Classes

For a quick overview of all classes (as opposed to scrolling down through all the text descriptions), click here for a VISUAL CALENDAR (like the kind you’d hang on your wall)

Registration is now open for Summer Session classes (some start in July, others start in August; see the Visual Calendar for a quick, at-a-glance overview of starting dates for all classes).)

The schedule of Fall Session classes (October/November/December) will be posted the last week of August. If you would like to be notified via email when these have been posted to the website, please sign up to be on our mailing list (email only). The link to do this in in the righthand sidebar. 

For more information about how to register for classes, go to the "Registration/Refunds" link in the upper righthand corner of this page, where you can learn how to become a Writing Salon member (and get discounts on classes), how to register for a class via this website or by mail.

If a class is full (maximum enrollment is 13), we will say so in BOLD RED LETTERS at the top of the course description. If you don’t see this BOLD RED MESSAGE, then you can register for the class. If the class has already started, please call to see if it would be okay to start late; sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t).

Sorry, but we are unable to answer emails and phone calls asking us how many spaces are left in a class.

Following is our REFUND POLICY. When you sign up for a class, you are agreeing to this policy. No exceptions.

REFUND POLICY:

If you want to withdraw from a class (before it has started) and request a refund (monetary) or credit (toward a future class), you must MAIL in a written request. We do not respond to requests made by email or phone. Our mailing address is: The Writing Salon, 601 Anderson St., SF, CA 94110.

Your eligibility for a refund or credit is determined by the date of the postmark, as follows:

1. Your request must be postmarked 10 or more days PRIOR to the first day of class, in order for you to receive either: 1) a refund minus a service fee of $25, or 2) a 100 percent credit (no $25 fee) toward a future class, good for the next two sessions. However, there is no guarantee that the same class will be offered within the next two sessions or that, if offered, it will be taught by the same teacher. Refunds take up to six weeks to process.

2. If your request is postmarked less than 10 days PRIOR to the first day of class (or if you need to withdraw after the class has already started), no refund or credit will be given unless we have someone on a waiting list to take your place.

3. The policy applies regardless of your reason for withdrawing.

4. If a class is cancelled, you will receive a full refund.

Below is a list of all Summer Session 2008 classes, grouped loosely into "genre" categories. You can click on the link if you want a particular course description to open in a new window, or you can scroll further down the page to see all course descriptions.

INTRODUCTORY CLASSES
(NO SPECIFIC GENRE)

Exploring Your Writer’s Voice (1 day)
Exploring Your Writer’s Voice (9 weeks)
Creative Writing Smorgasbord!
Intro to Creative Writing

CLASSES WITH A SPECIAL FOCUS

Creativity Jolt!
Writing as Healing
Travel Writing
Food Writing
Writing the Surreal
Writing with Clarity, Imagination and Love
Writing Workshop for Teens (5 weeks) 
Leave Your Writer’s Block at the Door

WRITING PRACTICE/DISCIPLINE (NO SPECIFIC GENRE):

The Daily Write "Round Robin"

FICTION:

Intro to Fiction (SF)
Intro to Fiction (Berkeley)
Starting Your Novel (SF)
Starting Your Novel (Berkeley)
Get that Novel Written (SF)
Afternoon Fiction Workshop (SF)
Evening Fiction Workshop (SF)
From Real Life to Fiction
Flash Fiction

CREATIVE NONFICTION:

Personal Essays
Memoir Writing
Travel Writing
Food Writing

NONFICTION:

Freelance Magazine Writing
Travel Writing
Food Writing

POETRY:

The Poem You Weren’t Expecting
Fearless Poetry Bootcamp

SCREENWRITING:

Screenwriting Workshop

PLAYWRITING:

The Art of the 10-Minute Play 

Saturday, June 28th, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Location: Berkeley
$95 members/$110 non-members

Did you love your last Writing Salon class? Is there a teenager in your house?  Now they can love the Writing Salon too! Our first class for teenagers is all about the writing — no grammar, no spell-checking, and no grades. Now they have a chance to write about the things they want to write about. No five-paragraph essays about summer vacation! No term papers about the history of the Supreme Court!  All they’ll need to know is the First Amendment . . . and we’ll turn that free speech into dynamic fiction, wild poetry, and powerful prose.

For more than ten years, Jesse Loesberg has been helping young writers forget everything they learned in school. He has taught creative writing at the Oak Bluffs School on Martha’s Vineyard, at various after-school programs around the Bay Area, and he’s been on the faculty of Young Writers Camp in Story, Wyoming since 2000. Jesse holds a master of fine arts in creative writing from at Goddard College. His essays, poetry, and fiction have appeared in Whistling Shade, Maine in Print, The Santa Barbara Review and The Casco Bay Weekly, and his radio commentaries run regularly as part of the Perspectives series on KQED-FM in San Francisco.

Saturday, July 12th, 10 am to 4 pm,  Location: Berkeley
$95 members/$110 non-members

“Inspiration does not come like a bolt, nor is it kinetic, energetic striving, but it comes into us slowly and quietly and all the time, though we must regularly and every day give it a little chance to start flowing, prime it with a little solitude and idleness. I learned that you should feel when writing, not like Lord Byron on a mountain top, but like a child stringing beads in kindergarten—happy, absorbed, and quietly putting one bead on after another.”   Brenda Ueland

In this workshop, we will view and create writing as an act of quietly putting one bead on after another. “The healing that emerges from a writing practice may be slow and subdued, but definitely powerful,” says instructor Kathleen McClung. We’ll discuss excerpts from Writing as a Way of Healing: How Telling Our Stories Transforms Our Lives and in particular, we’ll focus on, and practice, the qualities of a healing narrative. We’ll look at examples from published memoirs by Alice Sebold, Joan Didion, Mark Doty and others who have consciously used the writing of their artistic works to help them heal from painful personal experiences. We’ll talk about the role of contemplation, discipline, and ritual in shaping creative work that is genuinely transformational.  

Participants will have opportunities to write and share short pieces in class and will learn about additional books and resources. While not a therapy group, the class is intended for both new and experienced writers who value writing as self exploration and fine art and who want to begin or deepen their own writing practice. Within a supportive setting, class participants will be encouraged to take risks with their work and to share the gifts of self-discovery and transformation with a larger community.

Kathleen McClung, M.A., M.A., has taught writing at Skyline College for over ten years and has worked as a book editor at small presses including UCSF Nursing Press, Food First Books, and Westview Press. Her memoir, fiction, and poetry have been published in The Rambler, Spirituality & Health, Hawaii Pacific Review, Poetry Northwest, Albany Review, Hot Flashes, off our backs, and elsewhere. “Now You See Him, Now You Don’t,” a short memoir, won first prize in the 2005 essay contest sponsored by www.memoirsink.com. She has also won awards from the San Francisco Bay Guardian, Writer’s Digest, the National Society of Arts & Letters, and the Academy of American Poets.

