Flip flops: check. New beach cooler: check. Writing class… check?

The UCLA Extension summer catalog is officially released on April 25th and if you’re ready to make a commitment to your writing this summer but clueless where to begin, we can help!

I turned to the Writers’ Program staff—scribes themselves who have taken many a Wp’ course—to find out their recommendations for summer quarter.

Over in screenwriting, our resident blogger and director of short films, Jeff Bonnett,

wants everyone to know that, “Lee Hollin has made an impressive climb as a television development executive, working at studios like FOX and currently CBS as Director of Drama Development. His one-day course Half-Hour and 1-Hour Television Development will definitely be worth attending for anyone looking to get a bird’s-eye view on how the television network and studio systems work in conjunction with agents, managers, and of course, writers.” Talk about connections!

Chae Ko, who is toiling away on his own feature film script, shares the ultimate summer (writing) workout: “Too often, new and old writers forget to write visually for their scripts. This skill, like any other writing muscle needs to be trained regularly. The new workshop Show, Don’t Tell: Visual Storytelling with Philip Eisner is the perfect course for those who want to get that bulge!”

As for creative writing online, Katy Flaherty is excited about Using Found Texts: Deepening Your Writing.” She shares, “This online workshop offers a different twist on writing. New instructor Yelizaveta Renfro teaches you how to take the seemingly disposable artifacts of modern life—shopping lists, your Twitter feed, even those ancient documents called letters and incorporate them into your writing.”

Our newest staff member is Carla Janas, who as a performer herself wants to steer other performer/writers to the new 4-day workshop, Writing Yourself Onto the Stage: the 1-Person Show with Laurel Ollstein. “Writing and performing a one-person show was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Taking a class like this will show you how to get an immediate response from an audience (you’ll know what works and what falls flat), and the material generated is easily translatable into publishable formats.”

Online creative writing advisor Alicia Wheeler says, “Now that you know what it takes to write a great story, learn how to use what is unique to you to write a compelling narrative. Garret Freymann-Weyr is teaching a brand new course online, Building Your Literary Voice, where you’ll learn how to refine yours and make it stand out.”

Sara Bond, one of our onsite creative writing advisors who has taken plenty of our nonfiction courses, says, “If you want to write a memoir but aren’t sure how to recall fuzzy memories or how to extract juicy details from those involved in your story, Alison Gee‘s new weekend class, Reporting the Truth of Your Memoir, will clue you in on the process.”

Finally, one new 2-weekend workshop I think you’d be interested in is Wired for Story: How to Create a Powerful Narrative with Lisa Cron. This is a version of Lisa’s 10-week class (which I’ve taken and loved), that looks at writing largely from the fascinating angle of brain science and what readers are “hard wired” to respond to. You leave the workshop with a roadmap of your story; a checklist you can apply to your work at the end of every writing day; and a solid grasp of your protagonist’s backstory as it relates to the story you’re telling. Sounds exactly like what you need, right?

Lucky for you, these aren’t our only summer workshops–we have an amazing roster of courses that start throughout the month of June, so feel free to call us (or email, Facebook, send us a postcard, whatever!) with your questions and we’ll help you find the best class to jumpstart your goals.

Mae Respicio is the Program Representative for Creative Writing (Onsite) and she plans on getting inspired by a writing workshop this summer too.

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