writing include a Hodder Fellowship, the Rome Prize, and residencies at MacDowell and Yaddo. She has been a faculty member of the BFA writing program at the Pratt Institute and of the MFA writing programs at Columbia, Fairfield, and the New School universities. Born and raised near Boston, she was educated at Harvard and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She recently moved from New York to Los Angeles, where she has two lemon trees.

3-Hour Creative Writing Sessions Announced for December

3-Hour Creative Writing Exercise Sessions
Easier on the body than a yoga class–and better for the imagination.
$25 per student

There are two sessions to choose from:
Nonfiction Writing with Chris Daley in Los Feliz, Saturday 12/11 from 10 am to 1 pm
Fiction Writing with Edan Lepucki in the Pico-Fairfax area, Saturday 12/11 from 10 am to 1 pm

In this 3-hour class, we will do a series of short in-class writing exercises that will give you new ideas and/or help you further develop projects you’ve already begun.  Some of the exercises will be favorites from previous courses, and some will be new.  We’ll go from one exercise to the next fairly quickly, and by the end of the session you’ll have pages upon pages of new material.  Those who are interested may stay for 15-20 minutes after the session to share one exercise with your fellow writers.

Enrollment is limited to 8 students per session.  Coffee, juice and sparkling water will be served!
If you’re interested, please email writingworkshopsla@gmail.com

Winter Courses Announced

Writing Workshops Los Angeles Winter 2011 Class Schedule

Creative Nonfiction Workshop: Personal Essay and Memoir
(Taught by Chris Daley in Los Feliz)

TWO SECTIONS TO CHOOSE FROM:

Tuesdays, 7:30 to 9:30 pm *CLASS FULL; EMAIL TO GET ON WAIT LIST*
January 18, 2011 to March 8, 2011 (8  meetings)

-OR-

Thursdays, 7:30 to 9:30 pm
January 20, 2011 to March 10, 2011 (8 meetings)

In this mixed-level course, we will read and discuss published narrative nonfiction as a means to investigate questions of truth and storytelling, and where the two intersect. There will be in-class exercises that address specific craft issues such as scene and voice, among others, and every student will have the opportunity to workshop at least one piece of nonfiction 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 Los Feliz, where wine and sparkling water—and the occasional delicious snack—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, email writingworkshopsla@gmail.com

(taught by Edan Lepucki in the Pico-Fairfax area)

Mondays, 7:30 to 9:30 pm
January 10, 2011 to February 21, 2011 (no class 1/31)

This 6-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 we will discuss published fiction from a craft perspective and we’ll do writing exercises designed to tackle particular techniques.  Each week you will have short writing assignments to do on your own, and you will turn them in for feedback from the instructor.  As this course is designed for very-very 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 the Pico-Fairfax area, where wine and sparkling water—and the occasional gourmet cheese—will be served.

Enrollment limit: 8 students
$275 for new students; $250 for returning students.  (Payment plans available!)

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

***

***

Wednesdays, 7:30 to 9:30
January 12, 2011 to March 9, 2011 (no class 2/2)

This mixed levels course is designed for students of varying experience levels who are interested in expanding their understanding of short story craft and technique.
For the first four weeks we will discuss published short fiction and do in-class writing exercises. There will be optional out-of-class writing assignments, and we will hold short critiques of students’ work-in-progress.  For the final four weeks of the course, we will workshop student work in a serious environment meant to challenge and inspire every member of the class. Each student will have the opportunity to workshop one short story manuscript.

This course will take place in the instructor’s home in the Pico-Fairfax area, 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, email writingworkshopsla@gmail.com

***

Mixed Levels Short Fiction and Novel Writing Workshop *CLASS FILLED; EMAIL TO GET ON WAIT LIST*
(taught by Leslie Parry in Pasadena)

Tuesdays, 7:30 to 9:30 pm
January 25, 2011 to March 22, 2011 (no class 3/8)

This 8-week class is designed for both short story writers and those just embarking on their novels. For the first four weeks, we will do in-class writing exercises and discuss published short fiction and novel excerpts from a craft perspective. We 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 you progress with your manuscript.   For the final four weeks of the course, we will workshop student work 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 the instructor’s home in Pasadena, 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, email writingworkshopsla@gmail.com

***

There will also be an Advanced Novel Workshop taught by Edan Lepucki in the Pico-Fairfax area, to begin in February of 2011. This course will be open to experienced writers who have at least 100 pages of a novel manuscript; students must apply for entry into the course.  If you’re interested, please email writingworkshopsla@gmail.com

Chris Daley On Teaching Writing

Writing Workshops Los Angeles is so pleased to have Chris Daley teaching for us!  Her nonfiction class is almost full, so if you’re interested, email writingworkshopsla@gmail.com immediately!

