UCLA Extension Writers' Program Blog

Writing for Video Games

2012-01-30T12:02:00.000-08:00

Amidst all the film awards coverage and Sundance news I've been reading, I came across one film title that stood out from the pack: a film that played at Sundance called INDIE GAME: The Movie.

It's a documentary that chronicles the struggles of several independent video game creators as they work to bring their vision to life. I believe it was picked up to be a TV series, but don't quote me on that. Anyway, after watching the trailer, it was apparent to me that video game makers are just like any other artists, or writers. If they're not crafting the "narrative" of large scale, cinematic games like Resident Evil, they're still creating worlds, characters, obstacles and objectives. They feel just as close to their work, like it's their baby, and take criticism in various ways just like anyone else. And these days, with mobile games on the rise, independent game makers have an even greater shot of becoming the next MINE CRAFT millionaire. Take a look for yourself and watch the trailer at the link below:

http://www.indiegamethemovie.com/

Whether this movie could stack up to my all time favorite video game documentary, King of Kong, we'll have to wait and see, but it looked interesting nonetheless.

On a similar note, if anyone out there is interested in the creative writing side of game-making (as opposed to the code writing side) check out the course we're offering in the upcoming 4-day WRITERS STUDIO, called "Storytellers Wanted: Writing Video Games Now"

https://www.uclaextension.edu/r/Course.aspx?reg=W8629

Contact me if you have any questions about this course, and if you'll be at the Writers Studio in a couple weeks, chances are you'll see me there! Hope everyone's enjoying their winter classes so far... 'Til next time...

Original Post: http://uclaextensionwritersprogram.blogspot.com/2012/01/writing-for-video-games.html

My Interview with Joel Thompson

2012-01-23T14:35:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday Writers!

For any of you aspiring TV scribes out there, I recently had the chance to interview television writer and instructor Joel Thompson about his impressive list of recent credits and how he got his start. Check out the Writers' Program homepage this week to see the full article!

www.uclaextension.edu/writers

You can also hear more of what Joel has to say in his upcoming Writers Studio course on the One-Hour Drama. Click on the link below for more info, or contact a screenwriting adviser at 310-825-9415.

https://www.uclaextension.edu/r/Course.aspx?reg=W8628

Original post: http://uclaextensionwritersprogram.blogspot.com/2012/01/my-interview-with-joel-thompson.html

Starting the Year Off "Write"

2012-01-05T15:08:00.000-08:00

Baddum-kssshhhhh....

Okay cheesy puns aside, Happy New Year and welcome back fellow writers! What better way to start off the year than with some award season coverage? In screenwriting news, the WGA just unveiled their nominations for best scripts of 2011. You can read more here:

http://www.wga.org/content/default.aspx?id=4786

And if you're like me, you haven't enrolled in any classes yet, but are wondering which one to take in order to get the ball rolling in 2012. Personally, I have my eye on Bonnie MacBird's "Screenwriting on the Write Side of the Brain". I've heard nothing but good things about this course from our students. For more info visit the link below:

https://www.uclaextension.edu/r/Course.aspx?reg=W9439

Also, just an insider's tip: Bonnie is tentatively slated to instruct the second installment of this course in the Spring Quarter, so don't miss your chance to take first in sequence now!

As always, if you'd like info about courses available, please contact a Writers' Program adviser at 310-825-9415.

Best of luck with your writing this year!

Original Post: http://uclaextensionwritersprogram.blogspot.com/2012/01/starting-year-off-write.html

The 2011 Hollywood Blacklist

2011-12-12T11:49:00.000-08:00

Contrary to the title, this is not a list of communists forever banned from working Hollywood... quite the opposite, in fact.

For those who may not know: The Blacklist is a list of the year's best unproduced screenplays. Last year, Writers' Program student and former Screenplay Competition Winner Terrence Michael made the list with his script "The Girl With Something Extra". He is now repped by an agent, a manager, and his script currently in development.

To see this year's list, please follow the link below:

http://www.deadline.com/2011/12/the-black-list-2011-screenplay-roster/

And since this will be my last blog post of the year... MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! May your days be merry and bright (with ideas & creative productivity). :-)

Original Post: http://uclaextensionwritersprogram.blogspot.com/2011/12/2011-hollywood-blacklist.html

ADVANCED COURSE APPLICATION DEADLINE - EXTENDED!

2011-12-06T16:50:00.001-08:00

In case you didn't get your submission ready in time, the application deadline for all Winter Quarter 2012 advanced-level courses has been extended to 5 p.m. MONDAY, DECEMBER 12th!

Please visit the following link for a list of the courses being offered and instructions on how to apply:

http://www2.uclaextension.edu/writers/detail.php?sID=advSubGuide

As always, contact your friendly neighborhood Writers' Program advisors with any questions: (310) 825-9415

ADVANCED COURSE DEADLINE -- DEC. 5TH!

2011-11-23T11:00:00.001-08:00

Just a reminder from your friendly neighborhood screenwriting advisor:

THE DEADLINE FOR ALL ADVANCED COURSE SUBMISSIONS IS ONLY A WEEK AND A HALF AWAY! (MONDAY, DECEMBER 5th, 2011).

For information on how to apply, please visit the link below, select the appropriate application form and follow the instructions how to submit:

http://www2.uclaextension.edu/writers/detail.php?sID=advSubGuide

Also, if you have not yet chosen a class for Winter, be sure to view the current course catalog here:

http://www2.uclaextension.edu/writers/catalog/current_catalog.pdf

(Note: online courses are indicated by a mouse logo. Click on the blue registration numbers to enroll).

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Original post: http://uclaextensionwritersprogram.blogspot.com/2011/11/advanced-course-deadline-dec-5th.html

Winter Catalog & Writers Studio Enrollment Begins!

2011-11-08T12:08:00.000-08:00

Good news writers: Enrollment for the WINTER QUARTER 2012 is officially underway! To view our latest Interactive Course Catalog, please click on the following link:
http://www2.uclaextension.edu/writers/catalog/current_catalog.pdf

Note: ONLINE courses are indicated by a mouse logo. Click on the blue registration number for any course to be taken directly to the enrollment webpage.

If you'd like to speak with a Writers' Program adviser, please call (310) 825-9415.

Enrollment for our 4-DAY WRITERS STUDIO this February is also available! To view the digital brochure, please visit the following link:
http://www2.uclaextension.edu/writers/pdfs/studio_brochure/sourceCS3.swf

Note: If you go to the last page, you can click on any course title and be taken directly to the webpage to enroll.

As always, if you have any questions, please call the number above.

Original post: http://uclaextensionwritersprogram.blogspot.com/2011/11/winter-catalog-writers-studio.html

Secrets to Screenwriting Success

2011-10-31T10:28:00.000-07:00

This Saturday, November 5th, Writers' Program instructor Corey Mandell will host a 1-day course, "How to Give Yourself the Best Possible Chance at Screenwriting Success."

Last Spring, I had the chance to take a full-length class with Corey and I can't say enough about the experience. Corey has a very on-point explanation on why the odds of "breaking in" are so slim, and how to avoid having your script wind up in the wastebasket. These tools also support his perspective on how "talent" can actually be learned, and how writers with so-called talent are continually able to produce compelling screenplays better than 99% of the rest. You can get a brief introduction to Corey by watching the video below.

To enroll in the course, please visit https://www.uclaextension.edu/r/Course.aspx?Reg=W7534 and contact the Writers' Program with any questions: 310-825-9415.

Happy Halloween :)

Original post: http://uclaextensionwritersprogram.blogspot.com/2011/10/secrets-to-screenwriting-success.html

Weekend Viewing: America in Primetime

2011-10-28T13:29:00.000-07:00

For the aspiring & established Television Writing community out there:

Starting this Sunday, PBS will air a four-part documentary that will examine character archetypes in primetime TV, past and present.

You can read a review of America in Primetime from NPR news here and find more information about the program itself on PBS' website below:

http://www.pbs.org/america-in-primetime

Have a good weekend!

Original post: http://uclaextensionwritersprogram.blogspot.com/2011/10/weekend-viewing-america-in-primetime.html

Did You Get the Memo?

2011-10-24T15:56:00.000-07:00

Last year, the now-infamous memo from David Mamet (addressed to his staff writers on "The Unit") leaked onto the web. While it's true origin and author have been up for debate, beyond the obscenities, typos, and rants lie the secret codes all dramatists should live by. It's entertaining, educational, and well worth the read.

You can find a web article version of it here, or a PDF version of it here.

This memo was actually first brought to my attention last Spring, during a screenwriting course with Corey Mandell. Corey's class still remains one of the best and most influential I've taken so far. For those of you who may be interested, he will be teaching a 1-day seminar on November 5th. For more info, click here: https://www.uclaextension.edu/r/Course.aspx?reg=W7534.

Well, that's enough hyper-linking for now. Have a good week writers! :)

Original post: http://uclaextensionwritersprogram.blogspot.com/2011/10/did-you-get-memo.html

A Thousand Faces

2011-10-17T16:46:00.000-07:00

Several things lately have caused me to gravitate towards the work of author/mythologist Joseph Campbell, which today resulted in a rather unexpected discovery...

For anyone unfamiliar, Joseph Campbell is kind of like the Syd Field of literature. Before the widely-touted Hollywood 3-Act formula, film writers and directors were crediting Campbell for breaking down story structure in his book, "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" (George Lucas being among the first). Campbell devoted his life to studying the substance of stories (or myths) across human cultures and mapping out their similarities. He later produced a paradigm or path that all protagonists had in common, called "The Monomyth" a.k.a. "The Hero's Journey".

However, the brief description above barely does the author justice. His influence is evident (and often cited) in screenwriting books and film courses across the world. That's how I was first introduced, anyway. Then, thanks to the Internet, it was pretty easy to get familiar simply by typing "The Hero's Journey" into Google. When I first did this, I found a plethora of re-created diagrams. One of the better sites I bookmarked was this: http://www.thewritersjourney.com/hero%27s_journey.htm#Heroine

This remained on the back of my mind for a couple years until recently, when I came across an inspiring trailer for a documentary on Campbell's theories at play in everyday life: http://www.findingjoethemovie.com/. (Note: If you type in his name on IMdB, you'll also see other films or TV shows that document his work).

Then, what brought me back to "The Hero's Journey" this week was the material I've been learning in my current class, "Emotional Structure: Creating the Story Beneath the Plot" with Peter Dunne. Peter has his own customized map for plot construction and it reminded me of the two diagrams from the site linked above (the hero's external and internal journey). Looking back at the site, I was surprised to find that the author of it -- Christopher Vogler -- was actually a former instructor of UCLA Extension himself! Apparently, his book "The Writer's Journey" was developed during his time at the Writers' Program.

This book is now among Syd Field's, Blake Snyder's, Robert McKee's as one of the go-to resources for screenwriters (and in Vogler's case, also novelists). Vogler no longer teaches with us, but he did have this to say: "I recommend UCLA Extension Writers’ Program classes everywhere I travel, especially inEurope where people want to know how they get the skills they will need. It’s a terrific program and a major cultural resource in Los Angeles..." I was kind of bummed to see that he left Extension, but I guess that means I'll just have to read the book...

Anyway, I just found this to be a rather interesting connection. Hopefully this and the links above can provide you with some helpful insight for the week. That's all for now!

'Til next time...

Dreams on Spec

2011-10-05T13:16:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the world of screenwriting can be a bit daunting. As if creating a whole story out of thin air and filling 120 pages of engaging, entertaining material isn't grueling enough... getting that story read (and made into a movie) is another battle entirely.

I recently watched a documentary that was recommended to me, called "Dreams on Spec". It chronicles the lives of several screenwriters in various stages of their careers as they try to navigate the entertainment industry and get their stories to the silver screen. Not many docs out there point the camera strictly on the writers -- the unsung heroes of showbiz -- so this was really good to see for that reason. Plus, it was extremely eye-opening. If you're a screenwriter yourself, you might also consider this to be a horror movie of sorts. The second title card in the opening states a cold hard fact: "Every year screenwriters finish tens of thousands of scripts, but only 400 are made into movies."

Along the way, professional scribes are interviewed by the filmmakers. Among them, I was surprised to see Paul Guay, who co-wrote "Liar Liar" and several other films with our instructor Steve Mazur. The documentary really illustrated the trials and tribulations involved with being a screenwriter (and producer). While it's not something everyone wants to hear, it's good to see because it just goes to show how much of a competitive edge one needs to have nowadays -- not only within the craft of storytelling itself, but career management to boot.

Now that our Fall classes are officially underway, I recommend watching this. While we do offer classes geared towards the art of pitching, selling, networking and getting your work into the right hands... most of our courses focus on the enhancement of the craft itself. So this might be a helpful film to see, just to get an education on the world outside of the classroom. Not as a deterrent of dreams, but as a refiner and motivator. If you're interested, it's currently on Hulu for free. Check out the link below, and good luck to everyone this Fall!

Keep dreamin', keep spec-in'...

Dreams On Spec: http://www.imdb.com/video/hulu/vi1452016665/

Let the Writers' Program Work for You!

2011-09-22T17:05:00.000-07:00

Hello Writers,

As you may have heard, this month marked the close of the 2011 UCLA Extension Writers' Program Feature Film and Television Writing Competitions. Since I began this position back in February, I had the chance to witness first-hand the process of this unique outlet from start to finish, and I must say... it's pretty darn extraordinary.

Back in the Winter Quarter, Writers' Program students were given the opportunity to submit their completed feature film or television screenplays to these two exclusive competitions. All entrants provided proof that their scripts were developed in at least one of our courses, and each applicant had to meet certain eligibility requirements (3 class minimum for Feature Film, 2 for TV).

Then, over the Spring and Summer quarters, each entry went through a multi-tiered process of scoring. A select group of instructors reviewed each script over several rounds of judging until the total submissions were narrowed down to a handful of finalists. Each script was entered anonymously, and no instructor received the work of his or her previous student. Once the finalists were selected, they were each paired with one instructor and given a period of time to polish their material before the final round of judging -- where a panel of established entertainment industry professionals (producers, agents, writers, etc.) were invited to read the scripts and select their placement (in 1st, 2nd and 3rd).

From there, the winners were notified, prize money was allocated ($1000, $500 and $250 respectively) and most of all, the promotional process began...

This is where we found ourselves last week. Among the busiest time of the year (Fall enrollment) every staff member here at the Writers' Program stepped away from their desks, rolled up their sleeves, and one-by-one printed, folded, stuffed, labeled, and sealed over TWO THOUSAND newsletters -- announcing the winners of the competitions, their script titles, log-lines, and contact info -- that were then mailed across town to every notable production company, agency, and executive listed in the Hollywood Creative Directory.

A half-page ad was also placed in last week's EMMY Issue of The Hollywood Reporter. Between the two measures of advertising, phone calls and emails have already come in from major contacts in the entertainment world requesting copies of the scripts. Finalists have even scheduled meetings in a matter of days. Compared to any other screenwriting contest out there, this level of exposure is unparallelled. Combined with the individualized instructor mentorship, this is an exclusive, one-of-a-kind contest strictly for our students. It's no wonder last year's top three finalists went on to gain representation. One of them even had their script land on the coveted Hollywood "Blacklist" of the best unsold screenplays of 2010 (and most often, these movies end up being made).

The competition is such a great opportunity for our students, I can't say enough about it. Next year's deadline is slated for March 1st, so be sure to keep that date in mind in the months ahead. For more information on applying, please visit: http://www2.uclaextension.edu/writers/detail.php?sID=competition

In the coming weeks, you'll also be able to read an in-depth interview with each of the finalists on our homepage: http://www2.uclaextension.edu/writers/.

On behalf of the Writers' Program, we congratulate the winners and wish them each success and luck as the Fall Quarter commences!

Writers Faire this Sunday! (Plus Upcoming Enrollment Deadlines)

2011-08-24T10:20:00.000-07:00

Free and open to the public! For information on attending the annual WRITERS FAIRE this Sunday, August 28th, click here:

http://www2.uclaextension.edu/writers/events.php?eventID=20

To see a schedule of the of the instructor panels, click here:

http://www2.uclaextension.edu/writers/pdfs/updated%20grid%20time.pdf

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Upcoming Enrollment Deadlines:

Master Class Submissions Due: September 2nd
http://www2.uclaextension.edu/writers/pdfs/Master%20Class%20Brochure.pdf

Advanced Class Submissions Due: September 6th
http://www2.uclaextension.edu/writers/catalog/current_catalog.pdf

Fall Quarter begins: September 19th

As always, contact a Writers' Program adviser for assistance: 310-825-9415

See you at the Faire!

13 Ingredients to a Successful Screenplay from an Industry Reader's POV

2011-08-17T11:50:00.000-07:00

So the instructor of my current online class, Karl Iglesias, referred me to this one website a few weeks back that I can't get enough of.... It's called "Script Shadow". On it, a professional script reader reviews one script in development per day. It's a great resource for screenwriters. It's fun to scroll through reviews of scripts that were eventually turned into movies (sometimes completely different drafts are reviewed) or to see which ones are currently on the coveted "Black List". It's probably the next best thing to reading them yourself or working at a studio. Kudos to Karl for giving me this new addiction.

Anyway, there's one article I found that I'd like to share here. You know how everyone says, "if you want to write screenplays, READ THEM"? Well, this guy has done that. LOT'S OF THEM. And he's published what I think are solid tips on what sets the so-called "great" scripts apart from the mass of others. These tips are absolutely what one notices after reading hundreds of unproduced screenplays. It's a great article that condenses YEARS of knowledge in mere minutes, and definitely worth a read. (Not so coincidentally, the solution to these problems are addressed in our classes). Shameless plugs aside, here's the link to the page... Enjoy!

http://scriptshadow.blogspot.com/2010/06/how-to-write-great-script.html

A Writer's Journey (of Procrastinating).

2011-08-11T12:02:00.000-07:00

Hi gang. I'm about to share a passage from memoirist & bloggist Jen Lancaster (http://www.jennsylvania.com) who's unaffiliated with the Writers' Program to date, but nonetheless, the post was so good I had to re-blog it here. I'm sure it's something all writers (aspiring to professional) will appreciate.... (fyi, I believe "Fletch" is her husband).

The official entry can be viewed at the following link: http://www.jennsylvania.com/jennsylvania/2010/07/portraits-in-procrastination.html

THEM-E

2011-08-04T13:18:00.000-07:00

So the other week in my online class, WRITING FOR EMOTIONAL IMPACT w/ Karl Iglesias, we were assigned the task of researching and reading about "theme" in movies. As Karl stated in his lecture, the best themes are invisible to the audience - never stated directly - but wind up being felt. They resonate at a gut level by the time the lights come up. This made me recall an article I read (coincidentally on another Writers' Program instructor's blog) about the film WALL-E. It's an interview with the movie's writer/director where he discusses the "eureka!" moment in finding the theme while writing, which allowed him to snap the story into focus. It's a great interview, especially if you're a fan of the movie (which I am) and it's also an example of how invisible a theme can be, but when you actually read it, it resonates. Anyway, without further delay, enjoy!

WALL-E Interview: http://collider.com/entertainment/interviews/article.asp/aid/8305/tcid/1

(p.s. the source blog - Billy Mernit's - also has a good article up currently related to themes).

Interactive Fall Catalog - NEW!

2011-07-26T15:38:00.000-07:00

Our Fall 2011 Course Catalog is officially online! Take a look and enroll early for a 10% discount (and to avoid hassling with full courses, wait-lists, etc.)...

http://www2.uclaextension.edu/writers/catalog/current_catalog.pdf

***Also: be sure to check out the new interactive features. Just click on any registration number to be taken directly to the course web page, where you can enroll online or look up more information on the instructor.

Contact your Writers' Program advisers with any questions -- we're always glad to help!

