Writing Workshops Los Angeles

Spring 2012 Class Schedule

admin — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 18:50:14 +0000

NONFICTION

Mixed Levels Creative Nonfiction: Personal Essay and Memoir (taught by Chris Daley in Los Feliz)
Thursdays, April 19, 2012 to June 14, 2012 (no class May 24, 2012)
7:30 to 9:30 PM

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 Los Feliz, 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

POETRY

Mixed Levels Poetry Writing Workshop (taught by Elline Lipkin in the Fairfax District)
Tuesdays, April 24, 2012 to June 12, 2012
7:30 to 9:30 pm

This 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. We’ll 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 the Fairfax District, 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

Fiction Writing I (taught by Edan Lepucki in the Pico-Fairfax area)
Mondays, April 23, 2012 to June 11, 2012
7:30 to 9:30 pm

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. There will be in-class discussion of published fiction from a craft perspective, and students will do writing exercises designed to tackle particular techniques. Each week there will be short writing assignments to complete outside of class, which students will turn in for feedback from the instructor. As this course is designed for beginning writers, there won’t be any formal workshopping, though occasionally students will be asked to bring copies of their work to share with the group. The class is also open to more experienced writers who simply want to brush up on the basics.

This course will take place at Mimoda Dance Studio (located behind Paper or Plastik Cafe) in the Pico-Fairfax area, where wine and sparkling water—and the occasional gourmet cheese—will be served.

Enrollment limit: 10 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 Writing II (taught by Adam Cushman in Beachwood Canyon)
**CLASS FULL; EMAIL TO GET ON WAIT LIST**
Wednesdays, April 25, 2012 to June 13, 2012
7:30 to 9:30 pm

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 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

***

Mixed Levels Young Adult Fiction Writing Workshop (taught by Sherri L. Smith in Glassell Park)
Wednesdays, April 25, 2012 to June 13, 2012
7:00 to 9:00 pm

In a world where teens have access to everything from the internet to the latest video games, how is it that the young adult (YA) novel is one of the fastest-growing and flourishing genres in the fiction book market today? Teens are hungry for a different kind of interaction. This mixed-levels workshop focuses on developing the tools specific to writing the compelling fiction today’s demanding YA audience craves. Students study various methods employed in published YA fiction and learn to shape characters, plot, and pacing in a voice that speaks to teen readers. Through weekly exercises and group critiquing, students build their book ideas into a complete outline and one polished chapter.

This course will take place in a fellow student’s home in Glassell Park, where tea, light snacks, and the occasional glass of wine 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 Writing Group **CLASS FULL; EMAIL WRITINGWORKSHOPSLA@GMAIL.COM to get on wait list!**
Wednesdays, April 11, 2012 to May 30, 2012
7:00 to 9:00 pm

In this new offering from Writing Workshops Los Angeles, students will have the opportunity to be a part of a fiction writers’ group, headed 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 create 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.

Come join this eight week course and get writing!

One and a half to two hours (length of class is dependent upon the number of students signing on, and the amount of work shared each week).

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

***

Didn’t find what you’re looking for? Email writingworkshopsla@gmail.com to request a class for next session, or to work one-on-one with a WWLA instructor!

Two New Instructors Join WWLA

admin — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 03:48:21 +0000

I’m excited to announce two new teachers to the Writing Workshops Los Angeles roster! Check out their impressive bios below. And look out for the upcoming spring schedule!

Adam Cushman’s stories have appeared in over two dozen literary journals including The St. Petersburg Review, The Mississippi Review, and Pindeldyboz. He is currently at work on a novel, has two screenplays in development, and is the editor of a forthcoming collection of fictional movie reviews entitled Critically Acclaimed. He holds an MFA from Columbia University and is Co-President of Red 14 Films, a high-end book trailer company. He also teaches fiction writing at UCLA Extension.

Adam Cushman

Adam will be teaching Fiction II this spring!

Sherri L. Smith was born in Chicago, Illinois and spent most of her childhood reading books. She currently lives in Los Angeles, where she has worked in movies, animation, comic books and construction. Sherri is the author of four award-winning novels—Lucy the Giant, Sparrow, Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet and the California Book Awards Gold Medalist Flygirl,
which the Washington Post named a best book of the year. Her next novel, Orleans, set in a post-catastrophe New Orleans, hits shelves in early 2013. For more information visit www.sherrilsmith.com.