I asked Chris about her thoughts on teaching writing and running a workshop, and she sent me this wonderful answer:

Writing talent is both a gift and a skill; having the gift only means a little less effort toward mastering the skill…if you’re lucky. We all have the ability to express ourselves more lucidly, effectively, and beautifully. A writing workshop is also a gift that you give to yourself: a time to focus on the ideas that are inspiring you and share your work with other like-minded writers. A successful workshop should reveal what you want from your writing project and help you get there. My role is to respect your individual goals and suggest techniques to overcome any obstacles in your way. As a teacher and as a student, I have found that enthusiasm and humor (as well as the confidence that comes from preparation) work best to foster a creative and supportive environment.

Fall Courses Announced

We’ve just announced five new classes beginning this fall.  Check ‘em out, and email writingworkshopsla@gmail.com to sign up:

Mixed Levels Short Fiction and Novel Writing Workshop
(taught by Leslie Parry in Pasadena)

Thursdays,7:30 to 9:30 pm
September 23, 2010 to November 11, 2010 (8 meetings)

This 8-week class is designed for both short story writers and those just embarking on their novels. For the first four weeks, we will do in-class writing exercises and discuss published short fiction and novel excerpts from a craft perspective. We 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 you progress with your manuscript.   For the final four weeks of the course, we will workshop student work 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 the instructor’s home in Pasadena, where wine and sparkling water—and the occasional gourmet cheese—will be served.

Enrollment limit: 8 students
$360 for new students; $320 for returning students.  Payment plans available.

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

***

5-Week Introduction to Fiction Writing Course **CLASS FULL**
(with Edan Lepucki in the Pico-Fairfax district)

Mondays, 7:30 to 9:30 pm
September 13, 2010 to October 11, 2010

This 5-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 we will discuss published fiction from a craft perspective and we’ll do writing exercises designed to tackle particular techniques.  Each week you will have short writing assignments to do on your own, and you will turn them in for feedback from the instructor.  As this course is designed for very-very 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 the Pico-Fairfax area, where wine and sparkling water—and the occasional gourmet cheese—will be served.

Enrollment limit: 8 students
$225 for new students; $200 for returning students.  Payment plans available.

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

***

Creative Nonfiction Workshop:  Personal Essay and Memoir **CLASS FULL**
(Taught by Chris Daley in Los Feliz)

Wednesdays, 7:30 to 9:30 pm
September 29th to November 17th (8 meetings)

In this mixed-level course, we will read and discuss published narrative nonfiction as a means to investigate questions of truth and storytelling, and where the two intersect. There will be in-class exercises that address specific craft issues such as scene and voice, among others, and every student will have the opportunity to workshop at least one piece of nonfiction 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 Los Feliz, where wine and sparkling water—and the occasional delicious snack—will be served.

Enrollment limit: 8 students
Course fee: $360 for new students; $320 for returning students (Payment plans available!)

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

For more information about our Chris, go here.

***

Intermediate/Advanced Short Story Workshop **CLASS FULL**
(taught by Edan Lepucki in the Pico-Fairfax area)

Wednesdays, 7:30 to 9:30 pm
September 22, 2010 to December 15, 2010 (10 meetings–no class on 11/10, 11/17, 11/24)

This 10-session course is designed for advanced students who are interested in deepening their understanding of short story craft and technique.

For the first few weeks we will discuss published short fiction and do in-class writing exercises. There will be optional out-of-class writing assignments, and we will hold short critiques of students’ work-in-progress and revisions.  Each student will write two short stories over the course of the class, and one of those stories will be workshopped by the class.  There will be 3 weeks off before we workshop so that students can devote time to finishing their manuscripts.

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

Enrollment limit: 6 students
$400 for new students; $385 for returning students.  Payment plans available.

This course is by application only. Please email writingworkshopsla@gmail to inquire about submission guidelines.

If you’re interested, email writingworkshopsla@gmail.com

***

Intermediate Novel Writing Course
(taught by Edan Lepucki in the Pico-Fairfax area)

Tuesdays, 7:30 to 9:30 pm
October 5, 2010 to December 21, 2010  (10 meetings; no class on 11/16 and 11/23)

This 10-week course is open to more advanced writers who have written between 50-100 pages of a novel. For the first few weeks of this class we will do in-class writing exercises, discuss craft and technique from a novelist’s perspective, and conduct critiques of 1- and 2-page excerpts of students’ works-in-progress.  There will be a weekly page-count requirement to keep you on task, and we will even set aside time for “lab” sessions, where students work seriously in-class, writing their manuscripts.  There will be two weeks off before we begin workshops so that students may commit their time to preparing their manuscripts for workshop.  The final weeks of the course will be devoted to critiquing student novel excerpts in an intense yet compassionate environment designed to challenge and inspire all members of the class.