Cheers:)

Blogging for Blogs

2011-07-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

So my first Online class is going quite well. Something I didn't expect: there's an addictive quality to taking class online, similar to Facebook and the like, in the sense that you just want to keep checking the message boards to see what people wrote. Only, unlike most social networking, it's actually PRODUCTIVE... (which is nice).

Anyway, in the first couple weeks, we've focused a lot on CONCEPT. We were tasked with the assignment of posting loglines from released movies as well as our own projects, to see which ones were the most emotionally gripping and why. With helpful feedback from Karl and other students, everyone has now pinpointed a project they want to develop in the weeks ahead. I'm pretty excited. My last class was a scene workshop so each week, everyone had a different story. But here, this will be the first time I get to see how my storyline and the ideas of others will grow as we move along.

In one of his posts, Karl also shared a couple helpful screenwriting blogs, which I'll re-post here in case anyone is interested:

ScriptShadow: A blog that reviews a script in development per day, that also posts interesting articles about things like conquering the dreaded 2nd Act.

Go Into the Story: A blog by one of our former instructors, Scott Myers, that apparently comes highly rated by not only Karl, but a host of other film sites on the web. I pulled the link below from this site, on which it was rated #1...

The 60 Best Blogs for Aspiring Screenwriter: A huge, resourceful list that will probably come in handy next time you have writer's block, to say the least.

Does anyone else out there have any favorite story-crafting sites or resources for staying plugged into the script scene??? If so, by all means post them here...

Countdown to CARMAGEDDON!

2011-07-15T09:43:00.000-07:00

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Looking Forward...

2011-07-14T16:02:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

It's been a while since my last post. It gets pretty busy here around the start of every quarter, but now we're up and running! All of our Summer courses are officially underway...

That said, I'm happy to announce that I -- like several staffers here -- have decided to double up and take not one but TWO classes this time around. If you've been keeping up with these blogs, you probably know that I left my last class with a good idea of what I wanted to work on next in terms of writing. The great thing about Extension programs is that (for people like myself who are very meticulous when it comes to choosing classes) you can audit the first meeting of any class you'd like. Last quarter, I had the benefit of sitting in on our WRITERS STUDIO courses which helped me exponentially. This time however, I didn't have that "sample platter" effect, so I surveyed several. In the end, I decided on Karl Iglesias' WRITING FOR EMOTIONAL IMPACT (ONLINE), and a course in our sister program, Entertainment Studies, called DIRECTING ACTORS FOR THE SCREEN with Alex D'Lerma.

For the sake of this blog, I'll probably focus more on the writing class, but I chose the latter as it's another passion of mine, and ultimately it's an extension of where I left off in my previous course. What I really wanted to do is start tapping deeper into the emotions and personalities of characters. Both of these courses tackle that in different ways, and I think the onsite/online duo should make for a good balance. You'll hear more about these in the months ahead...

Also, since my last post, there's been a lot of good things in the works here at the Writers' Program. To list a few:

We are prepping the annual WRITERS FAIRE event, for August 28th. It's basically a big Open House, FREE to the public, with panels of our instructors giving sample lectures under various writing topics. Part of it will also be streamed live on the web for those who are out-of-state.
Our Fall Quarter is being planned and the catalog will officially be released online, JULY 25th. We are also developing a new interactive PDF version of our course catalog, to make enrolling even easier.
UCLA Extension now provides Certificate students and graduates with access to UCLA's main campus job board, CareerSpot, which is a HUGE resource for career placement.
And finally, I have just discovered the joy of hyper-linking blog text.

That about wraps it up for now... Stay tuned, and for all those Los Angelinos out there this weekend, STAY INDOORS !!! ... (or walk).

-jb

Choosing a class for Summer!

2011-06-24T08:44:00.001-07:00

So the Summer Quarter has officially begun, thus bringing an end to my first writing class: CREATING POWERFUL SCENES FOR THE MOVIES w/ Corey Mandell.

This was a phenomenal learning experience for me, for reasons mentioned in previous blogs. I knew exactly what I wanted from my first class: a fresh approach, a dismantling of whatever process I had that didn't work in lieu of learning a new one, specifically for the construction of scenes since I had spent so much time in the broad-stroke "outline first" style of writing. And I got exactly this. The difference between the scene I handed in on Week 1 VS. Week 10 was the proof.

Was it easy? No. Was my scene the best scene ever? Hardly. But not only did I enhance my writing, more importantly, I developed a clear idea of what to tackle next. It's like bulldozing through one wall to get to another.

Writing can be a funny thing... a lot of it has to take place in your head... but if you don't escape that and experience your work through the lens of others, be they aspiring writers or experienced professionals, it's easy to get trapped in limbo (a la the movie INCEPTION). And so, with the Summer officially starting, I'm determined to escape limbo and continue my education here at Extension.

I'm currently debating between a few classes (possibly singing up for two this quarter) so I thought I would share the ones I found interesting here. If you're like me and waiting 'til the last minute, take a look... and feel free to chime in with your opinion, as I can't yet decide...

WRITING FOR EMOTIONAL IMPACT (Online) w/ Karl Iglesias

https://www.uclaextension.edu/r/Course.aspx?reg=W5166

I've heard nothing but good things about Karl since I've worked here, and he published a popular book by the same name. My last class was mostly about tools for structure and composition. This one is like tools for substance and creating emotion in the characters and the audience, which is something I could benefit from.

VIDEO GAME WRITING AND NARRATIVE DESIGN w/ Robert Bryant

https://www.uclaextension.edu/r/Course.aspx?reg=W5426

In a scene for the last class, I wrote about a fictitious video game, and I had more fun doing that then writing about the actual characters in the scene. The best games to me are like interactive movies. I'm super curious as to how the industry works and how to develop a game from a creative/narrative standpoint.

CRAFTING DIALOGUE: A UNIQUE APPROACH w/ Larry Wilson

https://www.uclaextension.edu/r/Course.aspx?reg=W5418

In-class scene writing scares the crap out of me. I'm a perfectionist. I like to mold words and let them marinate before debuting them unto others. This class would definitely push me out of a comfort zone.

Let me know what you think and, as always, if anyone out there would like to know more about our classes, just call 310-825-9415, or view our course catalog here:

https://www.uclaextension.edu/UnexDocuments/Pdf/Catalog_PDFs/Writers_Program.pdf

Til next time...

Self-Promotion in the Digital Age - Instructor Seminar

2011-06-14T11:31:00.000-07:00

Dear UCLA Extension Writers' Program students & followers,

Screenwriting instructor BILL TAUB would like to invite you to attend a seminar he's hosting this Wednesday, at the WGA Headquarters. Please see the details below for more info:

"TOOT YOUR OWN HORN: SELF-PROMOTION IN THE DIGITAL AGE"

Date: Wednesday, June 15th
Time: 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Location: WGAW 2nd Floor, WGA Headquarters, on Fairfax and 3rd St.

Description:

In these challenging times, it is imperative that writers take control of their own careers. Be proactive, "do it yourself," especially regarding publicity and marketing. Technology has swiftly changed, providing writers with new avenues to promote themselves and their work. Have you tapped in?

A DIY panel features publicist Henri Bollinger, president of the Entertainment Publicists Professional Society, discussing personal publicity vs. when to bring on a “professional”; screen and TV writer/author/award-winning columnist W. Bruce Cameron (8 Simple Rules, A Dog’s Purpose); Zoanne Clack (Executive Producer - "Grey's Anatomy" and former Writers' Program student), Gregg Kilday (film editor at The Hollywood Reporter); psychotherapist Rebecca Roy (TheIndustryTherapist.com) to broach writers’ resistance to self-promotion; and independent new media consultant Douglas Welch (also a Writers' Program instructor) addressing new media and social marketing platforms.

Panel followed by smaller hands-on breakout sessions. Moderated by Bill Taub.

SPACE IS LIMITED! IF YOU'D LIKE TO ATTEND PLEASE RSVP VIA E-MAIL TO:

BillyTaub@gmail.com

Advanced Course Deadline Extended

2011-06-07T15:42:00.000-07:00

Just an update for Screenwriting Students:

The deadline for the Advanced Course submissions has been extended to 5:00pm, Monday, June 13, 2011. Please see links below for additional course information:

ADVANCED REWRITING WORKSHOP w/ Tom Lazarus
https://www.uclaextension.edu/r/Course.aspx?reg=W5442

ADVANCED SITCOM REWRITE w/ Alan Kirschenbaum
https://www.uclaextension.edu/r/Course.aspx?reg=W5455

BEYOND YOUR FIRST SPEC: AN ADVANCED WORKSHOP FOR THE ONE-HOUR DRAMA SCRIPT w/ Greg Elliot
https://www.uclaextension.edu/r/Course.aspx?reg=W5454

If you have any questions about these or other Writers’ Program courses, please let us know!

For more info visit www.uclaextension.edu/writers

The Right Stuff

2011-06-02T11:33:00.000-07:00

It's been a few weeks since I gave an update on my writing class. A lot of people responded to my previous post "Treating the Cause" and I think it's because hearing about the instructor's unorthadox perspective, coupled with me realizing "I'm not alone" made others feel the same, and rekindled a bit of hope. Which I think is something all aspiring writers need sometimes, and it's exactly what the class provides.

What I've learned from working here at the Writers' Program so far, and listening to instructors and their guest speakers... is that even professional writers struggle like everyone else. Words don't magically appear on the page. These writers just approach their road blocks very differently. They know the difference between neccessary and uneccessary suffering; the RIGHT and WRONG questions to ask themselves (something I've heard before, but never really understood).

Corey told a story last class about a fellow friend of his, a working writer, who had written a project up to a certain point, then stopped. He racked his brain for five days straight trying to figure out how to get his character off of a roof that he was stranded on (in a very true to character, true to story way). "And THAT'S screenwriting," Corey said.

Knowing the principles of compelling cinematic conflict, and constructing problems that even have YOU the author asking "what will happen next?" is the level professional writers operate on. GETTING THERE is what this class is about.

As for me... I'll be honest and admit that during the first half of this class, my weekly scene assignments had fallen short of the parameters. The tools we've discussed over and over in class hadn't quite sunk in. Then, after weeks of being programmed with these "right" questions to ask... I took a scene I wrote, asked these questions, answered them, then rewrote accordinly. It was a struggle, but in the end, the difference was night and day.

Am I a master screenwriter now? No. Did the scene still have flaws? Yes. But what I do know is that once I cleared that hurdle, I felt like I finally "got it" and I can now build onto this foundation and excell to the next level as the class continues.

The current assignment is a pretty big one along these same lines, so we'll see how I do. The next lecture I believe will be along the subject of "THEME" so I'll have more to report then.

Til next time...

Advanced Course - Summer Deadline

2011-05-26T09:38:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder: the submission deadline for our Advanced workshops this Summer is MONDAY, JUNE 6TH! For more info, check out the links below...

Advanced Rewriting Workshop w/ Tom Lazarus
https://www.uclaextension.edu/r/Course.aspx?reg=W5442

Beyond Your First Spec: An Advanced Workshop for the One-Hour Drama Script w/ Greg Elliot
https://www.uclaextension.edu/r/Course.aspx?reg=W5454&qe=true

Advanced Sitcom Rewrite w/ Alan Kirschenbaum
https://www.uclaextension.edu/r/Course.aspx?reg=W5455&qe=true

A blog borrowed...

2011-05-13T12:16:00.000-07:00

I just got to look at one of our instructor's blogs "Living the Romantic Comedy" by Billy Mernit. Very cool if you're interested in romantic comedies or just writing movies in general.

http://www.livingromcom.typepad.com/

The genre has been done to death, yet still keeps audienes coming back for more. Billy gives great insight on how to write one, sell one, and also make the world a better place...

Speaking of Rom-Coms, I recently saw the film SOMETHING BORROWED. A lot of flack has been going around on the web about this movie, but I gotta say... I kind of enjoyed it. The trailer for it had me expecting a really cliched "chick flick". However, while it had it's own mertis and demerits, I appluaded the fact that in the movie, NO ONE is doing something morally good, yet I still found myself rooting for the main character. No easy feat... A better example of a Rom-Com on the immoral side would be THE SWITCH. Which was suprisingly funny and heartfelt. Basically everything a "romantic" "comedy" is supposed to be... go figure right?

In recent history, my personal favorites would be (500) DAYS OF SUMMER and SHAUN OF THE DEAD (a romantic comedy with zombies), but I'm still a sucker for Nora Ephron movies as much as the next person...

Anyway, that's my take for the day. Give the blog a read if you'd like and have a good weekend!

Cyberhouse Writing Contest Winners!

2011-05-10T11:32:00.000-07:00

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TOP THREE WINNERS OF THE WRITERS' PROGRAM CYBERHOUSE WRITING CONTEST!

Our online open house attendees were given a chance to win some cool Writers' Program schwag by writing a 6-word story that summed up their writing life. Here are the top three stories and winners (in no particular order):

1. "Serving time for killing my darlings." - by Lori Cronwell

2. "Eat. Sleep. Write. Curse. Rewrite. Repeat." - by Mario Di Pesa

3. "Bedside notepad. 2a.m. brilliance. 8a.m. wastebasket." - by Claudia Ochar

Thanks to all of those who submitted. If you missed Cyberhouse and the 10% discount, don't fret! It's still early enough to recieve the 10% "Early Enrollment" discount, which is available until one month before the start date of your class. As always, keep yourselves abreast of our special events @ http://www2.uclaextension.edu/writers/events.php

Congrats again to the winners!

WP out.

Treating the Cause...

2011-05-05T15:09:00.000-07:00

Hello writers & readers... I just thought I'd check in for the week and let you know how things are going on my end of the Writers' Program. I've been getting a lot of calls from students asking about the Summer Quarter, which is good. Enrollments are starting early. I definitely prefer those calls over the calls that come two weeks into the quarter when everything is full.

I'm currently in the process of choosing a class to take in the summer myself. I've pinpointed a few but I still have a ways to go in Corey's class, which will help me determine what I should work on next. More to that, I'm so glad I chose this as my first class, it's really proven to be exactly what I needed...

If I could explain something about myself before I came here: I worked as an intern, assistant, and script reader for a good while and covered a lot of screenplays. From reading them, I saw that while so many writers had good ideas, so many of those ideas were not executed to their fullest potential. Personally, I've always thought if you are creative enough to think of a CONCEPT for a movie, you are creative enough to expand that into a full length script. The only question is: HOW?

Like most aspiring writers, to answer this question, I hit the books. Syd Field's SCREENPLAY, Robert McKee's STORY, and a lesser known: Jeff Kitchen's KEY TOOLS FOR SUCCESSFUL SCREENWRITING. Afterwards, I was left with so much jargon and principles in my head, I started writing outlines for stories that were nothing more than algebra equations, trying to mold something into a formula from a textbook. Even after the dust settled, while I retained certain knowledge from those books (which I'm pretty sure was worth it) -- and after gaining a far GREATER knowledge from reading tons of scripts (definitely worth it) -- I would still go back to writing and just... get lost.

I'd start with a concept, brainstorm, outline, rework, rewrite, block out scenes, but never finish. I'd spot trouble areas in the outline (mostly in the ladder part of the 2nd Act) and rework the entire thing before ever writing a single scene. I was engrained in this broad-stroke, synopsis style of writing (mostly from reading books and writing coverage) and I was doing more harm than good. Somewhere along the way, I was tripping myself up, and I needed to figure out how and why. That's when I realized I needed to step outside of myself and find a way to put the practical knowledge into acutal ACTION, the right way.

Day 1 of my first writing class, I realized I was definitely not alone. It was like stepping into a doctor's office with a bunch of ill patients. Everyone had symptoms of something. Me, I had a rash. A bad one. I had seen other doctors who prescribed skin cream or pills, but nothing ever worked. Then, out steps Corey, who immediately recognized the symptoms and said "My dear boy, it's not your skin that's the problem, it's your diet!" Something so simple, yet so overlooked. He did this for everyone, and in screenplay terms, it all boiled down to one thing: a writer's PROCESS.

As Corey says: process creates product. However, no one ever addresses this for writers. In the sessions that followed, Corey had somehow managed to take the mythical beast of "the screenwriting process", pluck it out of abstraction, and break it down into simple, tangeable building blocks -- to be taught, learned, practiced, and applied -- in order to create a compelling cinematic story. (Or in the case of this class: a SCENE).

In four sessions, so far I've gotten ahold of the first few building blocks. They have forced me to start getting specific where I was once vague, ask myself the right questions as opposed to getting stuck on the wrong ones, and start the massive overhaul in my appraoch to writing that I needed. It won't be easy. It won't be fast. But I'm certain that if I am to get anywhere in writing, it starts here.

For now I'll leave you with that, and after next class, dive more into how my own writing is shaping up (or down). Next week's assignment is a big one so, we'll see.... 'Til then....

Weekend Reading...

2011-04-29T12:45:00.000-07:00

Some interesting links I found today on film and creative writing:

60 Best Blogs for Aspiring Screenwriters:
http://www.bachelorsdegree.org/2010/10/12/60-best-blogs-for-aspiring-screenwriters/

10 Best Free Film Sites:
http://www.mademan.com/mm/10-best-free-film-sites.html

Writers' Rules for Writing:
Inspired by Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules, some other well known authors list theirs as well....
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/feb/20/ten-rules-for-writing-fiction-part-one

The Wine & The Wine Glass

2011-04-25T16:20:00.001-07:00

As I'm under pressure to finish the assignment for tonight's class... I thought I'd distract myself from writing by, well, writing! (this blog)

In our last session, Corey made many screenwriting analogies that fit his unique perspective (which I mentioned in previous posts). My favorite was "the wine and the wine glass". The two sides of screenwriting. There's the obvious part: the wine. Meaning, when you go to a restaurant for a fancy meal, you're probably going to order good wine. The waiter will come and display the bottle and poor the glass. You'll stir it, you'll smell it, you'll taste it. And you'll leave remembering the wine and talking about the wine. It's what you EXPERIENCE. This is why people go to the movies as well. The wine is the characters, the story, the experience....

Now, what most people are oblivous to, is that when the wine is served, it's served in a specificly shaped GLASS. A glass that's designed to enhance the properties of that wine (flavor, aroma, body, etc.) so it can be enjoyed as the maker intends. Different types of wine have different glasses (a champagne flute for example is narrow to accentuate the bubbles) and sometimes even vinters make their own. But normally, no one pay's attention to this. However, if the wine came in a shot glass, it would be off-putting. Such is the case with story STRUCTURE. It's the mold that holds the wine. When it works, it's invisible, and when it doesn't work, you notice. But unlike the popularized coda, Corey claims that the 3-Act paradigm is only ONE type of wine glass, meant for ONE type of wine. Not everyone's wine fits in the same glass.

The first part of making a solid "wine glass" had to do with writing in Compelling Cinematic Conflict. While the word "conflict" has been used a million times over in film schools and books, I walked out of the class for the first time with an accurate, multi-layered definition of it. And that's what tonight's scene assignment was all about. Writing a scene that adhered to the principles of conflict laid out in the class. So, speaking of, I'm afraid I have to go and finish that. In the meantime, I'll leave you with a link to one of the better examples we screened:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wtfNE4z6a8

Friendly Updates from the WP:

2011-04-20T12:04:00.000-07:00

Most of our classes won't be meeting this week due to the Passover/Easter holiday. Your instructor should have notified you regarding class either way, but if you have any questions you can always email an advisor: http://www2.uclaextension.edu/writers/detail.php?sID=contact

For those of you that DO have class TOMORROW NIGHT, THURSDAY, 4/21/11 -- PLEASE BE ADVISED -- THERE WILL MOST LIKELY BE HEAVY TRAFFIC DUE TO A FUNDRAISING EVENT WITH PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA IN WEST L.A. For more information, click here: http://outages.admin.ucla.edu/index.cfm?outageid=6021

Our SUMMER COURSE CATALOGUE was released this week! I can't tell you how many calls I recieved AFTER classes were full this quarter, SO PLEASE GET A JUMP ON THESE CLASSES!! Enroll early and save 10%: https://www.uclaextension.edu/UnexDocuments/Pdf/Catalog_PDFs/Writers_Program.pdf

For anyone out there interested in our ONLINE COURSES, be sure to sign up for our CYBERHOUSE (an Online Open House, May 3rd - 6th) and recieve an additional 10% off summer (online) classes: http://www2.uclaextension.edu/writers/events.php?eventID=29

There's also the FESTIVAL OF BOOKS on the weekend of April 30th and May 1st. So if you like books, here's a whole festival of them: http://www2.uclaextension.edu/writers/events.php?eventID=17

Aside from that, I don't have class this week either,but I'll be back soon with a report on how the 2nd meeting went. 'Til then, enjoy the holiday weekend everyone!