Sherri L. Smith

Sherri will be teaching the Mixed Levels Young Adult Fiction Writing Workshop this spring!

Winter 2012 Classes

admin — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 20:05:55 +0000

I’m so excited to announce our roster of winter classes. Email writingworkshops [at] gmail [dot] com to enroll!

POETRY

Mixed Levels Poetry Writing Workshop (with Elline Lipkin in Studio City)
Tuesdays, January 24, 2012 to March 13, 2012
7:30 to 9:30 pm

This mixed-levels class is designed to immerse students in both the power and pleasures of poetry. Weekly, students will study examples of both traditional and modern poetic forms, such as the sonnet, villanelle, and sestina, and look at other poetic techniques such as use of rhyme, meter, metaphor, imagery and the line. Students will be offered in-class exercises to use as a starting point for their own work and then be invited to continue with these as they develop a sense of poetic voice and vision. There will be short critiques of students’ works-in-progress as well as additional reading offered to expand understanding of the breadth and depth of this genre, both through its lyric traditions and more innovative forms.

This course will take place in Studio City, 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

Young Adult Fiction Writing Seminar and Workshop (with Cecil Castellucci in Silverlake)
2 Saturdays, January 21, 2012 and February 4, 2012
12 to 4 pm

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 Writing I (with Adam Kaplan in the Park La Brea area)
Thursdays, February 9, 2012 to March 29, 2012
7:30 to 9:30 pm

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 there will be short writing assignments to take home, which students will turn in for feedback from the instructor. As this course is designed for beginning writers, there won’t be any formal workshopping, though there will be opportunities for students to share their writing with the group. 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 Park La Brea 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, please email writingworkshopsla@gmail.com

***

Mixed Levels Short Fiction: Writing Into Structure (with Mary Guterson in North Hollywood)
Tuesdays, January 24, 2012 to March 13, 2012
7:00 to 9:00 pm

All writers and artists learn from imitation. In this 8-week course, students will examine the structures of a variety of published stories, and then borrow (imitate) those structures to create their own work both in class and at home. Students will do plenty of in-class exercises geared toward improving craft and generating new material. The basics of fiction–plot, characterization, dialogue, point of view, scene, voice–will be covered throughout the course. Any at-home assignments will be emailed to one another in advance of course meetings so that students can read each other’s work and be prepared to talk about it in class. Students also have the option of submitting one longer story (up to 20 pages) for a written critique. This is a fun and free-flowing class, designed for writers of all levels. Come prepared to write and create.This course will take place in the instructor’s home in North Hollywood, where wine, sparking water–and the occasional snack–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

***

Novel Writing II (with Edan Lepucki in the Pico-Fairfax area)
**CLASS FULL; EMAIL WRITINGWORKSHOPSLA@GMAIL.COM TO GET ON WAIT LIST **
Saturdays, January 14, 2012 to March 31, 2012 (no class 2/18 and 2/25)
10:30 am to 12:30 pm

In this 10-week course students will continue working on newly-conceived novels. The first few weeks of class will be devoted to 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 their aesthetic goals. There will be a weekly page-count requirement to keep students on task, and there will even be time set aside in class to write. The final weeks of the course will be devoted to workshopping student novel excerpts (40 pages maximum) in an intense yet compassionate environment designed to challenge and inspire all members of the class. This course is designed as a continuation of the fall 2011 Introduction to Novel Writing Workshop, and is open to experienced writers only. Students must have approximately 30-50 pages of a manuscript to be eligible for the course. To apply for entry, please email writingworkshopsla@gmail.com for more information.

This class will take place in the instructor’s home in the Pico-Fairfax area, where coffee and sparkling water–and the occasional assortment of breakfast pastries–will be served.

Enrollment limit: 8 students
Course fee: $410 for new students; $370 for returning students (Payment plans available!)

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

***

NONFICTION

Mixed Levels Creative Nonfiction Writing: Personal Essay and Memoir (taught by Chris Daley in Los Feliz)
**CLASS FULL; EMAIL WRITINGWORKSHOPSLA@GMAIL.COM TO GET ON WAIT LIST**
Mondays, January 16, 2012 to March 5, 2012
7:30 to 9:30 pm

In this mixed level 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 Los Feliz, 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

***

Two New Teachers Join the WWLA Roster

admin — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 04:51:37 +0000

I’m excited to announce that we have two new instructors joining the WWLA roster. Check out their bios and photos below!

