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9 Sundays, April 18th thru June 20th (skip May 30th), 7-9:30 p.m. $335 members/$365 non-members San Francisco
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“I hadn’t discovered yet what I would later find was an iron law of composition for me: the exasperatingly slow search among the words I had already written for the words which were to come, and the necessity for continuous revision…” —William Gass
Aspiring writers usually wend their ways to this workshop because “life isn’t slowing down,” isn’t offering them the space or the time to work on their fiction. They want to write, or they tinker with two-pages and never get around to completing the piece, or they have ideas rollicking through their brains that haven’t, as of yet, made it to the page. But they all come to class with one common goal: they want to write a compelling story.
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Five Sundays, April 18th-May 16th, 2-4:30 p.m. Berkeley $185 members/$215 non-members
Special Package Deal: Take this Berkeley class together with the Berkeley “Starting Your Novel” class (5 weeks plus 5 weeks, back to back) for the price of one 9-week class. This discount applies only if you choose the Intro to Fiction/Starting Your Novel ‘Combo‘ when you register. If you take Intro to Fiction first, then decide to take novel writing when it is over, the discount does not apply.
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.”
5 Mondays, April 19th-May 17th, 7-9:30 p.m. San Francisco $185 members/$215 non-members
Special Package Deal: Take this SF class together with the SF “Starting Your Novel” class, and receive both classes (5 weeks plus 5 weeks, back to back) for the price of one 9-week class. Note: This discount applies only if you choose the “Intro to Fiction/Starting Your Novel ‘Combo’ option” when you register. If you take Intro to Fiction and then decide to take Starting Your Novel, the discount doesn’t apply.
5 Thursdays, April 22-May 20, 7-9:30 p.m. $185 members/$215 non-members Berkeley NOTE: See “Special Package Deal” at bottom
You’ve already taken at least one “intro to fiction” class (either here or elsewhere), so you’re familiar with the basics of craft — strong plot, good characters, attention to details and specifics. You know your story needs a beginning, middle, and end. But how do you put this knowledge into practice? And what more does your story need? What special something must be drawn out in order to make it meaningful to people other than you? “Each story is unique and has its own special needs,” says Jamey Genna. “Writing a story outline or first draft can be a fulfilling experience, but once you’ve gotten that far, you’ve got to start digging deeper and ask yourself, Have I truly tapped into the heart of my story?”
Five Saturdays, May 22-June 26 (skip May 29th), 2-4:30 pm; San Francisco $185 members/$215 others
How many times have we heard the aged expression, “We’ll see what she says about that!” There’s anticipation in hearing someone express themselves, and the same is true of fiction and creative nonfiction writing: our characters need to speak, voice their opinions, woes, aspirations, biases, phobias, regrets. “We can write lovely exposition,” says instructor Joshua Mohr, “but readers need to hear what our characters sound like, what their preoccupations are. That way they can sculpt their own conclusions about them.” Read the rest of this entry »
Sundays, May 23-June 27 (5 weeks, skip May 30th), 2-4:30 p.m. Berkeley $185 members/$215 non-members
Special “Package” Deal: Take this Berkeley class together with the Berkeley “Intro to Fiction” class (5 weeks plus 5 weeks, back to back) for the price of one 9-week class. Please Note: This special applies only if you choose the “Intro to Fiction/Starting Your Novel ‘Combo’ option” when you register.
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. . . Read the rest of this entry »
Dear Jane,
Josh Mohr manages to give super-supportive enthusiastic encouragement and precise, practical, advice. The double word score! I learned so much, read all kinds of instructive stuff that I would never have otherwise encountered, and got constructive suggestions for more things to do. I’ve also gotten renewed motivation to write.
Josh is a fabulous teacher. Have him teach more classes!
Anna Williams
***
I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed Joshua Mohr’s class. Thank you for offering such a lovely space and a great teacher.
Kristin
I just finished a class with Josh Mohr. This is my first ever writing class and he was a fantastic instructor. He worked within the level of each of his students, he was encouraging and at the same time challenged us. As I was nervous about the class it meant a lot to me that he never made anyone feel that anything they said or wrote was poor. I think Josh is an excellent instructor and has a great way about him in getting ideas and concepts across.
Marsha Evans