The Science of Scene

2011-04-12T16:50:00.000-07:00

This could be an alternate title for the class I attended last week.

Corey Mandell's class has delivered exactly as promised so far. The second meeting is tonight, for which students were assigned to write a random 4-page scene to be read aloud in class. That's it. Simple, yet scary.... In four pages, you can usually tell if a script is good or bad. Same thing for a writer. So here's hoping...

The good news is, "Creating Powerful Scenes" is about shattering the notion that you either "can" or "can't" write. It's beyond something one just naturally DOES. There's actually a process to it. And from Corey's perspective -- much to the challenge of most authors, instructors, and writers -- it doesn't involve a 3-Act Syd Field paradigm. It's organic, but can be broken down, quantified, and practiced into very distinct and select tools to strengthen one's writing. Those tools start at the scene level and work their way up.

A good analogy was made last week: if you're an actor and go to Juliard, no one is going to let you stand on stage and perform when you get there. Nor will they expect you to. Their students spend at least a YEAR practicing "process". Tools that are drilled into their muscle memory through repetition. Only then do they take the stage once the foundation is laid. So why should writers be "expected" to perform at the stage level (the script as a whole) first? It's an interesting perspective...

Anyway, after tonight's class, we'll get a preview of some of those tools and apply them to our same scenes for next week. I guess I'll have more to report by then. In the meantime, if you're interested in this course, or Corey Mandell, check out the links in the previous blog. 'Til next time...

Back to School...

2011-04-04T13:52:00.001-07:00

My first class with the Writers' Program starts tomorrow and I'm kinda pumped! I signed up for "Creating Powerful Scenes for the Movies: Intermediate Workshop" with Corey Mandell because I liked what his Writers Studio class had to offer.

From what I hear, this class is the exact opposite from most other screenwriting courses. Most instructors and authors take the outline-first approach, then scale down to the finer details (e.g. concept to outline to Acts to sequences to scenes to dialogue). Corey's philosphy is that the SCENE is paramount. If you can construct that, you can build a script from there.

So it's completely different from what I'm used to hearing and I think it'll be a great learning experience. I'm going to audit the first class and see how it goes. I'm kind of torn between this and one of our sequential courses where students develop a first draft. We'll see where I land but as always, I'll keep you guys in the loop. It will definitely provide for some insightful blogging that's for sure. So stay tuned! Same bat time... Same bat channel...

Oh and in case you're interested, here's a link to the class:

https://www.uclaextension.edu/r/Course.aspx?reg=W3115

and to Corey's Website:

http://coreymandell.net/

The Dialogue

2011-03-29T12:18:00.000-07:00

I recently stumbled upon a fantastic resource for screenwriters and thought I'd share...

If you haven't heard of it already, "THE DIALOGUE: Learning from the Masters" is a now defunct web series on YouTube, where successful screenwriters are interviewed in-depth by producer Mike DeLuca (and maybe some other industry people, I don't know I haven't watched them all yet). But I caught a few last week and the writers were suprisingly pretty candid. No one ever gives screenwriters a lot of face time so this was really nice to see... Check it out if you'd like! Here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheDialogue

COMEDY TODAY: Writing & Selling Television Comedy, hosted by Ed Scharlach

2011-03-24T12:47:00.001-07:00

MODERN FAMILY. THE OFFICE. THE SIMPSONS. FAMILY GUY. IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA. iCARLY. COMMUNITY.

These are some of the most popular shows on TV, and their top tier staff-writers, executive producers and/or show runners converged for one day only this past Saturday for the 20th Anniversary of instructor Ed Scharlach’s COMEDY TODAY forum.

Scharlach is a veteran of television himself (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0770158/) which is obvious by the pull he had garnering his guests. I literally can't fit into this blog what I took away from the class. In fact, it wasn’t even a class, it was a group conversation. Ed helmed about 50% of it, and the other half was driven by student Q&A’s... for EIGHT HOURS. That kind of access to the minds of working professionals is priceless. In lieu of a detailed recap, here’s a rundown of blurbs from the event. Hopefully you find some of these golden nuggets of wisdom as interesting as I did…

The Panelists: Danny Zuker (Modern Family), Michael Price (The Simpsons), Rob McElhenny (It’s Always Sunny), Tom Sheppard (Annoying Orange), George Doty IV (iCarly), Steve Callaghan (Family Guy), Dan Harmon (Community).

Out of these people, no one had the same path in getting to where they are today. Most of them however – whether they came up through the Writer’s Assistant track or had great spec material that got them noticed – had to pay their dues on horrible shows. But eventually, a gig on “Homeboys from Outerspace” turned into “The Simpsons”. And “Shasta McNasty” turned into “Seinfeld”.

Fun fact: Rob was still waiting tables at night while writing/directing/producing the pilot for “It’s Always Sunny”. Rob and his co-stars deferred their pay to keep the budget down on the first season, and that is why they maintain creative control today. They gambled on their own show, and won.

The Production Assistant on the first season of Family Guy is now running the show, 2nd in command to Seth MacFarlane.

It’s a small world: Michael and Danny attended the same wedding together in New Jersey through a mutual friend. Michael also taught at a high school in NJ where Queen Latifah was on the women’s basketball team.

Several of these guys got lucky at a young age. They were “hot” off a great spec or improv show. They nabbed representation, booked meetings, but inevitably got stuck when the producers asked them “What else ya got?” The lesson: always have material.

Most writers will not read specs of their own show (for legal reasons). Rob is the exception to the rule, but he requires writers to sign a waiver first.

George’s boss, Nickelodeon show runner Dan Schneider, put an anonymous ad on Craigslist to hire a staff writer on iCarly. 300 applied, 30 were interviewed, 1 was hired.

George had great stories from working with Larry David on Seinfeld that could fill this blog twice over.

Most of the writers on "The Office" never worked in an office. They went to Harvard.

YOU WILL WORK IN THIS TOWN IF: you can write an extraordinary sitcom, and you’re not an a**hole.

Danny, on rejection: “Rosanne wiped her butt with my script.” (On a side note: a writer in another class I recently attended said "Rosanne farted on my script.") Classy lady...

THE GRASS IS NEVER GREENER: No matter how experienced you are as a writer, the self discipline aspect of it never changes. The struggle to find your first agent is inevitably replaced with finding a NEW agent.

All agents will lie for you, but when they start lying TO you, that’s when it’s time to go.

UTA is an agency that seems to pride themselves on finding writers on the cusp of working.

Danny: “The best thing to be as a writer is curious.”

Rob has seen every single episode of “Friends” and views his own show as the opposite. “The theme is: I will NOT be there for you.”

EXPECTATIONS OF A NEW STAFF WRITER: Pitch the solution not the problem. Don’t preface what you’re about to say with “this is the bad version”. Don’t get disgruntled or attached to your own stuff. If the show runner is pushing the boulder up a hill, don’t be the guy pushing it down.

Harmon, on spec scripts: The first page of your script better have - not just one - but several set ups & pay offs to let me know you can tell a joke.

Writers in animation are treated like trash. Dreamworks worked backwards. They had test screenings of storyboards first and hired writers afterwards to make them make sense.

The episode of “Everybody Loves Raymond” (where Ray tapes over his wedding tape)… that actually happened to Aaron.

The episode of “Modern Family” (where Ed O’Neil has kidney stones and Sofia Vergara calls 911 and gets dolled up for the firefighters)… that actually happened to Danny.

Useless studio script notes. Yep, there’s an App for that… Aaron has it on his iPhone.

Harmon, on being a writer even in the modern-day oversaturated entertainment industry: “It’s still all about who you are, what you believe, and what you want to share with the world.”

- Jeff B.

Tootsie: Genius or Luck?

2011-03-15T15:54:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I had a chance to watch one of the movies on my infamous “Shame-On-Me List”. I call it that because, after I utter the title, it causes fellow film lovers to gasp in disbelief and say: “WHAT!!? YOU MEAN YOU HAVEN’T SEEN _____ YET!!!!!???” and then I feel ashamed. Sure, that probably has more to do with my psychological upbringing and I should see a therapist but that’s beside the point.

Needless to say, until this weekend, believe it or not, I had never actually seen the movie TOOTSIE in its entirety. (*GASP!) yeah yeah… whatever…

Now… the movie itself is great. But that’s not what this blog is about. On the Special Features section of the DVD, there’s a fantastic behind-the-scenes documentary that’s not your typical promotional puff piece, full of self-indulgent filmmakers and actors stroking each other’s egos. This is one of the rare Making-Ofs that really went into the filmmaking process and the famed fights between director Sydney Pollack and Dustin Hoffman (who was always rumored to be very close to his fictional character, Michael Dorsey, a “difficult” actor).

Difficult is the wrong word. Passionate would be better. Both men are artisans and their disputes weren’t so much a clashing of egos, but rather a struggle to understand and elevate the material. Moreover, the movie would have never turned out the way it did if it wasn’t for the contributions of both parties, not to mention the numerous screenwriters and – dare I say – agents involved.

It’s remarkable to hear the account of how the movie came into being: Hoffman first kicked around the concept with a screenwriter friend. A first draft was written with the main character as a struggling tennis player (based off an actual person Hoffman read about). It was also a slapstick, broad comedy, all played for laughs; a feature length “drag gag”. A second writer was brought in, and the main character was switched to a struggling actor (which made INFINITELY more sense). Pollack’s agent contacted him about the script, but Pollack thought it was too jokey and refused to do it at first. Then, a third writer (or consultant) was brought in – a woman – to give the film a female’s perspective.

Pollack steered the movie more towards its honest, reality-based tone and kept that command going throughout the directing process. By the time Jessica Lang was cast, I believe they said it was HER idea to have the love triangles compound & criss-cross in the hysterical way that they did in the end (something 3 writers should’ve thought of by that point). Comedy actors like Bill Murray were brought in to add humor. Hoffman convinced a reluctant Pollack to play the agent by sending roses to his office every day, signed by his character’s alter-ego “Dorothy Michaels”. Much later in the process, as the film was a month over schedule, Hoffman pleaded with Pollack to add a brief scene in the beginning because he felt his character’s passion for acting wasn’t established. They had no money, so Hoffman called up his old acting professor and brought in his acting students to stage the “acting coach” scene in the opening credits. The list goes on and on!

Of course, this stuff happens in filmmaking all the time. Each project is a small war, with its own battles, victories and casualties. But I was amazed because this script was heralded as being the apex of the form; the height of the 3-Act, character-driven, Hollywood hit. But no ONE master screenwriter sat down and wrote it. There was not ONE magical document you could pick up and read cover-to-cover before the movie was released, that would make you say, “Wow, now this is what you call a great screenplay!” The ingredients were probably there, no doubt… but the script would not have been close to the final cut if it wasn’t for one thing: collaboration. Try as one might, a film can’t be made without it. A film is a work in progress until the bitter end. A constant evolving organism that – without careful incubation – can easily DEVOLVE into primordial sludge.

At any point, this film could’ve been derailed along the development track and wound up forgotten like the modern day, cross-dressing comedy SORORITY BOYS. But who’s to say who’s right as the hundreds of creative decisions in filmmaking have to be made?

Which is also why, the more I think about it, the more I think great movies are small miracles, and screenwriter William Goldman’s notorious words about Hollywood hold evermore true: Nobody knows nothin’...

Anyway, I recommend next time you’re on Netflix, queue it up! And check out both the film and featurette, because it’s an education in screenwriting either way…

- jeff b.

SCREENWRITING COMPETITION!

2011-03-11T12:32:00.000-08:00

HEY SCREENWRITERS!!

Don’t forget to submit for this year's Screenplay and Television Writing Competition!!!

The Deadline is March 17, 5PM PST!!!!

For more info visit: http://www2.uclaextension.edu/writers/detail.php?sID=competition !!!!!

Last year's finalists have all acquired representation!!!!!!

THIS COULD BE YOUR BIG BREAK!!!!!!!

And if I add anymore exclamation points to this blog I'll go CRAZY!!!!!!!!

LIKE YOU SHOULD BE ABOUT ENTERING THIS COMPETITION!!!!!!!!!

... (p.s. I should really work on my caffeine addiction)

Announcements

2011-03-08T13:56:00.000-08:00

Attn: Writers!

A couple quick announcements for the week:

1) The deadline to submit for certain Advanced Courses has been extended to March 14th. Please consult your advisor for additional information.

2) There will be a Master Class student reading this Sunday. Details have been cut & pasted for your convenience below...

Student Reading at Book Soup this Sunday!

Students from our 2010-2011 Low-residency Master Class in Novel Writing, along with their instructor, bestselling novelist Lynn Hightower, will read at Book Soup this Sunday, March 13, from 2-4pm. These students have been workshopping their novels for 9 months and are coming from as far and wide as North Carolina, Colorado, and Brooklyn, NY! So come show your support and be a part of the Writers’ Program community.

Book Soup
8818 Sunset Blvd.
W. Hollywood CA 90069
310.659.3110

Sunday, March 13
2-4pm

Something for the Queue:

2011-03-04T08:10:00.000-08:00

Recently a documentary was brought to my attention that I thought would be of interest to the Extension screenwriting community...

If you haven't already seen or heard of it, check it out! It's called "Tales from the Script" (Clever I know). But apparently it offers great insight into the reality of being a working writer in the unscrupulous world of Hollywood.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1045642/

And if you know of any other docs or books that offer great peak-behind-the-curtain insight feel free to share here...

Have a good weekend everybody!

83rd Oscars: Reflections...

2011-02-28T08:38:00.000-08:00

'Morning readers,

Like any day after the Oscars, the web is abuzz with peoples' reactions.... naturally, I figured I'd throw my humble thoughts into the mix. I'm not really one for the pre-shows, the fashion statments, the glamor and everything else that's associated with the Oscars... but I do like the movies and the ceremony that honors the best of them.

That said, certain things about the show impressed me, certain things did not. The stage first and foremost, was amazing. The design, the decor, the lighting, how the golden arch displayed frames from movies past like a glistening reflection in a pond... probably the best I've seen in recent history. I like how the tech award winners got a group shot, and I REALLY liked how all the winners from the night took the stage in the end for a group chorus with the kids.

As for the material...... Well, as they say with most bad scripts, it lost me in the first five minutes. Opening the Oscars with a premade parody video didn't sit well with me for some reason. It's not the MTV Movie Awards, it's the Oscars. On the other hand, later in the show, the remix for Best Song was great, and well placed to keep viewers entertained. I think it's just matter of balance. The run-time seemed a heck of a lot shorter too, which is a plus.

As for the shows' hosts... the double gamble of having TWO hosts, that are two decades younger than most hosts, would've completely backfired if it wasn't for Anne Hathaway. She really outshined Franco, who (I hate to say since I'm a fan) was kind of a stick-in-the-mud. However, to his defense, I think his defused enthusiasm was merely a product of him taking on more occupations than any one man is capable of...

On a side note: We here at UCLA are partially to blame for that. Much to my surprise, I found out last week that James Franco is a UCLA Extension Alumni who gave us great praise in this article:

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/journal/article.html?id=241370

So, he's still cool in my book, and I'll still be plopping down my 15 bucks to see Your Highness. Anyway, plugs aside...

I love that Aaron Sorkin won Best Adapted Screenplay... DIDN'T love that they gave the writers only fraction of the speaking time that some of the other awards got. On a side note: I think the winners of both writing categories were greatly deserved, well spoken, and the stories behind each script were just as fascinating as the scripts themselves.... Look them up if you're ever curious...

In addition, I can't believe they announced Best Director so early in the show! And I equally couldn't believe Tom Hooper won over Fincher. Expected, yes. Deserved, myeh... I understand The King's Speech is a great movie and a traditional Best Picture but personally, I think it at LEAST should've been split, with Fincher taking Director. But sadly, The Social Network has now forever joined the ranks of the movie Sorkin drew reference to in his speech (still not bad)...

Some other highlights: Kirk Douglas was a crack-up. I instantly want to see the film from the guy with the afro that won Best Original Short. Did Christian Bale forget his own wife's name? I think Colin Firth enhabited his character so well he damaged his own public speaking skills (his pauses were so similar).... and who knew "Chuck" (Zachary Levi) could sing!!!???

That's all for my post-show wrap-up. Feel free to leave your own feedback here or continue surfing the web for insight far better than mine :)

'Til next time...

Writers Studio: Part 5

2011-02-18T09:51:00.000-08:00

CREATING POWERFUL SCENES AND SEQUENCES FOR THE MOVIES: w/ Corey Mandell

Corey is the most pragmatic of all the instructors I saw. He’s a natural script coach. Once he commits to working with a student, he pinpoints their weakness and makes them run drills until they get stronger. I actually witnessed a bit of this first hand during his class.

Corey had his students practice what he calls “Escalation” (the escalation of conflict or problems for the protagonist within a scene or plot). For the students that couldn’t grasp the concept, he kept coming back to them with a positive, reaffirming attitude until they finally “got it”. As for his lecture, I came in on him explaining TWO, just two, simple principles that cause 99% of writers to fail because they never adhere to them. A) “The Road Trip Theory” and B) Escalation.
The former goes like this: if a group of people you like knock on your door and ask you to hop in the car with them and take a road trip, you go, no questions asked. If it’s a group of people you don’t know, or worse, don’t LIKE… you shut the door. Same goes for the opening of a script. A question all readers ask themselves is: do I like these people and where are they going? The second principle (Escalation, as mentioned above) is something Corey says only a fraction of writers ever master, but if and when they do, they prosper.

From overall plot to scene-level detail, Corey then sighted The Hurt Locker as a most recent example of successful Escalation. [Spoiler Alert] “It’s a movie about a group of guys that defuse bombs in Iraq. How could it possibly get worse than that? Oh yeah, they have a bomb-defusing robot that breaks down. How could it possibly get worse than THAT? Oh yeah, their commander dies. How could it possibly get worse than THAT? Oh yeah, his replacement is a loose canon.” And so on and so forth...

One student then asked what the proper amount of time to set up a story is before you start escalating. Corey’s answer: forget the books, it’s not page 15 or 25... it’s the shortest amount of time you need for people to care about who they’re getting in the car with. A format he teaches called “Organic Custom Structure.” Just one of the many monikers for Corey’s conceptual tools.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

All in all, each course had different lessons, each instructor had different methods, but they all had one thing in common: they gave their students confidence. The inspiration to write, write well with practice, and make dreams feasible. That alone I think is an invaluable ingredient rarely communicated through course brochures, and why I left the Writers’ Studio with the sentiment that began these blog posts.

I hope my insight was of use to you, and if so, stay tuned for more as I take my first class in the Spring Quarter.

Also -- as always -- feel free to contact me here at the Writers' Program if you would like direction on which course or instructor would be right for you.

Writers Studio: Part 4

2011-02-18T09:46:00.000-08:00

For those of you just tuning in.... these last few posts are all about my experience at the Writers Studio. Scroll down and read Part 1 for the full scoop!

WRITING THE R-RATED COMEDY: w/ Keith & Juliet Giglio

It’s kind of ironic to have a pair of comedy writers with a name often mispronounced “giggly,” but the writing/teaching/husband/wife duo were never short on laughs. They both share the same lighthearted temperament and are entertaining to listen to.