Saturday, July 12th, 3 to 5 pm
 Location: San Francisco

 
Please drop by a casual Open House for writers and would-be writers. We’ll hang out together, and you can  get to know a bit more about how the Writing Salon works… and/or about each other. We’ll pour you a cup of coffee or tea, offer you a cookie or two, and do our best to answer any questions you may have about the classes we offer and how we may best serve your writerly needs, hopes, aspirations and dreams!

Nine Sundays, July 13-Sept. 14 (skip Aug. 31), 7 to 9:30 pm
Location: San Francisco  $335 members/$365 non-members

"I am going to write because I cannot help it." —Charlotte Bronte

After pursuing an impressive variety of careers by day, aspiring writers find their way to this workshop because they’re finally giving in to the stories they’ve written (or mean to write). Some show up with an idea. Some come with a rough draft in hand. Some bring a bundle of pages, wondering what to call their creation: A short story? The beginning of a novel? But whatever they bring, they all have one thing in common: they want coaching and feedback.

In this workshop-intensive course you’ll explore form, structure, dramatization, voice, characterization, fictional time and place, point of view, and theme. "We’ll occasionally look at examples of these topics in published stories, but mostly we’ll be looking at your writing," says instructor David Booth. "Each class member will have two opportunities to share writing with the group. We’ll respond constructively to each other’s work, with written comments as well as roundtable discussions. We’ll also tackle a few famous writing exercises, both in and out of class. Most of all, we will encourage each other as writers. (Note: This class is for beginning to intermediate writers and can be taken more than once.)

David Booth teaches fiction in the MFA writing program at USF. His fiction and poetry have appeared in The Missouri Review, Carriage House Review, Paragraph, Absomoly, The Kit-Cat Review, Quick Fiction, Fourteen Hills, Transfer, Sudden Stories: A Mammoth Anthology of Miniscule Fiction, and elsewhere. His novel, The Itinerants, has found a home with a Manhattan-based literary agency. He is also a former associate director of The Poetry Center and American Poetry Archives at SFSU.

"I particularly loved the piece read by David Booth…"

"David’s approach is one I like a lot…"

"I really enjoyed David’s fiction workshop…"

Nine Sundays, 7/13-9/14 (skip 8/31), 7-9:30 pm
$335 members/$365 non-members; Location: Berkeley

"At some point, every produced screenwriter, whether working in Hollywood or in the Independents, wrote a “calling card” script – the one that got them noticed and out of the slush pile on to the production list," says Terrel Seltzer. "In this class I’ll give practical, de-mystifying advice from a veteran screenwriter’s experience, focusing on three crucial elements to help aspiring writers get a foot in the door: 1) Concepts that sell: the need for a “strange attractor,” which is often called “the high concept idea,” 2) Characters that actors will vie to play: “structuring both the outer journey (physical plot) and the inner journey (emotional arc) of your protagonist hero, and 3) Conflict: how to get it, because a screenplay has to have it (and most beginner’s scripts don’t).

"My approach is to teach by personal example, to provide a professional insider’s look at the screenwriting process. By studying scripts of well-known movies and referencing my own current script-in-progress, I’ll demonstrate how to choose a premise that actually has a fighting chance, and then how to story map that concept, character build, sequence and outline the narrative, and ultimately start writing a screenplay. Class writing assignments (for those who want to do them) will encourage students to develop an idea, or to hone an already written screenplay into a calling card script."

Terrel Seltzer is a self-taught screenwriter. She learned the craft by watching and outlining literally hundreds of movies. Her career started in the Bay Area, working with SF director Wayne Wang, for whom she wrote the screenplays for the independent films Chan is Missing and Dim Sum. Her two produced Hollywood screenplays are How I Got into College (with Lara Flynn Boyle and Anthony Edwards) and One Fine Day (with Michelle Pfeiffer and George Cloony). Currently, she has two scripts in development: Magick written for director Robert Zemeckis at Dreamworks, and Foolproof, a spec script recently optioned by Warner Brother Classics.

". . . a wonderful class . . ."

 Nine Sundays, 7/13-9/14 (skip Aug. 31) 3-5:30 p.m.
$335 members/$365 non-members; Location: San Francisco

"I am going to write because I cannot help it." —Charlotte Bronte

After pursuing an impressive variety of careers by day, aspiring writers find their way to this workshop because they’re finally giving in to the stories they’ve written (or mean to write). Some show up with an idea. Some come with a rough draft in hand. Some bring a bundle of pages, wondering what to call their creation: A short story? The beginning of a novel? But whatever they bring, they all have one thing in common: they want coaching and feedback.

In this workshop-intensive course you’ll explore form, structure, dramatization, voice, characterization, fictional time and place, point of view, and theme. "We’ll occasionally look at examples of these topics in published stories, but mostly we’ll be looking at your writing," says instructor David Booth. "Each class member will have two opportunities to share writing with the group. We’ll respond constructively to each other’s work, with written comments as well as roundtable discussions. We’ll also tackle a few famous writing exercises, both in and out of class. Most of all, we will encourage each other as writers.

David Booth teaches fiction in the MFA writing program at USF. His fiction and poetry have appeared in The Missouri Review, Carriage House Review, Paragraph, Absomoly, The Kit-Cat Review, Quick Fiction, Fourteen Hills, Transfer, Sudden Stories: A Mammoth Anthology of Miniscule Fiction, and elsewhere. His novel, The Itinerants, has found a home with a Manhattan-based literary agency. He is also a former associate director of The Poetry Center and American Poetry Archives at SFSU.

"I particularly loved the piece read by David Booth…"

"David’s approach is one I like a lot…"

"I really enjoyed David’s fiction workshop…" 

Five Sundays, July 13th - Aug. 10th, 2-4:30 p.m.
$185 members/$215 non-members; Location: Berkeley

"COMBO" CLASS: Take this 5-week class plus the 5-week class that follows it, Starting Your Novel," for the same price as one 9-week class ($335 members/$365 non-members).(You must choose the "combo" option on the registration form.)

We writers too often need others to tell us that our writing is good," says instructor Junse Kim. "And this is where it all goes horribly wrong. We become impatient for praise, obsessed with completing a story before learning the basic skills we need to write it. It’s the equivalent of, say, an aspiring carpenter who has committed to building a beautiful house, yet doesn’t know how to hammer in a nail or saw a piece of wood."