Course will take place in instructor’s home in the Pico-Fairfax area where wine and sparkling water—and the occasional gourmet cheese—will be served.

This course is by application only.  All students who sign up must have the minimum page requirement of a first draft to be eligible for the course. Please email writingworkshopsla@gmail to inquire about submission guidelines.

Enrollment limit: 8 students
$410 for new students; $385 for returning students.  Payment plans available

If you’re interested, email writingworkshopsla@gmail.com

Hurry while supplies last…

The 3-hour session on Sunday, August 29th has been filled, but there are still a few spots left in Leslie’s session on Saturday, August 28th in Pasadena.  Here’s the info (again):

One-Day Fiction Writing Exercise Sessions
Easier on the body than a yoga class–and better for the imagination.

$25 per student

Saturday, August 28, 2010 10 am to 1 pm  (with Leslie Parry in Pasadena)

In this 3-hour class, we will do a series of short in-class writing exercises that will give you new ideas and/or help you further develop projects you’ve already begun.  Some of the exercises will be favorites from previous courses, and some will be new.  We’ll go from one exercise to the next fairly quickly, and by the end of the session you’ll have pages upon pages of new material.  Those who are interested may stay for 15-20 minutes after the session to share one exercise with your fellow writers.
Enrollment is limited to 8 students per session.  Coffee, juice and sparkling water will be served!

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

New 3-Hour Fiction Writing Sessions Announced

We’ve just announced two 3-hour fiction writing sessions to cure your it’s-almost-the-end-of-the-summer heartbreak. Only $25 a person!  Email writingworkshopsla@gmail.com if you’d like to sign up.

One-Day Fiction Writing Exercise Sessions
Easier on the body than a yoga class–and better for the imagination.

$25 per student

There are 2 session sections to choose from:

Saturday, August 28, 2010 10 am to 1 pm  (with Leslie Parry in Pasadena)

Sunday, August 29, 2010 10 am to 1 pm (with Edan Lepucki in the Pico-Fairfax area) **SOLD OUT!**

In this 3-hour class, we will do a series of short in-class writing exercises that will give you new ideas and/or help you further develop projects you’ve already begun.  Some of the exercises will be favorites from previous courses, and some will be new.  We’ll go from one exercise to the next fairly quickly, and by the end of the session you’ll have pages upon pages of new material.  Those who are interested may stay for 15-20 minutes after the session to share one exercise with your fellow writers.
Enrollment is limited to 8 students per session.  Coffee, juice and sparkling water will be served!

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

A Late Thursday Evening/Almost Friday Morning Prompt

Hello, cherubs.  I, the Intern at WWLA, find myself in a state somewhere between ecstasy (Vicodin), profound loss (teeth) and profound gain (cheek… I’m experiencing so much cheek right now)– for I had my wisdom teeth removed only yesterday.  And, with four stitched, puss-packed caverns canoodling with my nerve endings, I cannot tell whether the tickling, urging sensation I’m getting to give a prompt to any loyal WWLA followers is a result of the ecstasy, the loss, or the gain.  But I certainly can tell this:

Write about a part of your body– start by exploring the basics– its weight, appearance, functions.  Then get a bit sociological– how do people perceive this part of your body, and, depending on the body part, how might this corporeal nub (crevice, cranny, nook, nubbin, nodule or what have you) react to this perception?  Think of images with which this part can be personified– for example, I recently remarked, upon looking at a dental X-ray, that teeth look like headless synchronized swimmers.  Once you’ve brainstormed with these basics, write a story or a whatever with a character whose main drive originates in this (sure-to-be-ranging-in-obscurity) body part.  Think Baudelaire’s Spleen. Think Dolly Parton’s Boob. How can this character’s mentality and physicality be affected by such an authoritative little giblet?  Likewise with their speech pattern– what is the rhythm of that body part?  How can a body part be synecdochic of an entire person, and what would be this person’s role in a story?  Perhaps it is unnecessary to divulge the exact organ or part that was the seed for this character, but rather to try this as a new (perhaps roundabout) way of creating detailed, useful and vital characters with a core function.

–A Toothless, Nameless Intern

Q & A With WWLA’s Ravishing Leslie Parry

Leslie Parry, graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop,  will be teaching the Beginning/Intermediate Short Story Writing Workshop starting July 27, 2010.  Since way back in early 2010, she’s graced WWLA with her presence and gusto, and has now graced us with these delectable A’s to all our Q’s on writing, reading, critique, and cheese.

WWLA:  What are your 3 favorite short stories (and if that’s impossible to answer, what 3 short stories do you find to be the most masterfully executed)?

LP:  Among my many favorites are “The Point” by Charles D’Ambrosio, “From Where I Sit” by Nancy Zafris, and “Crazy Sunday” by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

WWLA:  You’re working on a novel right now. What do you do for yourself to keep an idea that you may have had a really long time ago vital? Do you ever find that you’re racing with the fear of obsolescence?