I walked in on a brief Q&A session about WGA credits, which then morphed into Keith explaining how every movie made is a small miracle. Case in point, one of his produced credits: A Cinderella Story. Conceived during a poker game amongst industry friends and originally meant to be a TV movie, it would’ve never hit the big screen if it wasn’t for Hilary Duff – who apparently dropped out of one project because the studio wouldn’t pay her cell phone bill, then needed another local movie to do in LA for the summer.

The Giglios then delved into a lecture on “scene composition”. They had boxes drawn on the blackboard to simulate a note card outline. As Keith mentioned, if you break a movie into chapters like a DVD, each one roughly represents a note card (which can be a sequence or scene). Write one a day for 40 days and you have a script. They then explained the necessary functions each scene must possess: it must progress story, provide character insight, generate conflict, at least one character’s desire must “drive” the scene, and it must have a turning point.

They then screened two scenes for the class and distributed script copies for each. The first: a scene from Something About Mary where Ben Stiller gets his “frank and beans” stuck in his zipper. The second: a scene from As Good as it Gets, where Jack Nicholson is forced to pay Helen Hunt a compliment during their date. The Giglios broke each scene down as they referred to the text. They pinpointed the beats, the turns, the causalities and the comedy of the “unexpected”. Keith offered a piece of wisdom they abide by as writers themselves: get into a scene as late as possible and get out as quick as you can. The class then broke into a discussion about the ebb and flow of the latter scene, and concluded that every scene in a film should also possess an equal balance of hope and fear.

Writers Studio: Part 3

2011-02-18T09:44:00.000-08:00

CREATING THE SCREENPLAY STORY AND OUTLINE: w/ Chris Webb

Chris is a writer’s writer. He’s casual, approachable and super knowledgeable when it comes to films. He seems more of a conversationalist than a lecturer, but by that nature, a storyteller. It’s no coincidence that the central question he was posing to his class when I walked in was “What are you trying to SAY?”

Chris was all about making the ideas of his students resonate. As he said, if your script or story outline doesn’t impart some sort of wisdom or feeling to the reader – if it doesn’t MEAN something to people (especially you) – odds are it won’t go anywhere. “The most successful films and filmmakers simply reaffirm our good values back to us,” he said. Soon after, Chris shared a few of his trade secrets to the class; core components to any hit story, which he and his writing partner had boiled down from playwriting books. To name a few: how an audience MUST identify with a main character, how the values present in the hero and villain essentially allow the viewer to ride out those conflicting values within themselves, and how the story should enable the viewer to reach forgotten parts of their soul.

Chris then lead the class in a fun exercise in “theme”. The students read aloud a one paragraph version of Little Red Riding Hood. Afterwards, Chris broke them into groups and assigned each group a different universal theme, such as “the working man triumphs over the rich oppressor” or “don’t talk to strangers”. Each group then had to re-tell the story to the class in a way that communicated their assigned theme, as everyone else had to guess what it was they were trying to say with the story. The point being, any story can be made to say anything, it’s all in how you tell it.

Writers Studio: Part 2

2011-02-18T09:16:00.000-08:00

AN ORGANIC INTRODUCTION TO SCREENWRITING: w/ Kim Krizan

Kim is a very nurturing instructor and I could tell she sets a very comfortable environment for her students. A few days prior, I also happened to read a student testimonial that sung her praises like you wouldn’t believe, so I was a little biased. She takes a self-proclaimed anti-textbook approach to writing. She’s more about the creative process as a whole (as an actor/writer herself) and tapping into one’s inner muse, that sort of thing. But for this lesson, she could’ve fooled me.

She broke down the basics of 3-Act structure, character, and arcs to the class by screening the film Tootsie (I only stayed for the 1st Act). Step by step, she would pause the film and decode the feature-length formula. After the first five minutes, she stopped and asked the class “who is the main character and what is his problem?” For everyone, it was EASILY definable (the mark of good writing).

Ten minutes in, Kim pinpointed what’s called a “catalyst”: a moment in the story that sets up the greater turning point at the end of Act 1. In the film, it’s when Dustin Hoffman’s character agrees to help an actress rehearse for her audition. Soon after, another turning point comes, when Dustin Hoffman’s agent pushes him to the brink, forcing him to resort to posing as a woman just to land an acting gig. At the end of Act 1, Hoffman nails the aforementioned audition.

As Kim pointed out, within that scene new “complications” were introduced that set up the 2nd Act: a love interest and an antagonist. Kim then asked her students to predict what the 2nd Act would be about, and what the explosive “crisis” by the end of it would be. Everyone got it. And that’s a proper 1st Act set-up.

Writers Studio: First Impressions...

2011-02-17T15:56:00.000-08:00

Let me start by saying this: I CANNOT WAIT TO TAKE A CLASS!

Being a newcomer to the Writers’ Program, I couldn’t think of a better time to start working here. Last week, we held the annual “Writers Studio” (an intensive four-day seminar that basically condensed a typical 3-month class into 4 days time). There were 10 classes total: 5 creative writing, 5 screenwriting. That said, part of my job last Friday was to sit in on each of our screenwriting classes for about an hour apiece. It was my official induction into the WP.

As I rotated through each room, I got a feel for how the courses were run, how the instructors taught, what they taught, how the students reacted, etc. It was amazing, like being able to read a course description in a catalogue and then pry open a window to see what it’s actually like. For each one, I sat waaaayyy in the back, as to not be noticed. As instructors engaged students with questions, ideas, feedback, etc. all I wanted to do was break the proverbial “fourth wall” and contribute. Alas, participation was not in my job description. HOWEVER, this blog of course, is. And so, I’m here now, ready to share my observations with you all, especially those of you out there like me who are wondering what to expect when you first set foot into a writing class.

There’s a lot to tell here so, for the sake of blog brevity, I’ll be posting my impressions from each class in segments; one class a day for the next five days (holiday weekend excluded).

So... without further delay, enjoy!

CREATING THE HALF-HOUR COMEDY PILOT: w/ David & Julie Chambers.

The Chambers are among a few examples of writing partners who are also life partners. No one writing team (or married couple) is the same, and right off the bat, I could tell the Chambers were a total right brain/left brain duo. Julie (the right brain) is the type to spitball zany ideas with a vibrant, animated energy. She nurses the ideas of students to maximize their potential, while David (the left brain) is the type to pull in the reigns and sculpt ideas into structured form. He advocates studying shows to grasp their individual formats and dispenses knowledge of narratives dating back to the 19th century off the cuff.

When I first walked in, the Chambers were recommending books (one coincidentally written by one of our other instructors, Sheldon Bull, called Elephant Bucks, if that’s any indication of what a career in TV writing can offer). The Chambers then went into a brief bio about their history working for The Simpsons and how, once they were hired, they had to conceptualize and pitch about 16 shows from the start. They then told the class what’s typically involved/expected in a TV pitch meeting and from there, opened the room up to an exercise.

Each student had to present their own idea for a show out loud to the group. The first brave volunteer pitched her show and from there, the class erupted into a brainstorm session where everyone was giving feedback, strengthening the student’s concept, defining the characters, helping shape the potential weekly plots and answering that classic pitch-room question, “and THEN what happens?” Even alternate narrative styles were explored and the Chambers added that with shows like Modern Family on the air, the half-hour format is truly up for grabs; there’s no limit to what you can do.

The New Guy...

2011-02-04T16:11:00.000-08:00

Greetings fellow readers and writers!

This is Jeff Bonnett, your new friendly neighborhood Program Assistant in Screenwriting. I can’t say I’ve ever blogged before so, this should be interesting... Today is my fourth day on the job and I’m learning quite a lot. (Okay maybe I should make this sound less like a postcard). Honestly, I’m about as green to UCLA Extension as any prospective student would be, so my goal here is basically to share my various insights and experiences as I get acclimated to the Writers’ Program. I’m an aspiring writer myself and I fully intend on taking courses in the near future, which should make for some informative blogging down the line.

My particular area of interest is filmmaking (subsequently screenwriting), so my tastes may be somewhat skewed towards the cinema. However, like anyone, I love a great story and I hope to post a variety of entertaining/enlightening topics for the creative community as a whole. In the future, you may stop by here and read film and literary news, reviews, previews, and/or a wide array of wisdom and witticisms written with or without annoying alliteration like this. Perhaps I’ll throw in some fun little pieces of trivia for good measure, who knows? Writing is truly a journey into the unknown. Naturally, so too will be this blog (and my never-ending quest to improve my grammar).

I should also mention that during my time living in L.A., I’ve spent a number of years working as an assistant on sets (for shows like NBC’s Heroes) and in studio offices (The Weinstein Company, New Line Cinema). I also wrote coverage for hundreds of unsold screenplays, which has proven to be an invaluable education all on its own. I imagine this background will come in handy when advising those with similar aspirations, and if you ever have any questions for me, or if there’s ever a subject you’d like to see addressed here, just know that my door (a.k.a. my email box) is always open.

For now, I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes, from one of my favorite movies; a potent credo for writers and artists alike:

“No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world.” – Professor John Keating

‘Til next time…

JB

jbonnett@uclaextension.edu

We'll Be Back!

2011-01-19T09:34:00.001-08:00

Dear Loyal Readers,

As you know, Hillary Hintzen left the Writers' Program last month in order to focus on her graduate work. Sadly, that means no more Writers' Program blog posts until a replacement is found. Do not fear -- we are getting close!

Please check back with us in a couple weeks to meet our new blogger and to welcome him or her into the Writers' Program family.

In the meantime, be sure to check our website at www.uclaextension.edu/writers.

Or, to get right-up-to-the-minute information about the Program and writing tips from our instructors, "like" us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/writersprogram

While you're at it, follow us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/writersprogram

For advice on courses, please call us at: (310) 825-9415. Chae, Sara, and Kate want to hear from you!

Saying My Goodbyes

2011-01-07T10:45:00.000-08:00

As one of my favorite musicians, the late Mark Linkous put it, "I'm so sick of goodbyes." We've had a number of staff members leave us this year to explore new life experiences, and now it's my turn to continue the journey. For those of you who may not have heard, this is my last week here at the Writers' Program. As I announced earlier this year, I've begun my graduate studies in literature at Loyola Marymount University and have decided to devote my time and attention to focusing on my program. However, the process of saying goodbye to co-workers and instructors has been extremely draining.

After almost two years working for UCLA Extension's Department of the Arts I can honestly say that this goodbye is a hard one. In fact, I think I'm still in denial. I'll miss walking into the office every morning to be greeted by all the smiling (or sometimes yawning & bewildered) faces. I'll miss the witty banter and awkward office moments more than I care to admit. Everyone keeps asking me, "Aren't you excited!" when, in fact, I'm more nostalgic and terrified.

As a recent UCLA graduate in 2008 I was ecstatic to find a job at UCLA Extension! Not only could I stay in Los Angeles, but I could remain near UCLA and continue to take classes. My first position here was with the Arc_ID program in the 1010 Westwood Building. The group of people there, including the students and my supervisor, Suzanne, helped ease me into the experience of post-college work & life. Sure, I had my share of challenges, but I felt lucky to be around people whose company I enjoyed so much and who were completely supportive. Everyone was receptive to my questions and was patient while I learned the ropes of a very busy office on the verge of transition (the Arc_ID program has recently launched a joint Masters in Interior Architecture Program with Cal Poly Pomona!). Then, just as I felt I had fallen into my groove, an opportunity presented itself at the Writers' Program.

At first I was hesitant to apply for the position since I enjoyed the work I was doing and was hesitant to leave Suzanne and the Arc_ID program. However, being the writing and literature fanatic that I am, I had to jump at the opportunity. As I have learned is the custom at UCLA Extension everyone was extremely supportive of my decision and actively encouraged me. After a grueling interview process I was both shocked and thrilled when I was offered the job! While working at the Writers' Program I have found myself with a solid new group of friends in my co-workers. They have all been warm and accepting from day one and I feel lucky to have spent these months with them. Our intrepid leaders, Linda and Cindy, are also to be credited for fostering a work environment founded on professionalism and mutual respect alongside a healthy dose of joyous camaraderie. I'm truly sorry to be leaving everyone here at the department of the arts, but I do find some consolation in the knowledge that this won't truly be goodbye. They'll still be just a phone call (or Facebook post) away.

I have learned so much (both personally and professionally) during my time here and it is an experience that I am extremely grateful for. However, I look forward now to the future and everything else I have yet to learn in school and beyond. Thank you for reading everyone. I wish you all a wonderful 2011.

Reminder: Holiday Closure

2010-12-17T09:30:00.001-08:00

Happy Holidays everyone!

We wanted to give you a friendly reminder that our offices will be part of a campus-wide closure running from Saturday, December 18 - Sunday, January 2, 2011. During this closure the staff will not have access to office phones or email so we appreciate your patience. We will return to the office on Monday, January 3, 2011 and will happily respond to all messages and inquiries at that time. We wish you a very happy holiday season from all of us here at the Writers' Program!

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Website:www.uclaextension.edu/writers
Find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/writersprogram
Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/writersprogram

Writer to Writer: Caroline Leavitt Discusses Her New Novel Pictures of You

2010-12-15T14:30:00.000-08:00

Writers' Program veteran instructor Caroline Leavitt has a new novel coming out January 25 from Algonquin Books. Pictures of You has already received a great deal of critical and professional praise, and Caroline is currently preparing to go on a nation-wide tour in support of the book. Victoria Zackheim, another esteemed instructor at the Writers' Program, sat down with her to discuss the writing process, teaching styles, and the excitement surrounding Caroline's new novel in this up close and personal interview. Enjoy!

I first met Caroline on an online writing community "Readerville". When her husband was on book tour, I offered them a place to stay in San Francisco. Instantly, we felt as if we had found our kindred spirits. Not only do we both teach at the UCLA Extension Writers' Program, but we are each other’s lifelines, emailing throughout the day, calling, and offering all kinds of support. Caroline has contributed essays to three of my anthologies: The Other Woman, For Keeps, and the newest, He Said What? (Seal Press, 2011). What's particularly exciting is that she has a novel coming out soon, published by Algonquin, and it's already received advance raves from Vanity Fair, Bust Magazine, Kirkus, O, Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist and more, as well as blurbs from everyone from Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Olen Butler to Dan Chaon to Jodi Picoult. Algonquin is calling it the bookclub book and paperback of 2011.

Victoria Zackheim: Let me drop names right now, before we go any further. Your new novel, which is your ninth, is called Pictures of You. Most people think that novelists write, sell the book, and then sit back while the publisher creates marketing and PR magic. What most people don’t realize is how much work goes into promoting a book, even before the book is out. Can you talk about this?

Caroline Leavitt: It’s amazing how much goes on behind the scenes. Algonquin, my beloved publisher, began publicizing Pictures of You six months before the book was even out. They sent to me to a big bookseller’s conference, had me speak and sign at BEA, sent me to Miami International Book Fair, got me speaking gigs and more. Once the book comes out at the end of January, I’ll be going on a big tour all over the country (please check www.carolineleavitt.com for where I will be, and please come out to meet me!)

Of course, authors need to do things for themselves, something you and I talk about all the time. We both have websites, we both are on Facebook, I'm on Twitter all the time, as well as other social media sites, and I have a blog http://carolineleavittville.blogspot.com/ and a book trailer on Youtube:

VZ: So tell me about Pictures of You…

CL: Pictures of You is about a car crash and the colliding lives of the survivors. Isabelle, a thirtyish photographer is fleeing her philandering husband who has gotten his girlfriend pregnant; April, a wife and mother is fleeing her life and has a terrible secret: Sam, her asthmatic son, harbors a secret of his own; and Charlie, Sam’s father and April’s husband, is desperate to find out what his wife and son were doing three hours away from home in a car with a suitcase. I wanted to explore the question: How do you forgive the unforgivable? And how well do we really know the ones we love?

VZ: Both of us teach writing at the UCLA Extension Writers' Program and both of us are book critics. I know for myself that teaching has opened windows for me—as I urge my students to look deeper into their emotions, I find myself doing the same with mine. Come to think of it, I'm not sure if awareness leads to better teaching, or teaching leads to better awareness. In terms of creating stories and characters, do you find that teaching enhances your work?

CL: It does. Being able to look at a student’s work and figure out what works and why and what doesn’t and how to fix it is invaluable for my own work. The more I can do that for someone else, the more I can do it for myself. Plus, nothing is more exciting than when a student goes on and succeeds. One of my past students just got a six-figure deal from Doubleday. Another just landed an amazing agent, and the funny thing is the moment she wrote her first line, I knew her book was going to be something incredible.

I also am a book critic for The Boston Globe and People, and it’s done the same thing for me. I’ve realized there is a gentle way to point out flaws, much the way you would tell a friend that he has spinach in his teeth!

VZ: I find my ideas come from my most personal experiences. For He Said What, it was a culmination of hearing enough comments from men that caused me to think, "Huh?" What began as an idea for a hysterical collection of essays, however, became what I should have expected when dealing with such gifted authors: funny and poignant essays about a sea of experiences. How did you get the idea for Pictures of You?

CL: I’m phobic about cars. I have my license by I don’t drive and I wanted to explore that by writing about the worst thing I can imagine—a car crash. Interestingly enough, the book began to also be about childhood asthma, something I suffered with and felt a great deal of shame about. The whole four years I wrote the book, my asthma, which is now very mild, vanished. Of course, the second I submitted the novel, it came back! But by giving my character Sam my compassion and love, I healed myself of my shame.

VZ: I always tell my students to stop worrying about finding agents, selling a book or essay, and just to WRITE! The goal needs to be the refinement of the craft of writing, not the Nobel Prize for Literature. What advice do you have for writers?

CL: It’s almost always the same. Never give up. Be patient. Build a career slowly. Write every day and read, read, read.

VZ: I know that this novel, Pictures of You, is receiving some of the hottest advance-excitement PR I've seen in several years. How does that feel? After all, this is your ninth novel!

CL: This is a very different experience for me than any other novel I’ve written, except perhaps, my first, Meeting Rozzy Halfway. I’ve had publishers go out of business months before my novels were due to come out. I’ve had editors fired. I’ve cheered on friends who became famous and got huge advances while I was still struggling. Pictures of You was originally contracted to another publisher who turned it down, saying, “I don’t get it.” I was devastated, but my beloved agent then immediately sold it to Algonquin, my dream publisher. Everyone at Algonquin is creative, fabulous and supportive. They promoted the book six months before it even came out, and I’m being sent on a huge tour, something I’ve never had before. So how does it feel? It feels like I want to tell every writer to be patient, to persist, and to know that sometimes it does take a long time to be recognized. But it can and does happen, and when it does, it’s like discovering Santa Claus is real.

Thank you to you both. We enjoyed the interview, and we can't wait to read the novel!

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For more information about the Writers' Program visit www.uclaextension.edu/writers. For more information about Caroline and Victoria and their appearances or works visit http://www.carolineleavitt.com/ and http://www.victoriazackheim.com/

Writers Link Round-Up

2010-12-09T11:37:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone,

We've had a busy week at the Writers' Program offices! In addition to taking care of our usual office duties we've been ironing out details for our Writers Studio in February and finalizing our regularly scheduled winter quarter courses. In addition, I'm smack in the middle of finals for my graduate program. With a 2o-page paper and an in-class exam looming over me I seem unable to come up with exciting original material for you today. I have, however, found other articles and pieces of writing that may be of interest to you. Please enjoy!

- Writers Digest has an excellent list of 9 Must-Follow Manuscript Rules.

- Screenwriters Utopia.com has a new batch of helpful interviews and articles up, especially several about pitching spec scripts. Head on over and check it out. (If you're interesting in improving your pitch skills you might also want to consider W10335: "How to Pitch Your Feature Film: A Two Day Workshop" in winter quarter)

- The UK Guardian has compiled a nice list of holiday-themed books entitled "Season's Readings". The books range from children's lit to adult mysteries and have little blurbs detailing the selection.