In this class, you’ll develop concrete skills and narrative techniques through fun writing exercises designed to help you master your craft. At the end of five weeks, you’ll have a better grip on how to use these techniques (for developing character, setting and plot) as tools for building your story. The class will also analyze other narrative genres, from movie scenes to comic books, to analyze storytelling skills you can apply to your fiction writing.

Junse Kim, like many Writing Salon students, didn’t begin to pursue a writing life until well after graduating from college. Before ever taking a writing class, he worked as a concert promoter, Peace Corps volunteer, managerial consultant, scriptwriter, nonprofit fundraiser, and "full-time" temp. He has since received a Pushcart Prize (for his short story Yangban), a Faulkner Award, and the Philip Roth Residence in Creative Writing at Bucknell University. His fiction and creative nonfiction have been published in the Ontario Review, ZYZZYVA, and Cimarron Review, as well as two anthologies: Pushcart Prize XXVII and Echoes Upon Echoes: New Korean American Writing.

"Junse is a great teacher!"

Nine Mondays, July 14-Sept. 15 (no class 9/1), 7-9:30 p.m.
$335 members/$365 non-members; Location: Berkeley

This class will help you plunge into the personal themes that make your real life stories uniquely yours.  For the first four weeks, instructor Alison Luterman will lead carefully crafted writing exercises designed to elicit the undertones and overtones that give events resonance and elevate anecdotes into the realm of art. The latter weeks will be dedicated to refining and then workshopping the pieces you have begun, bringing them to the next level of craft.

"Every one of us is neck-deep in the middle of our own long and winding stories, stories that, when shared, can help us bridge the gap between ourselves and the rest of the world," says Alison. "What’s wonderful about finding and honing these stories - about being a writer, in fact, is that it redeems everything, even the moment of burning shame when you flunked the driving test three times, even the fact that you could never decide what you wanted to be when you grew up. It reminds you that once you were twenty and limber and unafraid to sleep in the cornfield when hitchhiking across France. And, like the smell of fresh coffee or a first kiss, it heightens the senses. We’ll workshop your essays from the standpoint of craft, voice, and structure, using the techniques of fiction writing, playwriting, and even poetry to enliven your writing."

Alison Luterman has been shamelessly telling tales from her own life ever since she could grip a sweaty pencil. She has published essays in The Sun, Radiance, Response, The East Bay Express, and The Boston Phoenix. Her book of poems, The Largest Possible Life, won The Cleveland State University Poetry Prize, and a recent poem, "The Quilts from Gee’s Bend, Alabama," won the latest Writer’s Digest poetry award. Her play, Saying Kaddish with My Sister will be produced in January of ‘08 by the Jewish Ensemble Theatre of Michigan. She has taught poetry to thousands of school children through California Poets in the schools, and is an adjunct creative writing instructor at New College. She also performs improvisational dance, singing, storytelling and poetry through the Wing It! performance ensemble. She has given workshops and readings around the country.

"Alison Luterman’s teaching style…."

"…touching and delicious…"

 "Thanks to everyone…"

"You’re so totally in command of what you do…"

Five Mondays, July 14th-Aug. 11th, 7-9:30 p.m.
$185 members/$215 non-members; Location: San Francisco

NOTE: THIS CLASS IS NOW FULL. However, the Berkeley Intro to Fiction class on Sunday afternoons still has openings. Or feel free to give Jane a call at 415.609.2468 if you have questions about other classes that might work for you. Or. . . if this is the only class you want, you can send an email to jane@writingsalons.com, to request that you be put on a waiting list in case a space opens up.

"COMBO" CLASS: Take this 5-week class plus the 5-week class that follows it, Starting Your Novel," for the same price as one 9-week class ($335 members/$365 non-members).(You must choose the "combo" option on the registration form.)

We writers too often need others to tell us that our writing is good," says instructor Junse Kim. "And this is where it all goes horribly wrong. We become impatient for praise, obsessed with completing a story before learning the basic skills we need to write it. It’s the equivalent of, say, an aspiring carpenter who has committed to building a beautiful house, yet doesn’t know how to hammer in a nail or saw a piece of wood."

In this class, you’ll develop concrete skills and narrative techniques through fun writing exercises designed to help you master your craft. At the end of five weeks, you’ll have a better grip on how to use these techniques (for developing character, setting and plot) as tools for building your story. The class will also analyze other narrative genres, from movie scenes to comic books, to analyze storytelling skills you can apply to your fiction writing.

Junse Kim, like many Writing Salon students, didn’t begin to pursue a writing life until well after graduating from college. Before ever taking a writing class, he worked as a concert promoter, Peace Corps volunteer, managerial consultant, scriptwriter, nonprofit fundraiser, and "full-time" temp. He has since received a Pushcart Prize (for his short story Yangban), a Faulkner Award, and the Philip Roth Residence in Creative Writing at Bucknell University. His fiction and creative nonfiction have been published in the Ontario Review, ZYZZYVA, and Cimarron Review, as well as two anthologies: Pushcart Prize XXVII and Echoes Upon Echoes: New Korean American Writing.

"Junse is a great teacher!"

Five Tuesdays, July 15-August 12, 7-9:30 pm; Location: Berkeley
$185 members/$215 non-members

Voice has many meanings. For the writer and reader alike, it can be elusive to define. Hearing an author’s "physical" voice can add a whole new dimension to experiencing that author’s written voice.  After hearing an author read aloud, a reader might later notice, when reading the author’s work, a sense of also being read to by the author. "I’ve had this sensation," says instructor Valerie Haynes Perry, "after attending readings by Walter Mosley, Alfredo Vea., Jr., Paule Marshall, Caryl Phillips, Edwidge Danticat, and Colson Whitehead, among others." This subtle recollection of the author’s physical voice can make the act of reading even richer.

In this class, you’ll read your work aloud, giving and receiving feedback that is non-critical, supportive, and offered in a safe atmosphere. You’ll explore the relationship between the voice that guides you while writing outside of class and the physical voice that will express your writing, aloud, in class. "This is your chance to practice being dramatic,” says Valerie, "but only if you feel like ‘acting out’ a bit. Hopefully, you’ll find that reading your work to an audience is not only comfortable, but fun!"

The primary purpose of this class is to help you listen carefully to all writing that is read aloud, including your own. Best case scenario: In becoming aware of your "dual voice," you’ll  improve the overall quality of your own writing.

"Listening Out Loud" compliments another Writing Salon class, "Exploring Your Writer’s Voice," by Chris DeLorenzo. Both classes adhere to the Amherst Writers and Artists (AWA) method.