Cecil Castellucci’s novels for young adults include First Day on Earth, Rose Sees Red, Beige, The Queen of Cool, and Boy Proof, and a picture book, Grandma’s Gloves. She also won the Shuster Award for the graphic novels The PLAIN Janes and Janes in Love, illustrated by Jim Rugg, which were the launch titles for DC Comics Minx line. Her books have been on American Library Assocation’s Best Book for Young Adults, Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, Great Graphic Novels for Teens lists, the NYPL Books for the Teen Age and the Amelia Bloomer list. Upcoming books include a hybrid prose/ graphic novel The Year of the Beasts. For more information go here.

Cecil will be teaching the two-day Young Adult Fiction Writing Seminar and Workshop, on January 21st and February 4th. See the classes page for more info.

Cecil Castellucci

Adam Kaplan has an M.F.A in Creative Writing from Columbia University. He just completed his first short story collection, Camp Lessons, and his novel Rats That Will Eat You will be completed in 2012. Adam has taught introduction to fiction at Columbia University, was a guest poetry lecturer for the Long Island public school system, and spent three years teaching creative writing to at risk youth in the social service system in San Francisco.

Adam will be teaching Fiction Writing I, beginning Thursday, February 9th. See the classes page for more info.

Adam Kaplan

Student News

admin — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 19:23:12 +0000

Congratulations to all our WWLA students who have published work this year! The writing, and one’s dedication to that writing, is what matters, but it’s nice to get recognition for that hard work, and to be read by the world!

***

Joy Allen’s story “The Marks,” published in The (&) Review, vol.6, has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

Sara Campbell had a contribution in the latest Readers Report Back feature at The Rumpus.

Melissa Chadburn is now a staff writer at The Nervous Breakdown, where she’s written this and this (among other pieces). You can also read her story Communion in Pank Magazine. On December 4th she read at the venerable Rhapsodomancy reading series at the Good Luck Bar.

Eric Cohen wrote the story for Liberty Smith, which debuted as a musical at Ford’s Theatre this spring.

L. Marie Cook self-published her memoir Lay Me Down, now available at Amazon and other local and online retailers.

Caitlin Creevy’s short story “Girl Games” was included in the anthology They’re at it Again: Stories from Twenty Years at Open City.

Catie Disabato published an excerpt of her fictional nonfiction book The Ghost Network on Gaga Stigmata. She’s also written a number of book reviews on Full-Stop, like this one on Hav by Jan Morris. And check out the web series she co-created, I Hate LA.

Marguerite Kenner’s essay, Matching Bags, was published at Airplane Reading.

Amanda McRaven’s essay “After and Before” was published in the inaugural issue of NY _____ Magazine.

Tony Mohr had an essay My Father, in the Dark in the October/November issue of Eclectica. His essay “Invasion USA” has been accepted at the US Air Force Academy’s journal War, Literature, and the Arts.

Jill Paris’s essay “Travel Fiasco: Vino, Stilettos, and Cads” was a winning entry in the Travel Fiasco Storyteller Contest at Fathom Magazine, which also published her travel narrative “In Praise of Happyness.” Her essay “Cautionary Advice For Closet Cougars: Do Not Shop Drunk With Twentysomething Girls” was published by Thought Catalog.

Nomi Prins self-published her novel Black Friday, and has appeared on Brian Lehrer, NY-1, PBS Tavis Smiley, MSNBC, RtTV, Fox & CSPAN-BookTV to promote it.

Lauren Szasz has had three essays (so far) on Advice from a Surfer’s Girlfriend at the website Surfing Life.

Winter 2012 Classes Coming Soon

admin — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 20:43:19 +0000

New courses for early 2012 will be posted in mid- to late-December. If you’d like to hear about courses as they’re announced, email writingworkshopsla [at] gmail [dot] com to sign up for the email list.