- Poets and Writers has a section of their website that is similar to the above entitled Writers Recommend, but this list includes books across several genres and themes.

- The blog for Powell's Bookstore (one of my favorites on earth!) has a great post by contributer Matt Love about sitting in on a Writers Group at Oregon State Penitentary. A fascinating and touching read!

- Funds for Writers.com compiles a weekly list of various grants, scholarships or competitions being offered (which you can have emailed to you as a newsletter). A nice little resource!

And while we have your attention please don't forget that all UCLA campus and UCLA Extension offices will be CLOSED for two weeks between Monday, December 20, 2010 - Monday, January 2, 2011! During this closure the staff will not have access to work phone or email, so we appreciate your planning and patience. Happy Holidays!

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To learn more about the UCLA Extension Writers' Program visit www.uclaextension.edu/writers. You may enroll in courses online or by calling the registration office at 310-825-9971.

Two Creative Writing Students Earn Fellowships!

2010-12-06T08:45:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! The Writers' Program office is all abuzz with holiday spirit and winter quarter planning. Can you believe it's December already? As we look back on the past year we begin to think of all our students and instructors who have accomplished so much this year. We often include these "success stories" in the left-hand column of our Writers Program webpage which is updated often. Check them out!

However, we have two very special creative writing students, Jamie Schaffner and Azarin Sadegh, who recently won two (out of five total!) PEN Rosenthal Emerging Voices Fellowships to work on their novels. We thought it would be nice to highlight them here (providing a sort of break from the instructor interviews). For those who aren't familiar with this award, program representative Mae Respicio (a former Emerging Voices fellow) explained it as "a year-long fellowship for emerging writers where they get to work with mentors, take workshops (including UCLA Extension courses!), meet agents, etc." Mae conducted short interviews with these two lucky students in which they spoke about the application process, as well as their future aspirations and current writing projects.

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Jamie Schaffner Interview

Mae Respicio: Why did you decide to apply for the fellowship and how did you feel about receiving it?
Jamie Schaffner: I love the idea of being in a rigorous program with other like minded writers, and I want to raise my work to the next level as well as expand my writing community. When Libby Flores, the Program Coordinator for the PEN EV [Emerging Voices] called to tell me that I’d received the fellowship, I was so surprised that I actually asked her if she was sure. Not once, but twice.

MR: Are there any instructors (or particular courses) who helped along the way?
JS: Without my teacher, Les Plesko, my work would not have been at the appropriate level for the PEN Fellowship. He has worked with me painstakingly, teaching me to write what I’ve always wanted to write.

MR: How has your time in the Writers’ Program helped in preparing you to immerse yourself in a fellowship like this?
JS: The discipline of writing consistently so I can show up to class every week with pages, read out loud and listen to comments both from my classmates and teacher is just something I do now. So while I’m nervous about the fellowship, and my routine will change somewhat, I’m not having a meltdown. My life will still be about writing—every day.

MR: What’s your one best tip for students who may also be thinking of applying to various literary competitions?
JS: Find a good writing teacher because the writing is what matters. I suppose some people can teach themselves to write, but most of us need to learn the craft from a seasoned writer. Look for someone who encourages you to do what you’re already doing, but better. That means you need to pay attention to their comments on your work, and at times, it might be painful, but it should never feel like an attack on you personally nor erode your confidence. Then, send out your re-worked work to the competitions and literary magazines.

MR: What are you working on currently ?
JS: I’m working on my novel Get the Girl. Set in the early 80s it’s a fabulous time for many queers—glam rock nightclubs, Personal Best is out and so is Martina Navratilova, but there’s nothing great about it if you’re trapped in high school. Natalie, the protagonist, always thought the problem was provincial Portland with its persistent rain, stifling Jewish community and her invasive family. But when an out-of-her-league blond cheerleader turns out to be attracted to her, Natalie realizes boys will never be in her future. Which is just fine—until she sees hiding her girlfriend is worse than not having one.

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Azarin A. Sadegh Interview

Mae Respicio: Why did you decide to apply for the fellowship and how did you feel about receiving it?
Azarin Sadegh: As an aspiring Iranian-American writer with a French Master’s degree in Computer Science, but with no academic background in English literature, I knew that being recognized by PEN USA would take my career as a writer to a new level, since it would give me wide exposure to the literary community to which I have no access.

I have always dreamed of being a writer. But after leaving Iran, and for a very long time, I was persuaded that I had to let go of this dream. And later, during my first creative writing classes, while I was struggling to match my intention to the sentence on my Word page, I was ready to face the bitter reality that I’d never be a good writer. That’s why, today, I feel excited and proud of myself because I realize that my dream never gave up on me and I can’t be happier since there is no doubt in my mind that this experience would lead me toward becoming a better writer.

MR: Are there any instructors (or particular courses) who helped along the way?
AS: During my first Creative Writing class with the late Philomene Long, I learned to find poetry in ordinary objects and Amy Friedman pushed me beyond my comfort zone and taught me to be brave and to write about memories I had been resentful to remember.

But Les Plesko has been the most influential instructor on my work, since I have been taking his Novel Writing courses for the last three years. I love the way he teaches the craft of novel writing by pointing at my own flaws and strengths. I can’t thank him enough for creating an inspiring environment for his students, and especially for his detailed feedback on our pages, week after week and line by line.

MR: How has your time in the Writers’ Program helped in preparing you to immerse yourself in a fellowship like this?
AS: The first time I signed up in one of the Writers' Program’s courses, I spent one whole week to write a single good paragraph. Considering the fact that I took that first class in 2006, it is clear that this program has played a crucial role in the success of my application for the 2011 EV fellowship.

Writing is an exercise of constant self-discovery and self-doubt and the Writer's Program helped me to go through this magnificent and at the same time painful journey of writing fiction without losing my sanity. Finishing my first novel gave me the courage to apply for a prestigious fellowship such as EV program.

MR: What’s your one best tip for students who may also be thinking of applying to various literary competitions?
AS: My best advice: Be obsessive about the quality of your work and let your passion for writing shine through your application.

MR: What are you working on currently?
AS: I am finishing the first draft of my second novel, The Suicide Note. The story, set in Iran, is about the coming of age of a 17-year-old girl and the consequences of her mother’s suicide on her life.

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Congratulations to you Azarin and Jamie! We wish you, and all our students, success in all your writing endeavors. For more Student and Instructor success stories visit the archives on our website. For more information about Writers' Program courses and events visit www.uclaextension.edu/writers. You can also join us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

What is Transmedia?

2010-11-30T08:45:00.000-08:00

Welcome back everyone! We hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving. Winter quarter enrollment is still underway, but the early bird pricing deadlines are just around the corner! As part of our interview series about Winter quarter classes I spoke with veteran Writers' Program instructor Bill Taub about his exciting new course Developing the Transmedia TV Series Pitch: Intermediate Workshop (Online). In our short email interview Bill was kind enough to explain the concept of transmedia, and discussed what it means for the future of television.

Writers Program: What exactly is transmedia?

Bill Taub: Here is the definition from Wikipedia -- I can't improve upon it:
A transmedia project develops storytelling across multiple forms of media in order to have different "entry points" in the story; entry-points with a unique and independent lifespan but with a definite role in the big narrative scheme. It differs from cross-platform which just re-purposes material across various media platforms.

WP: What do you like about this “genre” of television?

BT: Just as feature writers like series television because it expands the story-telling possibilities so too will television creators look more and more to transmedia. It gives more tools to work with to entertain and/or inform. Plus it increases the possible revenue streams ,which is always a good thing.

WP: How did you get started as a television writer?

BT: I've always loved television - always wanted to be in television. I started my career at a major advertising agency in New York (where I'm from) in the mid-70's. I worked my way up from the traffic department to being a writer-producer specializing in Radio and Television not print, but real television was always my goal.

When I made the move to Los Angeles -- my very first credit was 'Barney Miller' which I got into because I had used Hal Linden (Barney Miller) as a voice-over in many commercials I produced. -- and because it appealed to me as a show.

WP: What was your first job as a producer?

BT: I worked my way up from my first staff Writer job on "Freebie And The Bean" to Producer on "Friday the 13th - the Series" but couldn't get the title because I wasn't Canadian. So the first actual screen credit I received as a Producer was on "Kung-Fu: The Legend Continues".

WP: What are some techniques you use to develop and/or flesh out new script or pitch ideas?
BT: Some of my earliest instincts and lessons come from my training in advertising. I try to make sure I have something that is unique. "What's the billboard?" I look at what everybody else is doing and do the opposite. Then twist and turn it until I've covered all the options I can think of and never settle for my first thought(s).

WP: What do you envision as the future of interactive television?

BT: Like anything else. It will offer more choices for the viewer. And (as stated above) these choices can help make your project unique and hopefully more commercially viable. My creative goals have never wavered from when I was in advertising -- I want to make things that are creatively fun, exciting, different and financially successful as well - not just one or the other.

WP: Do you have anything else to add?

BT: My goodness! I've collected dozens of mantras from my exposure to some really good (and bad) influences along the way. I offer them to my class every term I teach. Things like: "You will be a better writer a year from now than you are today - and that's the way it should always be." - "Cherish your difficulties!" - "Put your first thoughts on the side and keep digging. You can always come back to them." And Robert Towne's brilliant treatise: "Write what you want to see!" Shall I go on?

Thank you, Bill! Developing the Transmedia TV Series Pitch (Online) course (W1370) will run from January 19 - March 23. This is an intermediate workshop so students must have completed at least one television writing course. You may enroll in this course online or by calling the enrollment office at 310-825-9971.

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Building Your Career and Personal Brand

2010-11-23T09:45:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! We hope you're well and looking forward to the upcoming holiday. (Reminder: The Writers' Program offices will be closed from Thursday, November 25 until Sunday November 28 for the Thanksgiving holiday). Before we close up and start cooking that Turkey we have one more instructor interview for you all. A new addition to the Writers' Program roster, Cliff Dorfman, will be teaching Beyond Craft: Building Your Career and Brand as A Writer this upcoming winter quarter. In a short email interview he was kind enough to tell me how he got his start, and how students can discover and craft their own personal brand.

Writers' Program: What attracted you to filmmaking and how did you get your start?

Cliff Dorfman: I’ve never felt like I had a choice. I’ve had an overwhelming desire to be an artist since I was four years old when I started playing the piano by myself and went on to become a classically trained concert pianist. Truth be told, I thought I'd be an actor but after getting a bunch of parts in a lot of cheesy TV shows I realized that I was never going to be great. [But] I was always writing. When I was twelve I started a novel which eventually got lost but when I looked back, my writing was something that everyone seemed to always respond to in a favorable way. I kind of realized it was something I was good at, but the process itself was always so torturous. I think seeing the film Blood Simple was one of the defining moments for me. Watching what the Coen Brothers did with that film and how visceral it was. [All of their work] Ultimately leading up to Fargo in which they open the movie falsely stating that it's “based on a true story” leading us once again into their patented world of "true crime" ideas with quirky, dark characters. I'd say it's films and auteurs such as the Coen Brothers that have influenced me the most while I was getting my start, but also in the hope that carving out a specific career path is possible…I got my official start once I got the job writing on Entourage though previous to that I was always seeking out writing partners who were more advanced than I was so I could learn and ensure that my work would be seen by those people's representatives. Plus, doing the best job I could with those people, and being willing and available to write for free at the mercy of their schedule, plants seeds for projects in the future several of which currently working on.

WP: Your winter course is entitled “Building Your Career and Your Brand.” What do you think is one of the most important things writers can do today to brand themselves correctly?

CD: I believe the first thing one should do is figure what it is you need to write about and why. These aren't two separate questions, they're tied together because without the need (or desire) there's no why and vice versa. Once you can isolate those points your voice will emerge. From that point it's about pinpointing all the different mediums and worlds your unique voice can be placed into.

WP: What is the single most important advice you’ve ever received about the industry?

CD: The best advice I’ve ever received came from one of my mentors, Larry Charles. We were sitting at Grand Havana Room smoking a Cuban. I was having a tough time after I had left Entourage at the end of the second season and expressed regret that I didn't have a safety net, not one thing I could fall back on. All I knew how to do was this business and that scared the shit out of me. He told me that all the most successful people he knew in his many years being in this business had no safety net and that was truly the only way to get where you wanted to be. Everyone who has a safety net when they enter into this way of life ends up using it. Period. It's only those who have nothing else but this business that will make it through unscathed. I've thought about that many times since and it's helped me get through the inevitable downs in this game. Though, a close second is the very simple advice that sometimes, early on in your career, you simply have to accept getting completely screwed on a deal in order to merely have a seat at the table. Don't fight it. Keep your mouth shut. It's an initiation right. Granted, it sucks but it will help you get where you want to be without being labeled as, "difficult."

WP: Are there any writers or producers currently working today whom you admire for their ability to sell themselves correctly?

CD: The Coen Brothers. Larry Charles. Quentin Tarantino. John Milius. Eric Roth. Steve Zallian. David Chase. Matthew Weiner. Vince Gilligan. Alan Ball. Kurt Sutter. Shawn Ryan. I could go on but I'll save the rest for the actual class!

WP: What do you hope students will come out of your class having accomplished or learned?

CD: I aspire for everyone to come out of this class with a broader understanding of the inner machinations of not only how this business operates, but also with a strong focus as to how they can now utilize their newfound personal brand within that machine. Additionally I hope to give them the tools that will enable them to put a pitch document together for a TV show or film of their choosing.

Thank you, Cliff! For those interested in learning to better represent themselves and gain a better understanding of the television (& film) industry the course Beyond Craft: Building Your Career and Brand as a Writer (W1248) will meet Thursday evenings from January 13 - March 17.

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To enroll in Writers' Program courses call the enrollment office at 310-825-9971 or enroll online at www.uclaextension.edu. Don't forget to check out our Writers' Studio courses, as well as our extensive offerings of one and two day weekend workshops. For more information on the Writers' Program visit www.uclaextension.edu/writers.

Writing the Fine Line of Trauma

2010-11-18T09:30:00.000-08:00

This winter Writers' Program instructor Naomi Benaron will be teaching the new short fiction workshop Writing the Fine Line of Trauma. This course is aimed at helping students explore and write about those experiences or stories that are often the most difficult to relive or relay through the filter of fiction. In an an interview with me she spoke about her writing background as well as how the concept for this course came to her.

Writers' Program: What first led you to writing?

Naomi Benaron: I have been writing and imagining ever since I can remember. I used to make my mother tell me stories about the people in the houses we walked and drove by, and if I didn't like a song she sang me, I made her change it - in rhyme!

WP: Do you remember the first thing you wrote?

NB: Absolutely. I don't remember how old I was, but I was quite young. I had heard a story about a Luna Moth, and I was so taken, I wrote a story of my own from the Luna Moth's point of view. The two things that struck me were that the moth was named for the moon and that it lived only one day.

WP: Your new class is entitled “Writing the Fine Line of Trauma.” Where did the concept for this class come from?

NB: My mother is--in the broad sense--a Holocaust survivor. Although she and her parents escaped Eastern Europe just in time, most of her family did not. Consequently, half my family is missing. This has shaped who I am and why I write. My first novel, forthcoming from Algonquin, deals with the Rwandan Genocide, and my novel-in-progress is about a Holocaust survivor and her granddaughter. I am very much concerned with global issues of justice, and, unfortunately, this seems to go hand in hand with writing about trauma.

WP: What is trauma writing, exactly (and how does it differ from mere drama or mystery)?

NB: The word trauma comes from traumat, the Greek word for wound. Paraphrasing the OED, trauma is the psychic injury resulting from an incident that causes severe emotional shock. To that I would add that the nature of the event is such that living through it causes permanent physical and psychological changes. Trauma writing, then, deals with the transference of that emotional wound to the page. What makes writing trauma different than drama or mystery is that one must continually walk a delicate and fine line in order to portray the event both fairly and effectively. It requires constant attention and discipline, and, in most cases, a lot of careful and thoughtful revision. I think also that part of writing and reading trauma can be a powerful part of a healing process.

WP: What tips do you have for new students about pacing and planning their work?

NB: In terms of hints for students I would say that revisions in writing trauma are by their nature careful and slow. We are going to do a lot of reading and writing, a lot of experimenting to see what works for each individual student. This is intended as a get-your-feet-wet kind of class. Go at your own pace, keep up with reading and discussion, and you will do fine.

WP: Is there anything else you'd like to add?

NB: One of the most exciting aspects of teaching for me is how much I learn from my students. I value the give and take, and I find that I emerge from each class I teach a changed person - enriched.

Thank you Naomi! Writing the Fine Line of Trauma: Short Fiction Workshop (Online) will run from January 12 - March 16. You can enroll online now!

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For phone enrollment you can call the registration office at 310-825-9971. Be sure to consider our 4-day intensive Writers Studio courses as well. For more information about the Writers' Program visit www.uclaextension.edu/writers

Taking the Mystery out of Mystery Writing

2010-11-16T09:30:00.000-08:00

Want to get even more out of your Writers' Program experience? Don't have time for a full-length course? Well, this winter we're offering the one-day course Write and Publish the Mystery Novel with Hannah Dennison. In a short email interview Hannah gave us some background on the course and revealed some of the mysteries behind her own writing.

Writers' Program: What first lead you to writing?

Hannah Dennison: I've always had a vivid imagination. Looking back, the first seeds were sown when I won a writing competition at school for the Bourneville Chocolate Company. I was 9. It also started my life long passion for dark chocolate.

WP: Do you remember the first thing you wrote?

HD: Apart from the chocolate essay-I wrote a love story for "Woman's Own" magazine (aimed for women over 30). I was 15 and hadn't even had a boyfriend. What could I possibly know about relationships! It was rejected and even now, I can remember how embarrassed I felt. Rejection doesn't get any easier either!

WP: Your winter course is about mystery writing - What is your favorite thing about this particular genre?

HD: Mysteries are immensely satisfying. Readers get hooked on series and as a writer, it's a wonderful thing to create an entire world of your own. There is also the aspect of vicariously living through our characters-getting revenge on an old boyfriend or horrible boss. I just love creating puzzles and putting my characters into impossible situations. I couldn't sleep for a week after I'd thrown Vicky Hill, my protagonist, into a cellar with no chance of escape. When the solution came to me in the shower (as many things often do) - I felt as if I'd won the lottery.

WP: Do you have any tips for students on how to get started on writing a new mystery project?

HD: Think about what you excel at first - or a world that you know really well. For me, I worked as a reporter on a small country newspaper writing the obituary column so used that experience (who knew?) for my backdrop. I feel strongly that the setting is very important in a mystery series. There are many hundreds of mysteries of all genres out there - so yours must stand out. Next, find what sort of crime fascinates you - love, revenge, greed? I believe that it's only when you have decided on the tools that "contain" your story, your protagonist can then step in. From that point onwards, the characters will drive the story.

WP: What information or skills do you hope students will get out of your one-day course?

HD: My biggest hope is that students have fun and realize that by taking the mystery out of writing a mystery, they can go home feeling inspired and have the confidence to really get cracking.

WP: Who is your favorite mystery writer (besides yourself!), and why?

HD: Agatha Christie for her plotting; M.C. Beaton for her hilarious protagonist, Agatha Raisin. I love Mary Stewart, Raymond Chandler, Dick Francis, Dennis Lehane, Val McDermid. All very different!

WP: Do you have anything else to add?

HD: Writing a novel is hard. That's the truth. Make a commitment to yourself to write six days a week for a minimum of fifteen minutes a day. That way, your story is always in your subconscious. Finish that first draft. Facing the blank page is the worst part - after that, the thrill of seeing a story come to life makes the struggle worthwhile.