NOTE: Please bring some of your original writing to read aloud at the first class. Valerie will also schedule you for one or more opportunities to read your work and receive feedback over the course of the remaining four weeks.

Valerie Haynes Perry has worked in the publishing industry for the past seventeen years as an editor and indexer. She has written fiction seriously for fourteen of those years and plans to publish her novel, Tanner Blue, this summer (2008). Music for the Dream, a collection of short stories, is next in line. She is certified as an Amherst Writers and Artists method (AWA) instructor, has a masters degree in Spanish, and has always loved languages.

Nine Tuesdays, July 15th-Sept. 9th, 7-9:30 p.m.
$335 members/$365 non-members; Location: San Francisco

"I’ve done stories on everything from home computers — back when only three companies were making them — to a portrait of the Sherman House (a landmark hotel that survived the 1906 earthquake) to a profile of the Emmy Award-winning sound engineer who worked on Basic Instinct," says Cary Pepper. "But my favorite piece is probably the one I did about a new reading program for kindergartners; the kids pulled me right into the class and I learned more that one day than I ever learned in kindergarten. That’s one of the things I love most about magazine writing — it’s a constant learning process. It gives you a license to probe into how the world — and the people in it — work. It’s also the most accessible way to break into professional writing. Even when you have no publishing credits, if you come up with the right idea, and pitch it to the right editor at the right time, you can get the assignment."

In this class Cary will provide a nuts-and-bolts workshop on writing the magazine article. "We’ll analyze elements of craft such as structure, flow, and language. Students will write an article on a topic of their choice, bring it in, and we’ll break down the specifics of each one. We’ll also discuss editing: its power as well as its pitfalls. We’ll also cover: How to get ideas…how to determine your market…why the query letter is as important (sometimes more!) than the actual article…how to write a query editors will read…the rules of the game (and when to break them)…getting rejected (and how to handle it)…getting accepted (and how to handle it)…dealing with editors… being a professional…using one article to get the next assignment…and putting yourself out there as a freelance magazine writer."

Cary Pepper has been a freelance writer for 30 years. He has published dozens of articles in such publications as The New York Times, TV Guide, Premiere, Advertising Age, Town and Country, and Mad. He is also an award-winning playwright whose work has been produced throughout the U.S. and in Europe. He has taught writing at Media Alliance, the San Francisco Art Institute, and privately.

Thursdays, July 17-Sept. 11 (skip 8/14); 7-9:30 p.m.
$335 members/$365 non-members; Location: Berkeley

It’s like a wild and crazy literary laboratory. Poetry, essay, fiction, nonfiction, plays, dialogue, humor, plot, setting, you name it. "In this workshop you will experiment with a variety of genres, styles and techniques while you explore the craft of writing well," says instructor Linda Watanabe McFerrin. "You’ll write every week and read or perform the work for your fellow participants. It’s a playful environment with all kinds of direction on what to write, how to write and maybe even where to get the work you’ve written published. Lots of writing, lots of fun. Assignments from this popular workshop have found homes in magazines, newspapers and anthologies.

Poet, novelist and travel writer Linda Watanabe McFerrin is a contributor to numerous literary journals, newspapers, magazines, anthologies and online publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle Magazine, Modern Bride, Bay Nature, and Salon.com. She has also authored two poetry collections, a novel and a short story collection, and co-edited, with Laurie McAndish King, two anthologies, Hot Flashes: Sexy Little Stories & Poems and Hot Flashes 2: More Sexy Little Stories & Poems. A popular speaker and literary panelist, she is (in addition to everything else!) the founder of Left Coast Writers.

"…a great way to spend a Thursday night…" 

"…an excellent writer and teacher…" 

Five Thursdays, July 17-Aug. 14, 7-9:30 pm
$185 members/$215 non-members San Francisco

Ten-minute plays are a great way to get your foot in the stage door and learn to write for the artistic collaborators who will take your blueprint and bring it to life. How do you write for actors? What’s a director going to do to your script? Why is dialogue different from prose? Let Erin Blackwell guide you through the specific demands of the theatrical medium via the writer-friendly short play. "Cynically put," she says, "they’re cheap to produce and, if they flop, they’re over in ten minutes!" Without getting bogged down in a full-length script, "you can find out fast what works – and you’re more likely to get produced." Models examined range from Aristotle to Pinter. Through in-class exercises and homework, students develop and complete at least one ten-minute play and learn how to submit their work to festivals around the country. NOTE: You can take this class more than once. Why not? Come back and keep working on new ideas for new plays…or on revising what you’ve already got!

Erin Blackwell’s recent theatrical activity includes open mike appearances; directing for Playwrights Center’s annual 10-Minute Play Festival; playing Sir Andrew Aguecheek in Woman’s Will’s Twelfth Night; directing cruel & unusual, anti-torture plays at the SF Fringe Festival; co-writing the Mime Troupe’s Doing Good; and teaching an opera singer to act. Her play Three Sisters Poolside played the 2003 Bay Area Playwrights Festival, received a Tournesol grant at Z Space, and was read at the Magic Theater. Her 10-minute plays have won SLAMBoston, been published in Smith & Kraus anthologies, and are performed nationwide. She studied acting with Stella Adler, musical theater with Zelma O’Neal, and the Ridiculous with Charles Ludlam. Her theater degrees are from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and l’Universite de Paris III. She studies classical voice with Marcelle Dronkers and sings soprano at Northbrae Community Church.

"I never knew I wanted to be a playwright…" 

"I…would heartily recommend it…"

Saturday, July 19th, 10 am-4 pm Location: Berkeley
$95 members/$110 non-members

The best poems can’t be built to order. In fact, the moments when a poet’s writing is most inspired can sometimes feel like lucky accidents. “Even if you begin writing your poem with a definite theme in mind,” says instructor James Arthur, “you need to allow your poem to find its own meaning. A really good poem should tell you, the author, something that you didn’t already know.”

In this mini-version of James’ 5-week class, you will begin to learn how to subdue your inner critic and write poems whose meanings will surprise even you. So gear up for some fearless experimentation!

James Arthur is a Stegner Fellow in Poetry at Stanford University. His poems have appeared in The New Yorker, The New Republic, and The Nation. He has received many awards for his writing, including the Amy Lowell Travelling Poetry Scholarship, the Discovery/The Nation Prize, and fellowships at Yaddo and the MacDowell Colony.

". . . an outstanding teacher. . ."

Five Fridays, July 25-Aug. 22nd, 2:30-5 p.m. Berkeley only
$185 members/$215 non-members

"The Writing Salon isn’t just for adults anymore," says instructor Jesse Loesberg, "and this class is an adult-free zone—except for me, and I hardly qualify as an adult. Just ask my wife." This teens-only workshop will (re)introduce young writers to their creative voices—free from worrying about grammar, spelling or grades. 