Fall Class Schedule

admin — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:30:53 +0000

FICTION CLASSES

Fiction Writing I (taught by Mary Guterson in North Hollywood)
Wednesdays, September 21, 2011 to November 9, 2011
7:30 to 9:30 pm

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 you will discuss published fiction from a craft perspective and do writing exercises designed to tackle particular techniques. Each week you will have short writing assignments to do on your own, which you will turn 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 North Hollywood, 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

***

Mixed Levels Fiction Writing Workshop (taught by Mary Guterson in North Hollywood)

Tuesdays, September 20, 2011 to November 8, 2011
7:30 to 9:30 pm

This 8-week mixed-levels class is designed for both short story writers and novelists. For the first four weeks, you will do in-class writing exercises and discuss published short fiction and novel excerpts from a craft perspective. You 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. In the final four weeks of the course, you will be expected to turn in either a short story manuscript or a novel excerpt (maximum 25 pages), to be critiqued by the instructor. Students will also share excerpts and works-in-progress with the group in a workshop environment designed to inspire and challenge every member of the class.

This course will take place in the instructor’s home in North Hollywood, 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

***

Introduction to Novel Writing (taught by Edan Lepucki in the Pico-Fairfax area) ** CLASS FULL **
Saturdays, September 24, 2011 to December 10, 2011 (no class 10/29 and 11/26)
10 am to noon

In this 10-week course, you will develop your idea for a novel–and write the first 30 to 40 pages. We 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 you to think deeply about your project and your aesthetic goals. There will be a weekly page-count requirement to keep you on task, and we will even set aside time in class to write. 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 is open to experienced writers only. To apply for entry, please email writingworkshopsla@gmail.com with a description of your writing background; you may be asked to submit a short writing sample.

This class will take place in the instructor’s home in the Pico-Fairfax area, where coffee and sparkling water–and the occasional basket of bagels–will be served.

Enrollment limit: 8 students
Course fee: $410 for new students; $370 for returning students (Payment plans available!)
If you’re interested in signing up, please email writingworkshopsla@gmail.com

NONFICTION CLASSES:

Mixed Levels Creative Nonfiction: Personal Essay and Memoir (taught by Chris Daley in Los Feliz)
**CLASS FULL**
Tuesdays, September 27, 2011 to November 15, 2011
7:30 to 9:30 PM

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 Los Feliz, 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

***

Intermediate Creative Nonfiction: Personal Essay and Memoir (taught by Chris Daley in Los Feliz)
**CLASS FULL**
Thursdays, October 6, 2011 to December 1, 2011 (no class 11/24)
7:30 to 9:30 pm

This 8-week intermediate course is designed for writers who have started to explore the memoir or personal essay genre, but in most cases, they have yet to commit to a concrete book-sized project. The students will already be familiar with the particular generic concerns of personal narrative (persona, reader relationship, situation vs. story, introspective homework, authenticity, retrospective vs. immediate point of view, hybridity of form). Students will read several book-length models and develop their own essays or chapters through a
process of drafting, feedback, and revision in a challenging but supportive environment. Weekly in-class and homework exercises will help establish and refine structure, style, voice, and texture. Writers will have the opportunity to submit work for review every other week. Previous enrollment in the Mixed Level course strongly suggested.

This course will take place in the instructor’s home in Los Feliz, 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

***

3-HOUR CREATIVE WRITING SESSIONS
$25 per student

There are 2 sessions to choose from, in fiction and poetry:

Saturday, September 3, 2011
3 to 6 pm
Poetry writing with Elline Lipkin in Studio City

Saturday, September 17, 2011 **CLASS FULL**
10 am to 1 pm
Fiction Writing with Edan Lepucki in the Pico-Fairfax area

In this 3-hour class, you 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. You’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 of you 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 in signing up, please email writingworkshopsla@gmail.com

***

Summer Course Schedule

admin — Mon, 23 May 2011 16:05:17 +0000

Mixed Levels Creative Nonfiction: Personal Essay & Memoir (with Chris Daley in Los Feliz)
Tuesdays, 7:30 to 9:30 pm
July 12, 2011 to August 30, 2011

In this 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 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, please email writingworkshopsla@gmail.com

***

Intermediate/Advanced Creative Nonfiction: Personal Essay and Memoir (with Chris Daley in Los Feliz)
Thursdays, 7:30 to 9:30 pm
August 11, 2011 to September 29, 2011

This advanced level course is designed for writers who have started a memoir or essay collection and have some idea of the persona, audience, and purpose driving their work. There will be some assigned readings, but the focus will be on developing projects through a process of drafting, feedback, and revision in a challenging but supportive environment. Weekly in-class and homework exercises will help establish and refine structure, style, voice, and texture. Students will discuss the particular generic concerns of personal narrative and memoir, and they will have the opportunity to submit work for review every other week. An advanced project or previous enrollment in the Introduction/Mixed Level course strongly suggested.