Thank you, Hannah! Sounds like an exciting one-day course. Write and Publish the Mystery Novel (W1606) will meet Saturday, March 19, 2011. To see other entries in our instructor interview series visit our blog archives.

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Enrollment for this course and other courses including the Writers Studio is available online or by calling registration at 310-825-9971. For more information about the Writers' Program visit www.uclaextension.edu/writers

Beginning Writing for the One-Hour Drama

2010-11-10T09:30:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone. We hope you've enjoyed learning a little more about some of our Writers' Program instructors and their courses. One of our the newest additions to our teaching roster, Joel Thompson, will be teaching "Beginning Writing the One-Hour Drama" this winter. In an email interview Joel, whose writing credits include House and Battlestar Galactica, told me about how and where he gathers inspiration, and offered insight into the trials and joys of writing for television.

Writers' Program: What do you like the most about writing for television?

Joel Thompson: The royalty checks can be quite pleasant. Piling up my food plate to ungodly mountainous levels of jaw-dropping gluttony at craft services is way cool -- except for the staring... I dig how when writing on a cop show, as writers, we can drive through red lights… But topping those three joys, which is very difficult, is the creative opportunity accompanying the 13- to-24 episode design of television programs. It’s a wonderful structure that affords the writer time and canvas space to thoroughly explore specific and in some cases, multiple aspects of human nature housed within a protagonist. On some shows there’s also the sharing of personal experiences, bonding, and camaraderie that happens among the writing staff. I’ve been fortunate to meet some truly dynamic individuals who not only inspired me to strive to be a better writer, but a better person as well. For me, those are among the greatest treasures of writing for television.

WP: What is your favorite one-hour drama that is currently on air, and why?

JT: There are several shows on the air I enjoy immensely, so I’m unable to pick one favorite. I’ll say “Breaking Bad” is a pretty edgy show. Aside from the fact that my parents were both grossly underpaid public school teachers, and the launch point of “Breaking Bad” subtly examines that societal atrocity, the writing is consistently honest. Unlike a lot of shows, those writers don’t let the fear of their protagonist being momentarily unattractive, if not ugly, broken hearted or weak get in the way of honest storytelling. They have an uncanny way of constructing circumstances and acutely revealing human frailties to organically balance down moments with moments of triumph. Isn’t that what life is? They also make relevant observations about our society without being preachy. There are a handful of other shows with similar qualities. I have much love for them as well, but since the question restricted me to only discussing one…
[Yeah, we like to bring a challenge]

WP: Do you have any good brainstorming advice for those commencing new television writing projects?

JT: Talk to many strangers. When you do, avoid the beginner’s mistake of introducing yourself as a writer at the top of those conversations. Nurture a conversation to keep them talking without getting caught up in showing that person how smart you are. It’s not about you. It’s about them. Go sit in bars that are not your style, barbers shops/salons, laundry mats, horse tracks, bus stations, tractor pulls, country clubs, squad houses and do some people watching. Listen carefully. Read news stories from small towns – not just the A.P. wire. Go to an art show or a gallery and stare at a painting. Imagine what it might say to you. Imagine what it might say about you if you left the room.

WP: What do you think makes for a good television character?

Intense pain – spoken or unspoken, internal conflict with something they must do with a dash of crippling regret and maybe an unusual level of skill in one particular area. Those suggested elements are nothing new - they predate Aristotle’s Poetics, which explains them clearly. Ideally the complications of a character would be placed in a complimentary surrounding story or circumstance. This coupling utilizes the dimensions of the character to impact the plot and vice versa. When executed properly, it’s a winning combination. For instance, Tony Soprano was a father and husband who had the skill set of being a successful mob boss. He also suffered from panic attacks among other psychological/emotional problems this threatened his effectiveness in both realms. Aspects of those worlds impacted dramatically on Tony. His struggle to hold those two worlds together while coping with a deeply rooted disorder pulled people in. We wanted to be with Tony in that world.

WP: What is your advice to students on crafting such characters in their own work?

JT: Don’t get ideas for characters from other TV and films. Characters are all around you. Starting with you. What are the toughest things you’d like to resolve in your life, but can’t. What’s in your nature that blocks you? Who hates you? Try to better understand them and why they feel that way. If you hate someone, deconstruct it. The same goes for love. Friends are to be considered, but how about those folks you avoid being friends with. What’s up with them? If you’re coming up empty in this line of questioning because you have nothing to draw upon, you’re not ready to write just yet. Get away from your laptop and go do some living. Do something uncharacteristic – preferably not illegal. Come back in a few weeks, months, or years and review the questions above. If you have some answers then, proceed. Somewhere in there your characters will emerge.

WP: What is the single most important piece of advice you've received about writing?

JT: The great trumpet player, Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong, was also a great composer of volumes of work. When asked about his process, he explained, and I’m paraphrasing, he wrote music as fast as possible. When the interviewer asked why, he replied he wrote fast so he could stay out of his own way. He said if he slowed down, he’d wind up scaring himself. Writers tend to rip their work apart when it’s only in its embryonic stages. This is due to fear. I’ve been through this as well. Resist that urge. Get out of your own way and quickly finish the draft. Finishing is more crucial in the growth of a writer than allowing self-doubt to grind things to a halt. Re-writing is writing. Nothing positive comes from not finishing a story. Finishing always matters. It will make you a more interesting writer and person.

Thank you, Joel! For beginning television writers Joel's course Beginning Writing for the One-Hour Drama (W1099) will meet on Tuesday evenings from January 18 - March 22. This is the first required course for the television writing certificate program. For the other interviews in our winter course series visit the blog archives.

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Enrollment for both winter quarter and Writers Studio courses is open now! You can enroll online or by calling the registration office at 310-825-9971. For more information about instructors and writing programs visit www.uclaextension.edu/writers.

What Is A Long Story?

2010-11-08T09:30:00.000-08:00

Winter quarter enrollment is now underway. In order to give you more insight into some of our courses and instructors we conducted a few informal interviews. One of our newest Writers' Program instructors, Anne Sanow agreed to answer a few questions for me about her Winter class Writing the Long Story: Intermediate Workshop (Online). Though Anne is a recent addition to the writers program, she is no stranger to academia or writing. She was kind enough to share her personal journey to writing and what she envisions for students in her winter class

Writers Program: What first led you to writing? Do you remember the first thing you wrote?

Anne Sanow: I was one of those children who read from a very early age—my parents and godparents never read to me, exactly, but with me, running a finger underneath the letters as we went along. It’s therefore impossible for me to pinpoint when that transition from following to actively reading happened; I felt that I always had the ability, and getting my hands on a pen seemed the next logical (and inevitable) step. My first completed “book” was in the first grade. It was about cats, and contained many extraneous commas. I loved punctuation and used it effusively! By age 7 or 8 I was drafting novels in chapters—mostly adventure tales having to do with witches or pirates or haunted houses.

WP: Your winter course is an Intermediate Long Story course. How do you define a long story, and how does it differ from a novella?

AS: One of the easiest ways to define the long story is by popular example: think of the length and complexity of stories written by Alice Munro. (She’s but one contemporary practitioner, and perhaps the best known.) For purposes of the course, “long” means a story over 7,000 words (a common limit for many literary magazines) and under 20,000 words, or roughly 25 – 60 pages. Perhaps another way to define the long story is that it resists economy—it’s a story that pushes against expectations of what we think a “short” story is able to accomplish and how much it can contain. There are many arbitrary definitions of what constitutes a novella vs. a long story, and I’m not sure how useful they really are; I tend to think of a novella as being something around 80 – 100 pages, with a more contained structure or narrative arc than a novel, but that’s arbitrary too. Any given story is as long as it needs to be, and this course is a place to explore that idea.

WP: What do you perceive as the benefits of writing in this length/format?

AS: The long story offers an opportunity for rich immersion that is nevertheless honed and focused—as students will learn, expansion doesn’t just mean sprawl! Shorter stories, while wonderful in many ways, sometimes force writers to sacrifice depth or development for brevity. Paring back is the right thing to do in some cases, but it shouldn’t be the default mode of writing. The longer form allows for flourishes that are still under a kind of control.

Working to achieve this balance—learning how to simultaneously expand and hone—offers a wonderful opportunity to innovate, and to explore more aspects of your writing style. This leads to an increased authority in the narrative voice. Think about it: when you read a story with an authoritative voice, you just know. You pay attention. This is what we’re going for in this course.

WP: When conceptualizing or beginning a new story what are some techniques you use to get yourself writing?

AS: My story ideas originate from fragments: images, random phrases, rhythms of speech or other sound patterns. I am also very attuned to place and history, so physical locations and photographs often prompt words or sketches or vague ideas of character or voice.

I don’t ever sit down and tell myself that I’m going to write a story “about X.” But you do need to begin writing, somehow. I use small notebooks to write out in longhand paragraphs or dialogue or scenes that come from the random associative bits: I don’t attach them to any particular concept of narrative at the outset, which would be limiting. Eventually I’ll hit some kind of stride and start composing at the keyboard, though again, I won’t necessarily know where I’m heading. I let myself build situations or scenes or exposition in segments for as long as that needs to happen—it’s like working from the inside out. From that, a structure will emerge, and I begin to understand what the “story” is and can then more actively develop and shape it.

WP: Do you have anything else you'd like to add?

Read a long short story today, and see what you get out of immersing yourself in the writer’s world—how it differs, what it offers by way of escape from our often fragmented, Twitter-esque mode of communicating and receiving. I highly recommend the long stories published every week on Five Chapters (http://www.fivechapters.com/).

Thank you Anne! Anne's course Writing Long Story: Intermediate Workshop Online (W1675) will run from January 19 - March 23, 2011.

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For our earlier installments in this interview series click here. Be sure to check out our Writers' Studio in winter as well. These four-day intensive workshops are open for enrollment NOW and will run from February 10-13. You can enroll in all courses by visiting www.uclaextension.edu or calling 310-925-9971.

Writing the Romantic Comedy

2010-11-04T09:30:00.000-07:00

Veteran Writers' Program instructor Billy Mernit is teaching Writing the Romantic Comedy this winter. In an email interview I asked Billy to give me some insight into his love for, and background in, Romantic Comedies. His answers were thoughtful and (not surprisingly) funny.

Writers Program: What personally draws you to this genre?  

Billy Mernit: I think it had to do with growing up in a household where my parents were still in love with each other, and of a romantic bent. I remember seeing the great Katherine Hepburn/Cary Grant classics like Bringing Up Baby (and the Bogart/Bacall movies like To Have and Have Not – as much a romantic comedy as it was a noir drama) on their old black and white TV, when I was young and impressionable. Something about the sexiness and sophistication said “hello” to me, which exposes the real truth, I guess – that I’m a hopeless romantic at heart. And the best rom-coms have funny, pertinent things to say about the relationships between men and women – a subject that I find as endlessly fascinating as it is exasperating.

WP: How does the Romantic Comedy differ from the straight comedy or drama in terms of crafting characters and pacing story?

BM: It’s a unique genre in that you actually have to have (i.e. it’s a requirement) not one, but two compelling protagonists, for the story to work; the only other movie genre that requires this is the buddy comedy - which Freudians perceive as a homoerotic romantic comedy in heterosexual drag, but enough about that.

Also, being a character-driven genre, the romantic comedy asks for a little more character development than the norm (not that this is often delivered, regrettably); its stories are often piloted by so-called “inner conflicts.” The best rom-coms are combo platters: they mix a high concept idea that’s more plot-driven with an interior conflict that comes from character. Thus Tootsie – ostensibly a comedy about a man who masquerades as a woman to get a job – is famously really about “a man who learned how to be a better man, as a woman” at its core, and it’s the latter (inner conflict) idea that makes the movie endure.

In terms of pace, there’s not a lot of inherent difference; as with all comedy, generally the great ones move fast.

WP: Do you have any tips for writers attempting their first romantic comedy? 

BM: Go to school. I mean that literally as well as figuratively; there’s a canon there to be studied, so get well acquainted with it. How else will you learn what’s been done, and gain insights into how you might do it a little differently, in your own way? This is especially important for a genre that’s so often derided for being formulaic and predictable. A 21st century romantic comedy writer who is moronic enough to send a protagonist running to the airport to declare his love in the climax should have his or her screenwriting license revoked. You not only can do better, you must if you want your movie to get made.

Equally important: You need to figure out why you’re writing a romantic comedy, and what it is that you’re bringing to the party. In other words, what’s your unique point of view? What do you have to say about love, about human nature, about gender, et al? And what is it about the way you’re saying it, that’s a little bit inventive? We don’t need more of the same-old and soul-less in this genre. We need Eternal Sunshine; we need (500) Days of Summer.

WP: What is your favorite romantic comedy, and why?

BM: Not to be coy or annoying, but it’s a true: I don’t have one favorite; the number one spot shifts according to my mood or lot in life. But certainly I wouldn’t go to a desert island without either Annie Hall (the most nontraditional of the great “traditional” romantic comedies) or Groundhog Day (one of the most audacious “hybrid” rom-coms, in that many people don’t even realize that it is a romantic comedy).

Annie Hall looms large in my personal mythology because as a Jewish intellectual New Yorker, the Woodman was my main man during my formative years as a writer, and I had the privilege of working with Diane Keaton not long after the movie came out (you can find that story on my blog in the “Clouds in my Coffee” sidebar). But it’s also one of the most imaginative, honest and courageous cries from the heart in contemporary filmdom, and it set a bar for the genre that still hasn’t been toppled, over thirty years later.

Groundhog Day is deliriously profound. It’s a movie you can watch over, and over, and over again. Need anything else be said?

Nothing else indeed. Thank you, Billy! Billy's Writing the Romantic Comedy course (W1006) will meet Monday evenings from January 10 - March 28.

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Winter quarter and Writers Studio courses are open for enrollment now! To enroll visit http://www.uclaextension.edu/ or call 310-825-9971.

Getting Started with Fiction Writing: Essential Beginnings

2010-11-02T09:45:00.000-07:00

We hope you all had a fun (and ghoulish) Halloween! We have new treats for you to explore this week as our winter quarter course schedule is now available online. You can enroll via the online links, or by calling registration at 310-825-9971. One of our many offerings for winter quarter is The Essential Beginnings, intended to help aspiring creative writers get started. This course is being taught the lovely Colette Sartor. She happily agreed to answer some questions about her own writing techniques and gave insight into what beginning students can expect from her class.

Writers' Program: What led you to the Writers’ Program?

Colette Sartor: I started taking classes at UCLA Extension while I was still practicing law. I found my teachers so inspiring that I knew I wanted to teach there too if I ever became a full-time writer.

WP: You’ve received a lot of recognition and many accolades for your writing but I’m sure that didn’t happen overnight. How did you get started in creative writing? Do you remember the first thing you wrote?

CS: In grade school I had to make a picture book for a homework assignment. My teacher probably expected a few stapled pages of three word sentences and scribbled pictures. My book went on for pages and pages, with a full story (about a girl determined to find her lost puppy), elaborate color pictures, and a hard cover made of cardboard and flowered contact paper.
I rarely wrote stories after that. Serious people (which, to me as I got older, meant people to be taken seriously) didn’t make a living writing fiction. Serious people became engineers or architects, doctors or lawyers or stockbrokers. It wasn’t until I started law school that I realized much I hated being a “serious person.” Still, I was determined to continue on the clearly defined path to success that all my classmates were following. I finished law school, joined a prestigious law firm, worked around the clock filing briefs and closing deals. I was miserable.

After a few years, I decided to take a beginning writing class at UCLA Extension. My writing was rough, steeped in literal imagery and stilted language (a byproduct of my legal training), but I loved the escape of delving into characters and figuring out what they were going to do next. I spent less and less time at work, instead taking class after class, where I learned to create tension on the page, to take everyday events and find the germ that elevated them above the commonplace. Finally, I saved enough money to quit my job and go to graduate school. I didn’t look back. Not much, anyway.

WP: What are some tips you have for hesitant beginners?

CS: Don’t be afraid to write about whatever comes to mind, and don’t be afraid to write poorly. First drafts are supposed to be messy. They’re supposed to be confusing and misleading and unreadable. The actual writing starts once you’ve amassed enough material to begin carving away the chaff to reveal the kernel of the real story.

WP: How do you usually get started on a new project? Do you have brainstorming tips?

CS: I try to keep several projects going at once—a few short stories, a novel chapter or two. That way, I can fall back on revising more developed pieces when I get discouraged about the glacial pace at which a new project is advancing.

I usually start a new piece by handwriting in a notebook. I make myself write about anything—no self-editing—a picture I saw in the newspaper, an argument between two coffee shop regulars that I can’t stop thinking about. One of my stories, “A Walk in the Park,” started when I drove by my local park, a known gang hangout, and noticed that the benches had been painted the same bright yellow as crime scene tape. I went home and wrote a description of the park as I imagined it on a typical day, little kids and camp counselors swarming the jungle gyms while tatted guys in low rise jeans bumped chests on the basketball courts. The description made me wonder what it would be like to be a young expectant mother moving into the neighborhood with dreams of safety and bliss for her child. She sparked my curiosity enough that I slowly imagined a life for her—a husband, a job, an apartment—which finally led me to envision a situation in which her fears and desires would collide.

WP: What is the best writing-related advice you’ve ever received?

CS: On the first day of my first graduate school writing workshop, my instructor Frank Conroy told the class that only five percent of us would still be writing five years after we graduated. “It won’t necessarily be the most talented five percent,” he said. “It’ll be the most persistent.”
Persistence counts every bit as much as talent. Persistence and a thick skin.

Thank you for your insight, Colette! For the curious new writers out there Colette's course Essential Beginnings: An Introductory Creative Writing Workshop (W1089) will meet on Wednesday evenings from February 9 - March 16.

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You can now enroll in Writers' Program courses online or by calling the registration office at 310-825-9971 . You can also request that a paper course catalog be sent to you via the UCLA Extension website. Don't forget to check out our four-day intensive Writers' Studio courses as well!

Tricks and Treats

2010-10-28T09:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween everyone! The Writers' Program office is all abuzz with discussions of costumes, candy, and masquerade parties. As for me, I'll be dressed up as a friendly crew member of the starship Enterprise (Original Series 1960's Edition) and the boyfriend is dressing up as Captain Kirk. But onto more interesting writing-related topics. As I mentioned before, the winter courses will be open for enrollment beginning Monday, November 1. Writers' Program veteran instructor Les Plesko will be teaching the course Tricks and Treats, which seems the perfect subject for our pre-Halloween post. No, this isn't a horror-writing or candy-eating class but you will learn a whole lot about narrative styles! Les was kind enough to agree to an interview in which he gave me some great insight into the concept of the course and background information about his own writing experiences and style.

Writers' Program: Where did the concept for this particular course come from?

Les Plesko: In my nearly two decades of teaching Extension, I’ve found that many writers have been exposed to a limited way of doing things, found in the most traditional genres. Writing students often forget that at some point all our modern writing conventions were experimental. I wanted to expose writers and potential writers to the wide possibilities of writing “styles” that have always been available, and to liberate them from preconceived notions of what is possible and “permissible” in writing. I have also found that new ways to approach writing can be introduced through examples, exercises, and exposures to other art forms that free the writer’s mind and release and ignite creativity and originality.

WP: What interests you about non-linear narrative styles? What (or who) introduced you to this writing form?

LP: The 70s, when I started to think seriously about becoming a writer, were glory years for new ways of writing, so I’ve always been interested in new and inventive ways to use words. When I write, I want to be entertained, I want to entertain myself, and to write the kind of stuff that I myself would want to read.

WP: Who is your favorite writer currently working who employs such a style?

LP: It’s not so much that there is even “such a style.” [editors note: fair enough! That's why he's an instructor. We're always learning.] There are so many ways to skin the cat, so to speak, that writers forget are out there. Right now I’m very much liking the writings of Mary Robison who uses an episodic style of short numbered chapters of a paragraph or two each, and Anne Carson, who wrote two novels in verse, and Thomas Bernhard, who likes to write novels that are one long paragraph.