Each meeting will try out a different genre for size. Are you secretly a fiction writer? Find out at our first meeting! Is there a poet hiding in there? Step out of the closet in week three! Maybe you’re a nonfiction genius, or even a playwright . . . here’s your chance to find out! This is not your high school’s writing class.

For more than ten years, Jesse Loesberg has been helping young writers forget everything they learned in school. He has taught creative writing at the Oak Bluffs School on Martha’s Vineyard, at various after-school programs around the Bay Area, and he’s been on the faculty of Young Writers Camp in Story, Wyoming since 2000. Jesse holds a master of fine arts in creative writing from at Goddard College. His essays, poetry, and fiction have appeared in Whistling Shade, Maine in Print, The Santa Barbara Review and The Casco Bay Weekly, and his radio commentaries run regularly as part of the Perspectives series on KQED-FM in San Francisco.

Two Friday Meetings, 7/25 & 9/19, 7-9:30 p.m. (plus daily online inbetween)
$195 members/$225 non-members; Location: San Francisco

"’The imagination," said novelist Dean Koontz, ‘is like a muscle: The more you use it, the better it performs and the quicker you get ideas of higher caliber.’ This class is based on the same premise," says instructor Jane Underwood. "The more you use your writing muscles, the more you will tone and strengthen them. The primary focus of this class is PRACTICE. Every day you will practice your writing, in the same way that a piano student practices the piano or a swimmer swims laps."

The class is structured around a carefully facilitated exchange of daily emailed writings (based on prompts provided by Jane) among all class members, plus two in-class meetings. Round Robin’ers aim to do three things: 1) write regularly, 2) enjoy and explore the process of writing freely and playfully (discovering what you have to say in the act of saying it), and 3) "partner" on a rotating basis with classmates. ("Partnering" will be explained at the first meeting.)

"We might talk about some basic elements of craft during class meetings," says Jane, "but the main focus of this class will not be discussions of craft. The focus will be on finding the inspiration, motivation and self-discipline to keep writing and to keep generating raw material that you may eventually choose to rewrite, revise, and publish. It will also be about learning to recognize and appreciate the strength of your natural voice, before you have a chance to snuff it out by revising your work too hastily."

Writers in all genres and at all levels of experience have participated in this class, and we have many Round Robin returnees who take the class year-round. NOTE: Attendance at the first meeting is mandatory if this is your first Round Robin class; returning students are encouraged but not required to attend. In addition, each class member must commit to full participation on a daily basis.

Jane Underwood has been a writer, editor and teacher more than 30 years. Her poetry, prose, erotica, articles and essays have appeared in print and online periodicals (SF Chronicle, The Sun, Five Fingers Review, Quarterly West, Western Humanities Review, Libido, babycenter.com, Conversely.com, Salon.com), anthologies (The Ecstatic Moment, Yellow Silk, Ripe Fruit, Best Women’s Erotica, Nesting: It’s a Chick Thing), and on stage (Lilith Theater). She holds a masters degree in creative writing, has taught many classes in personal essay writing, and has spent the last four years leading Daily Write "Round Robin" groups.

"...a great invention…" 

"…I have to tell you how much fun I’ve had…" 

"...It feels good to have this daily rhythm..." 

Saturday, July 26th, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Location: San Francisco
$95 members/$110 non-members

Waiting to be struck by an inspirational bolt of lightning can be seductive, but it gets lonely out there under the tree. "Too much waiting can dampen the spirit," says instructor Julie Bruck. "There are other ways to get in touch with your creative muse, ways that we’ll explore in today’s workshop."

If you’re new to poetry, bring yourself. If you’re already writing poems, ditto. Either way, bring writing supplies. During this one-day poetic bootcamp, you’ll write and talk and read—and do it all again. "You won’t need to risk life and limb and West Nile in a field," says Julie, "and it won’t be scary, and we’ll break for lunch, and best of all, you needn’t wait. Instead, you can head for home at the end of the day with a sheaf of work and a headful of new ideas."

Julie Bruck has taught at several Canadian universities, and been a resident faculty member at The Robert Frost Place. She has an MFA from Warren Wilson, and has published two collections, The Woman Downstairs (1993) and The End of Travel (1999). Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including The New Yorker, Ploughshares, and Ms.  A Montreal native, she has lived in San Francisco for ten years.

"The poetry bootcamp was fantastic!"

Saturday, July 26th, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Location: Berkeley
$95 members/$110 non-members

Do you love to travel? Keep a travel journal? Why not take the next step and turn your daily scribbles into salable articles? You can do this by learning two things: 1) how to improve your storytelling abilities, and 2) how to market your work.

"I’ll lead you through the steps of writing a travel story and then targeting and querying your markets (short story anthologies, newspapers, magazines and ezines)," says instructor Lisa Alpine. "We’ll also discuss ways to generate other travel-related sources of income, such as writing press releases and doing guidebook research. Whether you’re writing about your neighborhood or rafting down the Zambezi, you can develop specialty travel angles that open up publishing avenues beyond the Sunday Travel Section—and still pay well. So come launch your career as a travel writer!"

Lisa Alpine is an addicted traveler who has turned her passion for globetrotting into a career. She has been a professional writer for 22 years and is the travel columnist for the Pacific Sun in Marin County. Her articles and short stories appear in numerous periodicals and anthologies, from the Los Angeles Times and SF Chronicle to Parenting Magazine and Specialty Travel Index. She is the creative director of Travel Press International, has been a guest speaker at numerous travel writer’s conferences, and is a member of Wild Writing Women, whose travel anthology won the National Association of Travel Journalists award for "Best Travel Book of 2002."

"This is Sven, curly fool…."

"Lisa Alpine did a wonderful job"

Nine Wednesdays, 7/30-9/24 (skip Aug. 20th), 7-9:30 p.m.
$335 members/$365 nonmembers; Location: San Francisco

NOTE: THIS CLASS IS NOW FULL. SORRY! 

We all have unique "writing voices," but often we can’t really "hear" those voices ourselves, even when others can. This workshop will aim to help you hear the sound of your authentic writing voice, because once you feel secure with the individuality of your voice, you’ll grow immeasurably as a writer. "What I want you to explore," says instructor Chris DeLorenzo, "is a sense of the ways in which your voice comes across as one-of-a-kind. Only then can you learn to let go of self-conscious writing—writing that sounds the way you think it’s supposed to sound."