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, please email writingworkshopsla@gmail.com

***

Mixed Levels Poetry Writing Workshop (with Elline Lipkin in Studio City) *CLASS FULL; EMAIL WRITINGWORKSHOPSLA@GMAIL.COM TO GET ON WAIT LIST **
Thursdays, 7:30 to 9:30 pm
June 30, 2011 to August 25, 2011 (no class July 7th!)

This mixed-levels class is designed to immerse students in both the power and pleasures of poetry. Weekly, you will study examples of both traditional and modern poetic forms, such as the sonnet, villanelle, and sestina, and look at other poetic techniques such as use of rhyme, meter, metaphor, imagery and the line. Students will be offered in-class exercises to use as a starting point for their own work and then be invited to continue with these as they develop a sense of poetic voice and vision. You will have short critiques of students’ works-in-progress as well as additional reading offered to expand understanding of the breadth and depth of this genre, both through its lyric traditions and more innovative forms.

This course will take place in Studio City, 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

***

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

Saturday, June 18, 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.

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

***

Mixed Levels Fiction Writing Workshop (with Mary Guterson in the Melrose/Highland area) ** CLASS FULL; EMAIL WRITINGWORKSHOPSLA@GMAIL.COM TO GET ON WAIT LIST **
Tuesdays, 7:30 to 9:30 pm
June 28, 2011 to August 16, 2011

This mixed-levels class is designed for both short story writers and those just embarking on their novels. For the first four weeks, you will do in-class writing exercises and discuss published short fiction and novel excerpts from a craft perspective. You 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. In the final four weeks of the course, you will be expected to turn in either a short story manuscript or a novel excerpt (maximum 25 pages), to be critiqued by the instructor. Students will also share excerpts and works-in-progress with the group in a workshop environment designed to inspire and challenge every member of the class.

This course will take place in the Melrose 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, please email writingworkshopsla@gmail.com

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3-Hour Creative Writing Exercise Sessions
$25 per student

There are two sessions to choose from.

Saturday, June 11th, from 10 am to 1 pm
Fiction Writing with Leslie Parry in Pasadena **CLASS FULL: EMAIL WRITINGWORKSHOPSLA@GMAIL.COM TO GET ON WAIT LIST **

Saturday, June 25, 2011 from 11 am to 2 pm
Nonfiction Writing with Chris Daley in Los Feliz **CLASS FULL; EMAIL WRITINGWORKSHOPSLA@GMAIL.COM TO GET ON WAIT LIST **

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

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Elline Lipkin to teach poetry workshops for WWLA

admin — Thu, 19 May 2011 00:58:34 +0000

I’m excited to announce that poet Elline Lipkin has joined the teaching staff at Writing Workshops Los Angeles. Elline will be teaching a poetry workshop this summer (to be announced soon…!) Check out her impressive bio below:

Elline Lipkin is a scholar and poet who has worked as an editor for a variety of newspapers, magazines, and journals. Her collection of poetry, The Errant Thread, was chosen by Eavan Boland to receive the Kore Press First Book Award and was published in 2006. Her second book, Girls’ Studies, a work of nonfiction, was published by Seal Press in 2009. She holds an MFA in Poetry from Columbia University and a PhD in Creative Writing and Literature. Her nonfiction writing has appeared in Salon.com and other contemporary sources, and she is widely published as a poet. A former resident at Yaddo, the Virginia Center for the Contemporary Arts, and Dorland, Lipkin has taught creative writing to students of all ages, and she’s been a speaker at the Napa Valley Writers Conference and the Writer-in-Residence at the Paper & Book Intensive.

Welcome, Elline!

Spots Left in Mixed Levels Personal Nonfiction Workshop

admin — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 22:03:40 +0000

All the other spring courses are full, but there are still a few openings in Chris Daley’s class. Here are the details:

Mixed Levels Creative Nonfiction: Personal Essay & Memoir (with Chris Daley in Los Feliz)
Tuesdays, 7:30 to 9:30 pm
April 19, 2011 to June 7, 2011

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