LP:  I’ve found that any project becomes more vital and fascinating the longer I’m with it.  The only time I really get stuck is when I’m too unwilling to let go of my original idea, too much of a pouty dictator to let the narrative evolve.  Nothing I’ve completed looks the way I initially envisioned it.  But that element of surprise is what I love most.  Writing is often a frustrating and time-consuming process, but never a boring one.

WWLA:  Creative Writing hasn’t always been an academic field of study– writers were, in the past, often schooled in some other subject and had the “innate gift,” or whatever skeptics of pedagogical creative writing practices seem to say. Why do you think people have become more open to the idea of creative writing as something that can be taught? What do creative writing workshops provide that pure erudition in, say, English Lit can’t?

LP:  Writing workshops will always have their detractors.  We’re besotted with the myth of romantic genius, this idea that artists are divine conduits, that they don’t actually work except in inspired, supernatural bursts.  But writers don’t arrive fully formed.  They have to practice.  Many people romanticize the process; they don’t want to accept that there’s a technical aspect as well as an imaginative one, that writing is a craft as much as an art.  Much of the anti-workshop rhetoric strikes me as antiquated or ill-informed.  Any committed writer can learn and practice the technical aspects of the craft: point-of-view, structure, scene, etc., as well as the elements of grammar, syntax, and diction.  And while you can’t give someone an imagination, hopefully you can give them the resources to tap into their creativity in a rewarding way.  Ultimately a writer who has discipline, stamina, and the right balance of conviction and humility will succeed no matter what route they take.  That said, unlike formal English classes, which might emphasize theory and context, workshops offer the opportunity to discuss literature from a writer’s point of view.  It’s the process, not the product, that is emphasized.  Tracing the writer’s steps through a story, identifying the sentence or image that either reveals a character or propels the plot forward — I find these conversations endlessly gratifying, and always instructive.

WWLA:  What’s the funniest compliment you’ve received about your writing? The funniest critique?

LP:  The ones I remember were criticisms disguised as compliments, or vice versa.  When I was in film school, I screened a short movie that I’d worked on for months.  When the lights came up, there was a strained silence, followed by some uncomfortable throat-clearing and paper-rustling.  Finally one girl ventured (reluctantly), “The, um…  the credits?  They were… good?”  Everyone, grateful to have something nice to say, agreed immediately.  What ensued was a desperate conversation about “how perfectly timed the names were!”  How the acknowledgements weren’t too short — or too long!  How the fonts were pretty!  I tried to be polite, but I knew exactly what they were saying: the movie was terrible.  And, in hindsight, they were right — the only thing I had any talent with were the words.

WWLA:  Do you find yourself conceiving of short stories first through beginnings, middles or ends? Does your way of storytelling ever seem to mirror personal patterns?

LP:  I always start at the beginning — inspired by some line of dialogue, an image, a throwaway anecdote I heard on the bus — and work my way through to the end, like a sleuth on a case.  It’s hard for me to characterize my way of storytelling, since most of the time I’m not fully aware of what I’m doing or why I’m doing it.  In person I’m pretty laid back and even-tempered, but I wouldn’t describe my writing that way.  My wild streak is reserved for the page.

WWLA:  You say you may, on occasion, serve gourmet cheeses during your classes. That’s wonderful. If you’d like to say a few words about cheese, this page is your oyster.

LP:  I don’t know anything about cheese; I just buy what the hot dude at Bristol Farms tells me to.

–Interviewed by Moze Halperin (the Intern)

Prompt and a Half

Well, hello there.  On this glorious Thursday evening in the Pico/Fairfax district, should you find yourself not basking in the glory– perusing facebook for friends’ cousins’ friends’ summah-vacay-in-Solvang photos or ravenously checking the WWLA Twitter account for new updates (which, alright, we’ll condone), we at WWLA entreat you to indulge in this stimulating yet zippy little prompt.

Write a non-verbal dialogue between two or three characters.  This could either be naturalistic–  you could illustrate two people eying each other from across a classroom– or exaggerated– a vegetarian and a meat-eater eying each other eying a turkey from across a table (these are just our piddling examples.  Go wild.  Go wilder).  Explore the ways in which physicality, gesture, silence and perhaps even a smidgen of onomatopoeia can express each character’s emotional state, relationship to other characters, power, power struggle, etc. within a scene.

Then, as if this weren’t already fun enough, write the same scene, but with the characters adapted to being something inhuman– perhaps an animal, perhaps a monster, perhaps an alien or even an object.  How do the minute details of non-verbal interaction change when the human anatomy is taken out of the picture?  Do you now have more or fewer freedoms?

–Moze Halperin (intern)