This class will be organized around in-class writing, focusing on concrete details, description and dialogue, along with a healthy dose of "silliness, wackiness, and playfulness," says Chris, to balance the serious stuff. "You’ll be given permission to write anything you want," he adds, "in order to discover the joy and spontaneity of creating from the internal ‘dream space’ of the imagination, and to more deeply explore the question: ‘What do I have to say as a writer?’"

Based on the Amherst Writers and Artists method, this class fosters a sense of safety and mutual trust among participants. "Many classes and workshops are about having someone else define and critique your work," says Chris, "whereas my workshops are about allowing you to do that for yourself, by reflecting on the positive feedback that you get from me and your classmates. Our goal is to help each of you claim yourself as a writer and learn to access the vocabulary of writing and offering feedback."

In this class you’ll write a lot, volunteer to read out loud, learn to sound more like yourself, and have fun supporting your fellow writers as each of you works toward finding your truest writing voice. (Note: This class is NOT a workshop for writing that has been done prior to taking this class, or for writing done at home, between class meetings.)

Chris DeLorenzo has an MA in creative writing and is a certified Amherst Writers and Artists method (AWA) facilitator. He teaches writing at the University of San Francisco and has published poetry, prose and personal essays in numerous publications. He has also written two novels,  Certain Sacred Places and All That Remains.

"I am learning what I can do…"

"I have loved taking this class…"

Six Fridays: 8/1, 9/5, 10/3, 11/7, 12/5, 1/9, 7-9:30 p.m.
$335 members/$365 non-members; Location: San Francisco  (Are you a beginner? Check out Karen’s other class, Starting Your Novel)

ATTENTION: THIS CLASS IS NOW FULL. SORRY! IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE PUT ON A WAITING LIST, YOU CAN REQUEST THIS VIA EMAIL (NOT PHONE). THANKS.

Congratulations! You’ve started your novel. You have a sense of your main character and some ideas of the plot, maybe even a full plot outline. You’ve written a few pages, gotten some feedback, and know what your strengths are. Now the challenge is: TO KEEP GOING AND NOT GIVE UP.

"Most of us need help with that," says instructor Karen Bjorneby. "We need someone in our corner, gently enforcing some discipline while at the same time encouraging us. We need someone to kick ideas around with. We need help with craft, someone to help us make sure our story is coming together. And we need to be around others who are in the same boat."

So come join a group of other people who can help you with discipline, encouragement, focus and craft. "You’ll check in with me once a week," says Karen, "giving progress reports and letting me know if you’re having any difficulties I can help with. You’ll also have a writing partner with whom to swap pages and exchange gentle critiques. At the monthly meetings, I’ll give you craft exercises to help solve the problems I see people having, and twice during the six-month period, you’ll have the chance to have a chapter read and discussed by the group as a whole, and to receive written feedback from me." 

Taking this class may mean giving up an exciting date night, movie, or whatever your brand of TGIF fun may be, but hey, that’s a small price to pay for completing your novel, right?

Karen Bjorneby started writing by participating in workshops just like this one. She is the author of Hurricane Season: Stories from the Eye of the Storm (Sourcebooks, 2001), which received a Foreword Honorable Mention as best independent/university press short story collection of the year at Book Expo America. She has received a Pushcart Special Mention, two other Pushcart nominations, a National Magazine Award nomination, and she was named a Tennessee Williams Scholar at the Sewanee Writers’ Conference. Her fiction and poetry have appeared in nearly two dozen publications including The Threepenny Review, The North American Review, New Letters, StoryQuarterly, Confrontation, The New Orleans Review, The Nebraska Review, and The Sun. She is currently at work on her own novel and, she says, is "very familiar with the pitfalls along the way, having fallen into several of them myself."

". . . a fantastic teacher . . ."

Saturday, Aug. 2nd,  10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
$95 members/$110 non-members; Location: Berkeley

"Sometimes when we write, a story just wants to be shorter than the typical short story," says instructor Jamey Genna. "These shorter stories are usually referred to in the industry as ‘flash fiction,’ or sometimes ’sudden fiction’ or ‘microfiction.’ They are stories that ask to be less than two thousand words, sometimes less than five hundred, and sometimes even as short as poems.

"The question is, What makes these stories stories, complete and whole? How do we know if a scene is meant to be part of a longer piece of work, or if it can stand alone? What are the elements that go into making a good, satisfying work of flash fiction, as opposed to one that disappoints? When does less truly become more?" 

To help you answer these questions, says Jamey, "We’ll start by reading examples of flash fiction by such authors as T.C. Boyle, Rusty Barnes, Kim Chinquee, and Elizabeth Tallent. Some of their pieces are traditionally structured, others are more experimental in form. We’ll talk about them, and after that, we’ll try writing a few of our own!" 

Jamey Genna is a graduate of the masters in writing program at the University of San Francisco, where she now works as a major project adviser.  Her flash fiction has been published both on-line and in literary magazines such as The Iowa Review, Verbsap, Dislocate, Vestal Review and the Blue Earth Review.  Her collection of short-shorts, I’ll Tell You That Story in a Minute, was a finalist for the 2007 Elixir Press Chapbook Awards.

Saturday, Aug. 2nd, 10 am to 4 pm,  Location: San Francisco
$95 members/$110 non-members
Note: We are also offering a 9-week version of this class

ATTENTION: THIS CLASS IS NOW FULL.  

We all have unique "writing voices," but often we can’t really "hear" those voices ourselves, even when others can. This workshop will aim to help you hear the sound of your authentic writing voice, because once you feel secure with the individuality of your voice, you’ll grow immeasurably as a writer.

"What I want you to get out of this workshop," says instructor Chris DeLorenzo, "is a sense of the ways in which your voice comes across as one-of-a-kind. Only then can you learn to let go of self-conscious writing—writing that sounds the way you think it’s supposed to sound."

This workshop will give you a day of doing writing exercises designed to encourage writing with concrete details, description and dialogue, along with a healthy dose of silliness, wackiness, and playfulness to balance the serious stuff. "You’ll be given permission to write anything you want," says Chris, "in order to discover the joy and spontaneity of creating from the internal ‘dream space’ of the imagination, and to more deeply explore the question: ‘What do I have to say as a writer?’"

Based on the Amherst Writers and Artists method, Chris’s workshop encourages a sense of safety and mutual trust among participants. "Many classes and workshops are about having someone else define and critique your work," says Chris, "whereas my workshops are about allowing you to do that for yourself, by reflecting on the positive feedback (as opposed to critiques) that you get from me and your classmates." 

Chris DeLorenzo has an MA in creative writing and is a certified Amherst Writers and Artists method (AWA) facilitator. He teaches writing at the University of San Francisco and has published poetry, prose and personal essays in numerous publications. He has also written a novel, Certain Sacred Places.