WP: What would your advice be to students who are eager to tackle the challenge of this course but have reservations?

LP: I would say, try it, you’ll like it! It’s exciting and easy to try new things, once you decide to give it a go. Writing can be difficult; sometimes the hardest part is to find new ways of perceiving its possibilities. Trying out fresh ways of approaching writing will make you a better, more versatile artist. For myself, I’m always looking for approaches that will free up my mind so that I can get at what I’m trying to say in my work.

WP: What do you hope the students will come out of this class having learned or accomplished?

LP: I would hope students will find new ways to produce work that is fresh, new and exciting, and that they’ll emerge with a renewed and invigorated perspective about the possibilities of language that they’ll be able to employ in any form of writing they pursue.

WP: Is there anything else you'd like to add?

LP: The history of “experimental” writing goes back to its very beginnings. In fact, every new development in writing was experimental in its time. Many of literature’s greatest authors and stylists have been bold enough to try various forms and approaches. So-called experimental writing is quite traditional if you look at the history of literature. The first “modern” novel Tristam Shandy, by Laurence Sterne, broke the mold. From there, even a quick glance at many of the greats and popular writers of literature reveals that experimental forms have been there all along: Beckett, Joyce, Virginia Woolf, Celine, William Burroughs, Thomas Pynchon, Julio Cortazar, Donald Barthelme, Kathy Acker, Michael Ondaatje, Chuck Palahniuk, David Foster Wallace, and Helen Fielding are all pioneers of alternative styles and approaches.

Thank you so much, Les! Les Plesko's Tricks and Treats course (W1324) will meet Tuesday evenings from January 18 - March 22.

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You can enroll in Writers' Program courses online or by calling the registration office at 310-825-9971 starting Monday, November 1. You can also request that a paper course catalog be sent to you via the UCLA Extension website. Don't forget to check out our four-day intensive Writers' Studio courses as well (available for enrollment NOW!)

Beginning Screenwriting with Jon Bernstein

2010-10-26T09:30:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I hope you had a nice weekend. In case you weren't aware, enrollment for Winter courses will begin on Monday, November 1! As we gear up for Winter classes I thought it might be nice to give you a sampling of some of the upcoming courses, and a chance to get to know your friendly Writers' Program instructors. The first instructor I spoke with is Jon Bernstein, and he will be teaching Writing the First Screenplay III (the third in our new four-course sequence) this winter. I asked Jon if he would answer some questions about his course and give a little background about his personal screenwriting experiences. He was kind enough to give me a few minutes of his time. Enjoy!

Writers Program: How did you get your start in screenwriting?

Jon Bernstein: Taking UCLA Extension classes! I found my first writing partner in a UCLA Extension class.

WP: What are some tips you have for students trying to get started on a new project?

JB: Keep a notebook and write in it at least 5 minutes a day. Jot down all your different ideas - allow it to be non-linear. Jot down your inspired thoughts on story, character, dialogue and theme. Think about your story all the time so that when you sit down to write you know exactly what you want to say.

WP: In your course students tackle the dreaded second act - what are some tips you have to help students with pacing their script up to, and through, this point?

JB: Release your tight grip on what you think your story is. Daydream boldly about the full potential of your idea. Too often when we get "stuck" we're just not taking enough creative risk. Surprise yourself!

WP: Is there anything you consider your "specialty", or an element of screenwriting that you feel you've become well-versed in?

JB: I have a clear idea of what ideas and themes I am interested in exploring, and I have a strong sense of my voice. I try to have a distinctive voice that explores humanistic themes with humor and heart. I enjoy writing screenplays with relatable characters and true emotion.

WP: Any other thoughts or bits of wisdom you care to add?

JB: Just remember, your voice and unique world view are the main things you have to offer as a writer. The ultimate goal is to write a script that only you have written. Writing a screenplay is an opportunity to lend your voice to themes and ideas that you are passionate about. What do you believe? What do you have to say?

Thank you, Jon! Jon Bernstein's course requires an outline and at least 30 pages of script to be brought to the first class meeting. The course will meet on Thursday evenings from January 6 - March 10, 2011.

You can enroll in Writers' Program courses online or by calling the registration office at 310-825-9971 starting Monday, November 1. You can also request that a paper course catalog be sent to you via the UCLA Extension website. Don't forget to check out our Writers' Studio courses as well (available for enrollment NOW!)

A Rare Screenwriting Note

2010-10-19T15:38:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a nice weekend. I know I sure did. You see, the Hollywood Reporter announced on Friday that one of my favorite books of all time, The Hobbit, has been greenlighted as a two-movie adaptation to be directed (and co-written) by Peter Jackson! Now feel free to tease, I realize I just played my nerd card big time. However, allow me to further explain my excitement.

While I loved The Lord of the Rings books, I actually found that I loved the movies even more. And yes, I understand that's a bold statement but they were beautifully crafted, relatively true to the books, and had a great cast. Having said that, I loved The Hobbit (which I have read at least 4 times) more than any of The Lord of the Rings books or movies so I'm expecting a whole lot from this adaptation. (This build up also means that I will likely be disappointed by the final product, but c'est la vie). I briefly discussed my usually negative feelings about movie adaptations before, but I'm willing to give this one a chance. I often find that adaptations don't do the book justice, or distort the lovely image you've created of the "book world" in your head. I mean, that's part of the joy of reading (and writing), right? Interpreting and creating other worlds, characters and situations in your own mind is all part of the fun. But I'm tempted to trust in Mr. Jackson and hope he'll allow us to relive the magic of this book on screen in some small way. (And if you're tempted to scoff at my love for this wonderful fantasy novel please read the recent post about embracing guilty pleasures!)

Have a nice week everyone!

20th Century Greats

2010-10-15T11:48:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday everyone! In the spirit of list-making that seems to abound this week the UK Guardian's John Crace (who writes The Digested Read column each week) has compiled his list of 100 Classic Reads of the Twentieth Century and published it as a short volume entitled Brideshead Abbreviated. Now, I usually hate such lists because they are written by critics who often simultaneously scoff at the love the masses may have for a particular book then turn around and praise another written in the same vein. I prefer writers who inspire me to both read and write, regardless of their public reception - and I'm probably not the only one! I find that such lists are rarely a reflection of the time period or group that they are supposed to represent, and the bulk of the works end up being more contemporary or those that have received public attention more recently, rather than at the time of their publishing. In addition, when lists are compiled there is rarely a strict set of guidelines that are adhered to to keep the list honest and varied.

All that having been said, this list is slightly different. I don't necessarily agree with all the picks but it seems clear to me that Crace made a real effort to ensure that list didn't simply reflect his own critical tastes and opinions. He says, "Inevitably, the choice involves compromise and my own selection has been conservative; it reflects the consensual view of the western literary canon rather than trying to reshape it – I also created my own rules: no author could appear more than once...I also decided to divide the book into decades, with 10 books in each...[but]there are omissions that must be every bit as glaring to you as they are to me."

The top on his list 5 are:
Swann's Way (aka The Way by Swann's) - Proust (1913)
Age of Innocence - Wharton (1920)
Brave New World - Huxley (1932)
The Outsider - Camus (1942)
Lolita - Nabokov (1955)

You can read the full list (in chronological order) here. What do you think of this list? Do you see your favorites on there? What did he forget, and what did he get right? Leave your thoughts, suggestions, and criticism in the comments!

For Book Lovers Across the City

2010-10-12T13:12:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. I trust you had a nice weekend. Mine was filled with the usual mix of reading and writing for school, but I did manage to squeeze in a little social time as well (headed to Origami Vinyl to see my friend's band play, then enjoyed Two Boots Pizza and some tasty bread pudding at Masa with a few other Writers' Program staffers). Anyway, with midterms coming up my brain - and therefore my creativity - is a little more strained than usual. However, fear not! Co-worker Katy reminded me that I've been meaning to assemble and post my list of favorite Los Angeles bookstores. For the purposes of this list, I only considered stores as far east as downtown Los Angeles (sorry, Vroman's!) and then worked my way west to the ocean. So, here they are, in somewhat geographical order:

The Last Bookstore (downtown)
I rarely venture downtown but when I do I make an effort to visit this gem. The staff is extremely knowledgeable and it's one of the only places where I can find used hardcover books that are in good condition with prices that fit my budget. If this really was the last bookstore on earth I think I'd still be a happy girl.

Stories (Echo Park)
This place is charming and artistic. They often host journal readings and have a really great used (though not always cheap) paperback selection in addition to a hefty and interesting used philosophy and religion section that I love to peruse. If you're looking for past editions of art & lit magazines you'll probably find them here, too. The cafe is decent, and they boast a nice little back patio for reading on those summery LA days.

Skylight Books (Los Feliz)
A well-stocked store with a constantly exciting event calendar (they recently threw a Bukowski birthday bash, and will soon be hosting Judd Apatow!) This is not the place to troll for used books, but you can be sure that they will have the latest issue of whichever small press anthology or zine you're searching for. I find that they're well-defined by their bestsellers list since it's usually a nice mix of the names you'll see in the Times' alongside some lesser-known up and coming names. Be sure to check out their awesome, well-organized website that allows you to check out their staff book picks.

Family Books (West Hollywood/Fairfax)
This tiny hideout near Canter's and (newer favorite) Golden State has a friendly (usually one-man) staff and a lot of interesting picks. Their books are not cheap, but if you're looking for something new and unique, this is the place to find it. They carry everything from small, self-published printings to works by greater LA writers like Fante and Chandler. Their stock is rather small, but varied enough to provide a nice hour or so of happy browsing. They also occassionally host music events and sell small quantities of records & 45s.

Book Soup (West Hollywood)
My friendly neighborhood bookstore. They've developed quite a name for themselves around town and have lately been able to draw bigger and bigger names (They had a full six-person manned booth next to our humble Writers' Program station at the WeHo Book Fair) but their staff is always nice, helpful, and humble. I've never walked into this store and not found the title I was looking for. They're well stocked, decently priced, host solid readings and also have the best store-based merchandise I've ever seen from tote bags to other more "adult" products.

Mystery Bookstore (Westwood)
I've loved mystery writing since I was a child and I'm pretty sure I've read every Agatha Christie book so this shop holds a special place in my heart. I also applaud their obvious desire to cultivate a love for reading in children - half the store is littered with youth & young adult novels. The staff is always exceedingly friendly and have a clear love for mystery, suspense, and books in general. And guess what, they have some non-mystery books too!

Small World Books (Venice)
While they don't carry used books, this rather large bookstore in Venice has one of the best selections around. Every time I go in they introduce me to some author who I've never heard of but who becomes a new favorite. I have literally spent hours scouring their shelves. Their music and sci-fi sections are unparalleled - and like Skylight and Family they have a well-cultivated section of small press books. But perhaps my favorite thing about this shop is their adorable cat, Esme - the cutest bookstore cat ever (sorry, Franny!).

So, who did I miss? Give me your favorites in the comments. I'm always looking for new bookstores to visit!

Defending Your Guilty Pleasures

2010-10-08T11:50:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I'm sorry I've been so absent. I was out late last week on vacation (at Matador 21 in Las Vegas), and upon my return I caught some version of that awful flu that is making its rounds. School has kept me very busy with a variety of papers and presentations, and midterms are right around the corner as well. Nevertheless I will make more of an effort to give you more frequent updates. In addition, I'm hoping to get some instructors involved in guest posts and interviews so let me know if there are any topics you'd like to see addressed!

Graduate school has been a great experience thus far (it helps having coworkers, and a boss, with advanced degrees to give me advice) but it has also been eye-opening to consider how people choose to represent or redefine themselves, and their tastes as well. I was recently reading Joshua Braff''s piece on the NPR website discussing his love for an author (John Irving) who did not inspire admiration or carry "street cred" in grad school. I have to say, I have so much love for this piece. I've never understood the idea of disliking or discrediting an author because they've happened to find success. True, many bestsellers these days leave something to be desired but sometimes there is a solid reason for one's popularity as an author. I see such snobbery in grad school often and it's nice to see someone defend guilty pleasures openly. So this might make you ask which of my guilty pleasures was recently scoffed at in the classroom. The answer: Jane Austen. And you know what? I didn't care.

(Give us your guilty pleasures in the comments!)

Banned Books and Trailblazing Authors

2010-09-28T11:44:00.000-07:00

This is an interesting week for writers and book-lovers alike. This week we celebrate "Banned Books Week" which was launched by American Library Association in 1982 and celebrates those books (both new and old) which have been the subject of controversy or censorship. The aim of this event, as stated by the ALA is to, "draw attention to the problem of censorship and to celebrate free speech" by mounting displays and hosting community events around the country. If you look at the Top 10 Most Contested Books of 2009 you will find that there are some old classics in the bunch (The Color Purple, To Kill a Mockingbird) alongside some new bestsellers (Twilight).

I find that this brings up an interesting discussion, particularly for writers. Is it the authors duty to portray things honestly, even when subject matter or language may be sensitive or questionable? Can censorshop ever have constructive or helpful role in the world of literature?How do you as writers (or readers) feel about this? Please opine in the comments. I want to know your thoughts!

There Will Be Time, There Will Be Time

2010-09-17T10:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday!

With fall quarter quickly approaching we've been incredibly busy in the Writers' Program offices. I've also been attempting to find a way to balance my time between work and school. And let me tell you, it hasn't been easy. This week I read Chaucer (Canterbury Tales, for probably the third time in my academic career), Sedgwick's Hope Leslie, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, some critical theory (ugh), and did a research directive on the word quyte. I'm enjoying all the reading (well, most of it) but I am having a hard time finding a way to fit it into my schedule. (If any of you patient readers have time-management tips I would love to hear them!) In addition to the reading, I'm enjoying the classes as well. My fellow students are professional and intelligent and I keep finding myself in a state of excitement and contemplation upon leaving class. My poor boyfriend then has to stay awake listening to my animated, but often disjointed, thoughts on Chaucer, American renaissance lit, or my aversion to critical theory. C'est la vie!

Anyway, enough about me and school! What I really want to talk about are the many articles in my favorite paper/website the UK Guardian that I have missed during these many busy weeks. (I'll admit it, I have the books page bookmarked.)

First of all, There is an interesting podcast featuring Simon Callow and Stephen Fry (Jeeves and Wooster love, anyone?!) about "life writing" and memoirs. There's some good, fun stuff in there.

Blogger Allison Flood has a timely article about "Books That Take Me Back to School" recalling the books that defined her school days (high school and University). What are some of yours?

The city of Oxford has launched its bid to become the World Book Capital for 2014 and I must say I think they'd be a good pick. What other cities do you think should vie for the prize of World Book Capital? Do you think Los Angeles would ever stand a chance?

That's all for today, folks. I hope you all have an excellent weekend. And don't forgot to attend the William Carlos Williams poetry reading in Venice tonight in honor of what would be his one hundred and twenty-seventh birthday!

**bonus bookworm points to anyone who can name the poem and/or writer that this post's title comes from.

End of Summer Fun

2010-09-10T09:22:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

I'm back! With the long holiday weekend comes a short week and we always end up spending it playing catch-up (both with our work and with our writing). Needless to say Friday is very welcome. To celebrate the weekend (and coming week) I have a list of upcoming writing & film events happening that we thought our students might enjoy. Please add any events you're excited about in the comments as well!

James Ellroy reading - TODAY, Sept. 10 7pm at Mystery Bookstore in Westwood

Burbank International Film Festival - Today, Sept. 10 until Friday, Sept. 18

H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival - Saturday, Sept 11 2pm (until midnight!) at Warner Grand Theatre (San Pedro)

Contributors to the PEN Emerging Voices Anthology - Sunday, Sept. 12 5pm at Skylight Books

Film Courage Interactive Screening series - Monday, Sept. 13 7-11pm at Downtown Independent Theatre

Rock critic Simon Reynolds discusses new post-punk book- Thurs, Sept. 16 7pm at Book Soup

William Carlos Williams birthday reading - Friday, Sept 17 7:30pm at Beyond Baroque (Venice, CA)

We hope you have a fabulous weekend everyone! We'll be back next week with more thoughts and insights.

Flowers in the Summer, Fires in the Fall

2010-09-02T14:16:00.000-07:00

Like all good things, summer must come to an end. As Vonnegut said, "So it goes." With labor day on Monday we all know that colored leaves and cooler weather are just around the quarter. But what better way to beat those autumn blues than developing your talents (and ideas) in the classroom! For those who have taken advanced courses with us in the past, I'd like to recommend going a step further by applying for one of our Master Classes. The deadline to apply for these courses is TOMORROW, Friday, September 3 at 5pm.

This fall the Writers' Program is offering Master Classes in both Creative Writing and Screenwriting. These classes are unique in that they offer an extended 20-30 weeks of advanced instruction (beyond the traditional quarter-length courses) in a classroom limited to 8 experienced writers. In addition, students will receive a Master Class certificate upon completion of the course. The units are also transferrable to a UCLA Extension creative writing or screenwriting certificate program.

You should apply to all courses by sending an email submission to: writers@uclaextension.edu There are detailed instructions on the Master Class page linked above. Clicking on the desired course will give you the submissions requirements for that course. In addition to your emailed submission, you must submit an application fee of $50 should to be sent to the Writers Program (postmarked by September 3) at: 10995 Le Conte Ave, Suite 440 Los Angeles, CA 90024. Checks should be made payable to UC Regents.

We wish you luck! For information about other course offerings visit www.uclaextension.edu Enjoy your holiday weekend!

New Beginnings

2010-08-31T09:45:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone,

Hope you all had a nice weekend. I'm writing today with a mixture of anxiety & excitement. You see, I start grad school today! This new step forward made me think about several of our students (and former staff members) who have used our programs as a prelude to an MFA.

While I'm happy with my program and look forward to this new adventure, when I look back on my applications I often wish I'd done a little more preparation. In light of this I wanted to mention two things to our students who are considering applying to MFA programs. The first is to consider the Writers' Program new online course for fall "Preparing for the Fiction MFA." This class is designed to help you piece together your application, strengthen your writing samples through workshopping, and will also include guest contributors who offer their insight into the process. I highly recommend this!

Additionally, I was reading the latest Poets & Writers (love it!), which features their updated MFA program rankings (low-residency rankings are considered separately). These can be found online. However, more interesting to me than the rankings were their list of Dos and Don'ts for MFA personal statements. The DO list includes: Tell a story, be cohesive, show off your style, write about what inspires you, and include specific information pertaining to the program. The list of DON'TS includes: use application speak, use generalities, list aesthetic reasons for applying, or tell the story of how you became a writer. You can read the rest of the tips, peruse excellent articles, and see their various program rankings by picking up a copy of the magazine at your nearest newsstand.

Please leave your thoughts (and tips) about applying to MFA programs in the comments!

Link-a-palooza

2010-08-26T10:56:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

It's been a hectic week at the Writers' Program as we recover from the Writers Faire, prepare for the beginning of fall quarter, and attempt to juggle various tasks with several staff members out on vacation. So instead of choosing one topic to write on I thought I'd point you in the direction of several stories or links that caught my attention.

The first is about Ray Bradbury. He turned 90 at the beginning of this week and there have been celebrations all around Los Angeles. As you may or may not know, much of Fahrenheit 451 was written on a rental typewriter in the basement of UCLA's own Powell Library so we have a special place for him in our Bruin hearts. The man sure has some interesting ideas but you can't accuse him of lacking imagination.

Second, there is an interesting article (a series, actually) in the UK Guardian entitled "A Survey of the Short Story" covering authors various dalliances (some successful, others less so) with the short fiction form. The latest entry addresses Vladimir Nabokov's adventures in short story writing. Let me know your thoughts.

Also in the Guardian Books section is an interesting video interview with AS Byatt in which she discusses her new novel, religion, and her thoughts on social media. Don't you just love her?

