TV Writer’s Assistant: Writer's Room Survival Bootcamp

In this course, you will learn to enhance and augment your creative writing ability. This poetry class is one that will assist in your creative writing process and upon completion you will gain confidence in writing some of the best poetry you have written. Materials Needed to Fully Participate: Pencil/Pen Notebook An open mind About the...

Add some creativity to your week from the comfort of your own home This long-standing in-person generative, creative writing workshop, which took place in West Hollywood, CA, for 15 years, has switched to an online format so you can now join us from anywhere. Tap into your creative side, write work that will surprise you, and learn a few things along...

Every life holds many tales. Whether your life is wildly unconventional or relatively normal, there’s bound to be something fascinating about it. That’s why the contemporary memoir—everyday people telling their stories—has become such a popular phenomenon. A memoir covers an aspect of a life, whether it’s a short piece about, say, a bicycle...

Every life holds many tales. Whether your life is wildly unconventional or relatively normal, there’s bound to be something fascinating about it. That’s why the contemporary memoir—everyday people telling their stories—has become such a popular phenomenon. A memoir covers an aspect of a life, whether it’s a short piece about, say, a bicycle...

Are you eager to test the waters of creative writing but not sure where to start, or how? Have you written previously but been away for a while and hope to dip back in? Here you will be guided surely and safely into the writing life. There’s no pressure to work on a specific project or even settle on which type of creative writing you prefer. The...

Fiction is a wonderful conjuring act. With only words and the reader’s imagination, a work of fiction can sail across the world in pursuit of a whale, or time-travel to another dimension, or zero in on a few minutes in line at the local bank, enveloping the reader in a made-up story that feels real.  To pull off this feat requires a balance...

Are you eager to test the waters of creative writing but not sure where to start, or how? Have you written previously but been away for a while and hope to dip back in? Here you will be guided surely and safely into the writing life. There’s no pressure to work on a specific project or even settle on which type of creative writing you prefer. The...

Award Winning Screenwriter Jacob Krueger Will Forever Change The Way You View Screenwriting. Rather than imposing formulaic models from the outside, we teach you how to organically “grow” your script, from initial idea, to character, to scene, to act, to the movie you’ve always dreamed of writing. Jump Start Your Writing. Whether you’re...

In the peaceful atmosphere of the Saturday workshop, and with the help of meditations that quiet the critical mind, writing becomes possible, cathartic, transformational. You can write memoir or fiction. Each workshop is focused around an inspirational theme or myth. You’ll write three times for about one hour each time, and receive constructive,...

Every writer needs a good editor to push the work to its best possible state. But your work won’t reach a professional editor unless it’s already in excellent shape. A dilemma, to be sure. That’s why you need to be a skilled editor of your own work. Perhaps your great ideas and stories are clouded by such things as clunky language, pallid verbs,...

Nonfiction—pieces that spring from the real world—is everywhere. Magazines, newspapers, books, blogs, websites. And nonfiction has grown more diverse and creative than ever, embracing all styles from straight to zany to lyrical, encompassing every topic imaginable from schoolyard memories to a trek in Nepal to the creation of the universe. Here...

As Rhett tells Scarlett in the movie Gone With the Wind, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” (In the book version, there’s no “frankly.”) Either way it’s a good line, and you should give a damn about your dialogue. Dialogue is crucial to any kind of story—fiction, nonfiction, any kind of script. Bad dialogue can sink it like a...

Getting an essay in the New York Times is the crown jewel of personal essays in terms of bragging rights and future book deals. In this five-week Online NY Times worthy personal essay class, the instructor will share insight into securing this prestigious but elusive prize. Through fun, in-class exercises, an informative craft talk, and in-class feedback,...

What do you think about X or Y or Z? And how have your life experiences informed your views on these topics? That’s the essence of a personal essay: viewpoints filtered through the lens of your personal experience. Any topic goes, from the ridiculous to the sublime. Unlike the stiff essays you may have written in school, these should feel personal,...

Fiction is a wonderful conjuring act. With only words and the reader’s imagination, a work of fiction can sail across the world in pursuit of a whale, or time-travel to another dimension, or zero in on a few minutes in line at the local bank, enveloping the reader in a made-up story that feels real. To pull off this feat requires a balance of craftsmanship,...

This class will teach you concrete skills that will help you become a better sketch comedy writer. You will learn how to develop your ideas, clarify your premise, create characters, and understand what makes a good sketch work. The class will consist of lectures, writing assignments, and focused and fun workshops each week. No experience required....

Have you ever thought about turning your life’s trials and tribulations into a NY Times bestseller? In this seven-week Los Angeles Memoir Writing Workshop, 2x NY Times bestselling memoirist Wendy Lawless will share her secrets for turning your life’s twists and turns into lively drama! Her fun, all new in-class exercises will help you infuse your...

Note: This is primarily a lecture class with some in-class exercises but not everyone will get to share their writing for feedback due to the seminar format. Have you always wanted to write a personal essay but you don’t know where to start? Or have you dreamed of seeing one of your essays published in the New York Times or Salon? In this 1...

This course gives you a firm grounding in the basics of essay/opinion writing craft and gets you writing an essay or opinion piece (or two). Course components: Lectures Writing exercises Workshopping of student projects (each student presenting work two times) Essay & Opinion I is for beginners or anyone who wants to brush up on the fundamentals....

Meditative Writing Level One: The Process of Creativity & Story Mining At the intersection of science, art, and meditation we build an approach to writing that draws from the most powerful part of your mind. Cognitive and meditative exercises will be crafted specifically to help you get the most out of every writing session and discover the...