"I just participated in Chris Delorenzo’s daylong workshop…"

Saturday, August 9th, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Location: Berkeley
$95 members/$110 non-members

"Clarity, imagination and love, like air, water and fire, are the essential ingredients that bring life to your writing," says Alison Luterman. "Each strong sentence is built on these as a foundation. 

"In this class, first we’ll look at examples of writing notable for its clarity, and break down the components, ie. simplicity, directness, courage, authority. You can tell from the first paragraph whether a narrator is possessed of clarity. We’ll play with sharpening the focus in our own writing.  How can your work be made more clear? What are your personal obstacles to clarity?
 
"Next, we’ll look at imagination. As we did with clarity, we’ll explore examples that show the power of the writer’s imagination right away, and break down the components, ie. color, playfulness, surprise, originality. We’ll do some associative writing exercises, and discuss ways to better access our own subconscious creative processes.
 
"Finally, we’ll talk about love—the passion that fuels our work. To write something worth reading you have to care intensely about your subject. Are you writing about what is closest to your heart? If not, why not? Are you allowing yourself to be vulnerable and exposed? Again, we’ll do some verbal and written exercises designed to bring you closer to the heart of what is burning most brightly for you.

"Feel free to bring in one or two pages of your own writing that you would like to revitalize. We’ll write, share, analyze, laugh, stretch, and have a good time bringing more passion to your pages."

Alison Luterman has been shamelessly telling tales from her own life ever since she could grip a sweaty pencil. She has published essays in The Sun, Radiance, Response, The East Bay Express, and The Boston Phoenix. Her book of poems, The Largest Possible Life, won The Cleveland State University Poetry Prize. She has taught poetry to thousands of school children through California Poets in the schools. The great love of her life is performing improvisational dance, singing, storytelling and poetry through the Wing It! performance ensemble. She has given workshops and readings around the country, and recently completed her first full-length play, "Saying Kaddish with my Sister." In addition to teaching personal essay writing at the Writing Salon, she teaches playwriting through the Marin Theater Company.

Saturday, Aug. 9th, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Location: San Francisco
$95 members/$110 non-members 

ATTENTION: THIS CLASS IS NOW FULL. SORRY! 

"I begin by telling the truth, by remembering real people, relatives and friends. The landscape detail is pretty good, but the people aren’t quite interesting enough—they don’t have quite enough to do with one another; of course, what unsettles me…is the absence of a plot…. And so I find a little something that I exaggerate, a little; gradually I have the autobiography on its way to becoming a lie. The lie, of course, is more interesting…"—John Irving
 
Where do stories come from? What happens when life and writing intersect? How does a writer reconcile her memories with the elements of fiction—plot, setting, point of view, theme, and dialogue? “Writers work hard to transform personal experience into engrossing stories,” says instructor David Booth. “The challenge is to isolate dramatic and more mundane moments from the past and to exaggerate them a little, or a lot, as a way of making meaning.”
 
In this one-day course for writers of all levels, you’ll explore the use of personal experiences in fiction writing. You’ll see how several contemporary writers draw on personal experience to short stories and novels. You’ll experiment with a variety of eye-opening exercises and narrative techniques that will help you bring the people and places you’ve known to life on the page. You’ll talk about some of the challenges and risks of autobiography in fiction writing. You’ll end the day by actually writing a few paragraphs of your new stories.

David Booth has led many fiction workshops at the Writing Salon and San Francisco State University. He currently teaches fiction in the MFA writing program at the University of San Francisco. His flash fiction has appeared in a dozen journals, including Switchback, Absomoly, Quick Fiction, The Carriage House Review, and Sudden Stories: A Mammoth Anthology of Miniscule Fiction.

Five Saturdays, 8/16-9/20 (skip 8/30), 10:30 am- 1 pm San Francisco $185 members/$215 non-members

Chekhov said that writing should "hit the reader on the snout." A metaphor, sure, but fantastic advice for apprentice writers: a reminder that art needs a unique, compelling personality. In this class, students will nibble on appetizers from all the major genres—fiction, creative nonfiction, memoir, poetry, and others. 

“One of the most exciting moments,” says instructor Josh Mohr, “is when a book affects me so much I stay up all night to finish it. How did the writer elicit that urgency? How can someone else’s words intrude into my life that drastically?” These questions will be the course’s springboard. The class will revolve around writing exercises that encourage trial and error.  "If we don’t take the time to do things "incorrectly," how will we ever learn to execute them in more effective ways?" says Josh. “For every chance I’ve taken and succeeded in my writing, there are twenty similar attempts that ended up in my Hall of Shame."

In a fun, fast-paced, nurturing environment, students will generate and share their work with peers. You’ll read pieces from the canon, but also from writers you may not have heard of before.  Says Josh: "We’ll take chances; we’ll laugh; we’ll work; we’ll indulge in each sample and together we’ll learn."

Joshua Mohr has published short stories in Other Voices, the Cimarron Review, Pleiades, Gulf Coast, and elsewhere. He won Salt Hill’s 2006 short-short contest, and his story "Dressing the Dead" was featured in the New Short Fiction Series’ emerging American writers show in Los Angeles. He has an MFA from the University of San Francisco and teaches writing through UC Berkeley’s ASUC studios, and also at a halfway house in San Francisco.

 "…a fantastic instructor…"

"…a great teacher…" 

Five Saturdays, 8/16-9/20 (skip Aug. 30), 2-4:30 pm  Location: San Francisco $185 members/$215 non-members

ATTENTION: THIS CLASS IS NOW FULL. SORRY!

Memoir is not reserved only for the rich and famous. In fact, beautiful and haunting memoirs—books and essays—grow out of our ordinary lives, carefully observed. Both the distant past and the not-so-long ago can be mined, remembered and re-created skillfully in writing. This class is a guide to the mining and refining process. "The gold of memoir," says instructor Kathleen McClung, "combines the gifts of a novelist—vivid characters and settings, lively and suspenseful narration—with a poet’s introspection and close attention to language.

"In this class we’ll focus on finding and shaping evocative stories from our own lives, stories that build from our specific and unique life events and move toward resonant, universal themes. Through readings, discussions, and writing exercises, we’ll explore the basic elements of memoir: selecting key moments and passages, scene-setting and dialogue, using fresh sensory detail, reflecting and musing on the meanings of our experiences so that our work “speaks” to readers. We will find and fine-tune our own distinctive writing voices, essential for this genre.

Class participants will have opportunities to try their hand at writing and sharing short memoir pieces and will be guided in giving and receiving encouraging, constructive feedback for ways to develop/deepen the writing. Readings will include excerpts from Judith Barrington’s Writing the Memoir and Tristine Rainer’s Your Life as Story, as well as work by a variety of contemporary memoirists."

Kathleen McClung, M.A., has taught writing at Skyline College for over ten years and has worked as a book editor at small presses including UCSF Nursing Press, Food First Books, and Westview Press. Her memoir, fiction, and poetry have been published in The Rambler, Spirituality & Health, Hawaii Pacific Review, Poetry Northwest, Albany Review, Hot Flashes, off our backs, and elsewhere. “Now You See Him, Now You Don’t,” a short memoir, won first prize in the 2005 essay contest sponsored by www.memoirsink.com. She has also won awards from the San Francisco Bay Guardian, Writer’s Digest, the National Society of Arts & Letters, and the Academy of American Poets.

Five Sundays, Aug. 17-Sept. 28 (skip 8/31 and 9/21), 2-4:30 p.m.
$185 members/$215 non-members; Location: Berkeley

COMBO CLASS: Take this 5-week class plus the 5-week class that precedes it, "Intro to Fiction," for the same price as a 9-week class ($335 members/$365 non-members). (You must choose the "combo" option on the registration form.)

You want to write a novel, or you are writing a novel, but maybe you shy away from talking about it with your co-workers, neighbors or brother-in-law (you know the way he rolls his eyes and calls you a dreamer). So come to this workshop instead, where you’ll meet other people who are doing what you’re doing, or want to do. "We’ll talk about your idea, how to make sure it has enough weight to carry a novel," say Karen Bjorneby. "We’ll talk about your character and make sure she’s so compelling we all can’t wait to find out what she’ll do next. What changes is she going to go through along the way? We’ll talk about plot; how are you going to make enough things happen?  Or how are you going to keep from being melodramatic? We’ll talk about structure—how do you organize this huge thing and not get overwhelmed? We’ll share tips on the process, on getting the pages written, on keeping going, on when to go back and revise and when to keep moving ahead.  And of course we’ll be talking about the nuts and bolts of craft—making your scenes work and your voice sing."

With the help of various writing exercises, class members will work on developing written plot summaries, making sure there’s enough action and enough character development. "Our goal is to get you so close to your main character you’ll know all his secrets, hopes, fears, dreams…better than his own therapist would!" says Karen "We’ll also do writing exercises to help you connect with your setting. And we’ll share what you’ve written, so that you’ll get feedback on your craft, your style, and on that special quality you bring to your writing that makes it uniquely yours."

Karen Bjorneby started writing by participating in workshops just like this one. She is the author of Hurricane Season: Stories from the Eye of the Storm, which received a Foreword Honorable Mention as best independent/university press short story collection of the year at Book Expo America. She has received a Pushcart Special Mention, two other Pushcart nominations, a National Magazine Award nomination, and she was named a Tennessee Williams Scholar at the Sewanee Writers’ Conference. Her fiction and poetry have appeared in nearly two dozen publications including The Threepenny Review, The North American Review, New Letters, StoryQuarterly, Confrontation, The New Orleans Review, The Nebraska Review, and The Sun. She is currently at work on her own novel and is "very familiar with the pitfalls along the way, having fallen into several of them myself."

Five Mondays, Aug. 18th-Sept. 22 (skip 9/1), 7-9:30 p.m.
$185 members/$215 non-members; Location: San Francisco 

 ATTENTION: THIS CLASS IS NOW FULL. SORRY. HOWEVER, THE SAME CLASS IS OFFERED IN BERKELEY ON SUNDAY AFTERNOONS, AND THAT ONE STILL HAS SPACE.

"COMBO" CLASS: Take this 5-week class plus the 5-week class that precedes it, "Intro to Fiction," for the same price as a 9-week class ($335 members/$365 non-members).(You must choose the "combo" option on the registration form.) 

You want to write a novel, or you are writing a novel, so come to this workshop where you’ll meet other people who are doing what you’re doing, or want to do.  "We’ll talk about your idea – how to make sure it has enough weight to carry a novel," say Karen Bjorneby. "We’ll talk about your character and make sure she’s so compelling we all can’t wait to find out what she’ll do next. We’ll talk about plot – how are you going to make enough things happen?  Or, how are you going to keep from being melodramatic?  We’ll talk about structure – how do you organize this huge thing and not get overwhelmed?  We’ll share tips on the process, on getting the pages written, on keeping going, on when to go back and revise and when to keep moving ahead.  And of course we’ll be talking about the nuts and bolts of craft – making your scenes work and your voice sing."

With the help of various writing exercises, class members will work on developing written plot summaries, making sure there’s enough action and enough character development. "Our goal is to get you so close to your main character you’ll know all his secrets, hopes, fears, dreams – better than his own therapist would!" says Karen "We’ll also do writing exercises to help you connect with your setting. And we’ll share what you’ve written, so that you’ll get feedback on your craft, your style, and on that special quality you bring to your writing that makes it uniquely yours.

Karen Bjorneby started writing by participating in workshops just like this one. She is the author of Hurricane Season: Stories from the Eye of the Storm (Sourcebooks, 2001), which received a Foreword Honorable Mention as best independent/university press short story collection of the year at Book Expo America. She has received a Pushcart Special Mention, two other Pushcart nominations, a National Magazine Award nomination, and she was named a Tennessee Williams Scholar at the Sewanee Writers’ Conference. Her fiction and poetry have appeared in nearly two dozen publications including The Threepenny Review, The North American Review, New Letters, StoryQuarterly, Confrontation, The New Orleans Review, The Nebraska Review, and The Sun. In addition to editing her own work, Karen has helped edit other writers’ short stories, novels and memoirs as they moved from draft to publication.  She is currently at work on her own novel and, she says, is "very familiar with the pitfalls along the way, having fallen into several of them myself."

". . . a fantastic teacher . . ." 

Five Tuesdays, Aug. 19-Sept. 16, 7-9:30 pm, Berkeley
$185 members/ $215 non-members

"As a food writer, I never get bored. The inherent variety in food writing keeps it fresh and fascinating,” says instructor Dianne Jacob. “I’ve written an essay about a food bank, a travel piece on a French bed-and-breakfast run by an accomplished chef, an interview with nationally-known cookbook author, and reviews of restaurants ranging from Boulevard to Greens. As a cookbook author, I collaborated with a chef. I’ve also written about what to do with tuna besides make a sandwich. Once I discovered how much fun food writing was AND that I could get paid to eat, I never looked back!”

So come turn your passion for food into writing. Whether you’d like to write for your