For those interested in screenwriting and film, this year's honorary Oscar recipients were named yesterday including Francis Ford Coppola and Jean-Luc Godard (a personal hero). We'll see if Godard actually attends the ceremony (the Hollywood Reporter seems to think not). In addition, the latest (possibly fake) leaked list of upcoming Paramount movies on Gawker.com should give you hope. If those can make it we're sure the project you're developing in your current Writers' Program class can too!

Lastly, a reminder to the television writers that the Emmy Awards are this Sunday on NBC! Here's to hoping that's you someday on the stage.

Have a lovely weekend everyone, and link us to some of your favorite articles in the comments!

Make A List, Check It Twice

2010-08-24T11:26:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

We’re back after an thrilling weekend at our annual Writers Faire. We saw many of you there and we hope you enjoyed yourselves! Now it’s time to gear up for our next big event, the Writers Studio, in February 2011. Keep a look out for more information on our website in the near future.

As I was relaxing after an exciting but exhausting day at the Faire on Sunday night I picked up a copy of newest Writers Digest. The September issue is titled “The Big 10 Issue” and it’s (unsurprisingly) comprised of numerous Top-10 Lists. I know - it sounds boring, right? But I actually found it really interesting, and in some cases even enlightening. The lists include “Essentials to a Writers Life”, “Ways to Stay Sane When Frustrated with Your Writing,” “Reasons the Freelance Life is a Good Life,” and “10 Creative Ways to Beat Writers’ Block Fast.” That is just a sampling of the useful, if not sarcastic or funny, lists in their latest issue. I encourage you to pick it up at your nearest newsstand and enjoy some laughs and insight while supporting print journalism.

In the same spirit of list making, visit our program webpage where we offer an article about “Five Ways to be in the Know about the Writers’ Program.” There are some helpful tips, links and tricks to keep you connected to and involved in the program happenings.

Lastly, be sure to check out the Writers Digest competitions page! I’m sure you’ve all worked through a solid submission or two in your recent Writers’ Program classes.

Writers Faire: Celebrating Writing

2010-08-16T12:16:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't heard our annual Writers Faire event is taking place this Sunday, August 22! It's a FREE event, no RSVP required. There is a small ($10) fee for parking in UCLA Lot #2 on campus, and gourmet food trucks will be on hand for you to purchase your lunch as well. You've undoubtedly read about the faire and browsed descriptions of the various panels we'll be offering, but I thought it might be nice for you to hear firsthand why people keep returning to this event. So I asked a several of our instructors who have chaired our faire panels in the past why they would recommend Writers Faire to other writers.

Creative Writing instructor Victoria Zackheim spoke about the event with enthusiasm saying, "The passion shared between students, writers, and panelists is contagious. This faire reminds me again and again that writing is a joy, and that talking to people of all ages who are driven by the desire to write is like a high-vitamin-energy drink that sustains me for months." (And, well, she also likes collect the Writers' Program goodies.)

Screenwriting Instructor Chris Webb had some words of wisdom for those trying to maximize their experience, "To get the most out of the experience pick a class or two from the [Extension] schedule, ask yourself What do I want from this class? The instructor panel can not only tell you whether the course covers what you want to learn, but you'll get the instructor's specific insights on the subject you want to know about."

Screenwriting instructor Patricia Verducci explained how the Faire was able to impact even a very experienced writer. "It's a great event where writers can 'sample' the teachers and swing by many diverse panels. A couple of years ago I dropped in on a fiction discussion and was so inspired I ended up taking a class and loved it. Attending the Faire got me started writing fiction, which I'd never done before."

But you don't have to take their word for it! Join us on Sunday to see what the Writers Faire can do for your writing. You'll also have a chance to meet the Writers' Program staff, mingle with other writers, and visit representatives from various writing organizations and graduate programs. We look forward to seeing you!

Crafting Character

2010-08-13T12:15:00.000-07:00

While working on a new short story the other night I began to get frustrated. I was several pages in and began to realize that, while the story arc was decent, my central character was bland. Building character is a problem writers struggle with all too often. This is exemplified by the numerous students who flock to Writers' Program courses like Character Archetypes and Life Writing and Creating Villians: A Character Workshop.

I asked Screenwriting instructor, and all around awesome guy, Billy Mernit (who will be teaching Writing the Character-Driven Screenplay this fall) his thoughts on crafting character. "Be as crystal clear about what your characters want as you can be," Billy said. "Show us that they're capable of winning what they so passionately desire. Then put something truly formidable in their way." On the subject of making the characters come alive he added, "If you want to write characters that don't suck, look for their contradictions...Write someone who isn't what she looks like or seems to be, thus paying homage to a fundamental truth about being human. Write a Susan Boyle."

Creative Writing instructor, Linzi Glass (who will be teaching Writing the Novel Scene by Scene in Winter 2011), had some helpful tips as well. “Don’t have a fully developed preconceived notion about your character before you start your book," she said. "Let him or her decide how they want to behave in any given situation, whether it is to be wicked and wild, or calm and quiet, without your intervention. Let your characters lead you. Don’t lead them. I do believe this creates interesting, fresh and credible characters.”

So it's back to the editing room for me, and now I have some helpful tips to fix this character problem of mine. Leave us your own character development tips in the comments! (Also, don't forget our FREE Writers' Faire event on Sunday! More information to follow...)

Why Do We Write?

2010-08-11T12:14:00.000-07:00

I've been struggling with a severe case of writers block lately. I've tried every brainstorming exercise and technique imaginable but I haven't produced anything beyond a few decent sentences in weeks. Fortunately , I'll be attending Daniel Jaffe's Discovering Your Muse short course this weekend. I'm hoping that might force some inspiration out of me. (Check back Monday to find out). But beyond that I started to ask myself - why do I write? When the writing goes well it can feel so rewarding, but other times I feel like I'm torturing myself. And for what? I was talking to my boyfriend about this the other day and neither of us could truly come up with a definitive answer. It's not as if my personal health (well, maybe my mental health) depends upon writing yet it can almost feel like a biological imperative.

So I'm asking you, dear readers. What is your reason for writing, and what do you do when nothing will break the writers block spell? Leave your thoughts and tips in the comments!

Get Out Your Red Pens!

2010-08-09T12:22:00.001-07:00

Hope you all had a nice weekend! I was doing my morning NPR reading when I came across an article that I thought you all might enjoy. This is the story of a man who set out to right the grammatical wrongs in the world and traveled the country while doing it. For many of us his frustration over these errors is something we understand and share. In fact, it's a subject I get into almost weekly when somebody inquires about that possessive apostrophe we employ in the Writers' Program title. How often have you walked past that sign with a plural accidentally changed to a possessive? How many times to we see misspellings on printed signs or in journals? Well, this guy decided to do something about it. You can read the full article here.

What have you all been reading or writing lately? Tell us in the comments!

Writers Faire is Quickly Approaching!

2010-08-06T12:11:00.001-07:00

Happy Friday everyone!

I just wanted to remind you all that our annual Writers’ Faire is coming up on Sunday, August 22nd! The event is FREE, no RSVP required (parking in UCLA Lot 2 is $10 per day). The event takes place from 11am – 3pm in Young Hall Courtyard and will feature instructor panels, visiting writers groups, representatives from MFA programs, and course advisement as well as food trucks to curb your hunger! You will also be able to receive a 10% enrollment discount on fall courses (advanced courses excluded). We encourage everyone to attend, and invite your friends! You can see a full PDF schedule of the writing panels online here.

Also, don't forget to check out Writers' Program instructor Gayle Brandeis reading from her work Delta Girls at Vroman's in Pasadena tonight.

Have a great weekend!

We're Still Here!

2010-08-04T10:05:00.001-07:00

Hello new friends,

I'm sorry I've neglected you. It’s been a week of changes here at the Writers’ Program. With Corey and Daniel now gone, we’ve welcomed new staff members and watched veteran staff members tackle new positions. Be sure to check out our website on Monday when we’ll be posting an article about all the changes (along with a much debated “family picture.”) Alongside these changes I’m proud to announce a new frontier of my own. At the end of the month I’ll be starting my graduate studies in English at Loyola Marymount University! So, just as Corey blogged about the trials and tribulations of her MFA program, you can look forward to my thoughts (and complaints) about life as a graduate student. I’m both nervous and excited. I have concerns about juggling the demands of work and school, but I’m also eager to jump into new things and test myself as a writer. We’ll see how it goes!

In addition to this personal news, I wanted to let you all know that a new Los Angeles-based literary magazine, SWELL, is now accepting submissions! Their website, http://www.theswellmag.com/ has more information. The theme for their first issue is predictions, so do with that what you will. I’m sure you’ve all got a great story, poem, or non-fiction piece just waiting to come out. Email your submissions to michele@theswellmag.com

That’s about it for now! I’ll be back later this week with some words of wit or wisdom, or at least some attempt at either. This will be a time of transition for all of us as I ease into this new world of blogging so please let me know what you'd like to see on here in the comments. This blog is for you, and I'd like to write about and discuss things that interest you. Thanks for the feedback!

Staying In the Know

2010-07-27T15:00:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone,

I have a bit of exciting news! Creative Screenwriting Magazine has a feature on the Writers’ Program Screenwriting Programs in the July/August 2010 issue entitled Staying in the Know with the UCLA Extension Writers' Program. Though the issue centers around an overview of various film schools which they have titled “Film School Roundup”, they dedicated an entirely separate feature to our program. What an honor! The excellent (and very flattering) feature was written by Lisa Moore who interviewed our very eloquent Program Director, Linda Venis, for the piece. Several of our esteemed program instructors (though we love them all!) are also noted in the article.

Unfortunately the feature isn't available online, but you can pick it up at your nearest newsstand (my journalist boyfriend will thank you). And if our feature isn't enough to entice you, the issue also has excellent articles on Inception and the much-anticipated Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.

You Say Goodbye...

2010-07-23T13:15:00.001-07:00

Now I have that Beatles song in my head, and not a bad one to have: "You say goodbye and I say hello...". And yeah, I know they use this in Target ads (I do like Target, so I guess that's fine, but I really wasn't sure about Microsoft using the Rolling Stones' "Start it Up"). Anyway, this is my last post here. As Hillary our screenwriting advisor (and new Writers' Program blogger) has said, I'm one foot out the door to New Orleans. I've lived in LA for the past, I think, 7 years. Leaving Tuesday morning, 4am so that the drive through the desert isn't impossible (the Volvo guy said he fixed the AC in my car, but I'm not 100% sure that it's cold enough).

So, this should be a farewell post, but of course it hasn't hit me yet. I'm still in LA for a few more days. Sure, the apartment is all packed up and the man and I are sleeping in sleeping bags (fancy that name) on the floor. My coffee maker's already packed (big mistake, I realized this morning). I've said many goodbyes, have had dinners and brunches and coffees. We finally made it to the Museum of Jurassic Technology, which has been on my list at least the past four years, and Watts Towers and the Angels' Flight downtown. But it still hasn't quite hit.

Actually, the man and I made a list a few months ago of LA places we wanted to see again before leaving. See, we've known about this move for a long time. But as we've gone through the list, especially hitting some old favorites (El Coyote, Philippes, that last drive down the winding part of Sepulveda), I realized that in some way this running around is just trying to re-capture fun, interesting times had before. Recreate them almost, have them again--which is silly, isn't it? That's one big motivation for the move, anyway: to see something new, create a life we don't know.

Which is all to say I think I'm ready for this move. It is sad, yes, to know we're seeing people that we may not see again for months or years. But we're not on a wagon train heading West; social networking will help keep us together in some ways (I say that as the shyest person in the room-- how much easier it is to "network" on your computer than have real conversations with people).

Anyway, an important fact in all this, as I'm making some attempt to process the impending change, is that I spent the past six years working at the Writers' Program. Those years have been some of the most productive, life-changing ones. The Program has really taught me how to be a writer. I had some vague motivations (notions?) towards writing before, but the Program, the amazing teachers here, provided guidance, made it seem possible, proved that it was. Not that I have a book out or anything, but I'm working at it...

So, really this post should be a big Thank you! to this program, to the wonderful staff here, especially Linda and Cindy-- our leaders-- and the many, many creative, dynamic, super-intelligent forces that are our teachers here. I'm grateful for the time here and wish everyone the very best, or whatever they think is the very best.

Since this is a blog post, it doesn't have to have a well-rounded ending. So, I'll stop here. Need to get two new tires for the car before our big departure. And the man keeps coming over here saying, "Let's go!" Guess it's time then. Bye, everyone.

When Technology Fails

2010-07-21T11:02:00.000-07:00

We've had an interesting start to our week here at the Writers' Program. Our email server is down and we are going on day two without email. When I arrived at work yesterday to the news I thought, "okay, I can still do all the tasks that don't require email." I quickly realized how much technology has taken over all areas of our business. Every time I went to complete a task I found that I needed to either send or reference an email to complete said task.

We are still able to conduct phone business, and our internet access is working - so we can navigate CMS and our webpages - but a large portion of our work has been put on hold. Our boss joked that she was thinking of taking out a typewriter and passing around a memo in an envelope like the "old days." In the meantime, we're making do with what we have and our tech guys have been working for two days straight (even overnight!) in order to resolve the issue. If you have questions or urgent matters you can call our Writers' Program main line at 310-825-9415.

I have a few other talking points for you:

First, I'd like to note that today is Ernest Hemingway's birthday. He was born 111 years ago today.

Second, we are trying to come up with a clever name for the blog and we'd love to hear your suggestions. I'm not good at naming things (I'm famously indecisive), so please leave your thoughts in the comments!

I hope you all have a great week in which technology does not fail you!

Literary Hodgepodge

2010-07-16T11:31:00.000-07:00

We’ve had a hectic week at the Writers’ Program but things are slowly settling down. Corey and Daniel are back from their residency and only have one more week before they leave us for New Orleans. We’re really going to miss both of them! Corey is busy getting caught up and training her successor so I’m blogging again today. I’ve been too busy to get much reading done this week (I am slowly reading Thomas Pynchon’s Mason & Dixon) but I do have some exciting literary tidbits to share:

The first is a new site that has digitized and transcribed dozen’s of William Faulkner’s lectures and readings from his years as University of Virginia’s first Writer in Residence. I’ve read interviews and transcripts of his readings over the years but it’s really a special thing to actually hear him talk about The Sound and the Fury and answer student questions about his writing process. The recordings are by no means professional but they sure are fascinating. You can find the recordings and transcripts here. We hope you enjoy them!

The second item is that the University of West Florida’s literary mag, Panhandler is currently accepting submissions. This is a unique literary journal that is published in three different formats: in print, as a downloadable pdf, and open-source e-magazine. You can find submission guidelines (and past issues) at their website here.

There are also several literary events happening throughout the Los Angeles area within the next week or so:
On Tuesday, July 20 at 7pm Hal Ackerman of UCLA’s school of Theatre Film and Television will be doing a fiction reading at Vromans in Pasadena.
On Thursday, July 22 contributors will be reading from the anthology Robot Hearts edited by UCLA Extension instructor Shawna Kenney. The reading will begin at 8pm at the Hustler Hollywood store.
On Saturday, July 24th Esotouric tours will begin offering the latest in their series of tours dedicated to Los Angeles writers. This one is dedicated to “the poet laureate of skid row,” Charles Bukowski. Further information about this and future tours can be found on their website.

If you know of other exciting events going on feel free to leave them in the comments. I hope you all have a relaxing weekend!

Blog on the Move

2010-07-08T11:51:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

As Corey prepares to move to New Orleans we are also in the process of moving the blog to Wordpress. Oddly fitting, don't you think? You will still be able to access old posts and comments on this page but the archives will also be imported to the new page: http://uclaextensionwritersprogram.wordpress.com/ . Once Corey leaves all the blog updates will take place on that site so please bookmark it! Our official move date will be Monday, August 2.

This week has been a busy one after the 4 day weekend so I'm sorry I wasn't able to update earlier. I was able to finish Norwegian Wood just as our plane landed back in (not so) sunny California. I have to say, the first third or so of the book was slow, but I ultimately really enjoyed it. However, I still didn't find it as satisfying as say, Wind Up Bird Chronicle. Nevertheless, the characters were well-developed and the story itself is both tragic and sensual. I think it's the most accessible of Murakami's books and it has potential to be excellent movie provided that they don't change the story too much. According to the film's sparse IMDB page, it should be released later this year. Anyway, what did you read over the long weekend? We'd love to hear your suggestions and thoughts in the comments. And be sure to check back next week as we'll have some exciting literary events to announce!

An Introduction

2010-07-02T09:51:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

Corey is out for the next week at her MFA residency so I will be guest blogging for the next few days - you can consider this a practice run. As most of you know Corey (and her man) will be moving to New Orleans at the end of the month. All of us here at the Writers' Program are going to miss them terribly! Upon her exit from the program I will be attempting to fill her position as blogger extraordinaire; so I thought I'd introduce myself and get my feet wet.

My name is Hillary Hintzen. I’m a relatively new addition to the Writers’ Program, though I’ve worked in the Extension Arts Department for over a year. I serve as the screenwriting program assistant but I also have personal interest in creative writing and literature. In other words, I attempt to write short stories and was a nerdy English major in college (at UCLA, Go Bruins!). I’m excited to be working on the blog and I hope you’ll enjoy my contributions. As a side note, UCLA Extension has been moving their blogs to the Wordpress service so they can all be relatively uniform and share a server. By the end of next week you should be able to follow our blogging and happenings at: http://uclaextensionwritersprogram.wordpress.com/ . We are hoping to move the archives of our current blog over as well so you can go back and read all of Corey’s past entries and literary thoughts.

But I want to get to know all of you too - so tell me, what are your plans for the holiday weekend? My boyfriend and I will be leaving for Vail, Colorado early tomorrow morning for a combination 4th of July/ wedding celebration. Whenever I‘m planning a trip my first question is, “What should I bring along to read?”

I recently started reading Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood. I have read a few of Murakami’s other works and so far I’m not enjoying this one quite as much as the others – then again I’m only on page 23. I started reading this book largely due to the fact that they’re adapting it for the big screen (with a score by Radiohead’s Johnny Greenwood) and I refuse to see the movie until I’ve read the book first. I’m always apprehensive when the works of great writers are adapted into screenplays because nine times out of ten I end up hating the film (case in point: The Road) but I always feel compelled to see them anyway. So, what are your 4th of July plans, and what will you be reading for your weekend getaway? Give us your picks in the comments.

Have a happy and safe holiday weekend!

Great ideas

2010-06-29T17:12:00.001-07:00

So, fiction writer and instructor Alyx Dellamonica is running a new feature on her blog: "a series of interviews, Journeys, with some other writers about their road to publication." I think it's a great idea. Check it out: http://alyxdellamonica.com/category/journeys/.

And speaking of great ideas, I'll be in North Carolina soon (red eye flight tomorrow night) for the summer residency in my low-res MFA program. While I'm out those 10 or so days, I'm very happy to introduce Writers' Program staffer (and screenwriting advisor) Hillary Hintzen as the guest blogger. Actually, consider this a trial run, as she will take over the Writers' Program blog when I move to New Orleans at the end of July.

I will post a heartfelt goodbye, considering my six (!) years at the Writers' Program and even more in Los Angeles, but right now I'm so insanely overwhelmed with details for work, for the residency, for the coming move (not to mention the many LA places still on my must-hit before we leave list -- why didn't I go to Catalina yet? or the Wild Animal Park in San Diego?), that I've gone into a sort of hyper-robotic mode. As our pal Gabe said, none of this will hit us (the man and me, that is) until we're on the 5 the morning we're leaving Los Angeles.

In the meantime, please welcome Hillary, folks. I think you're going to like her.

Revision = re-vision

2010-06-24T16:53:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to post this quick paragraph from fiction writer Benjamin Percy's great article about revision in the May/June Poets & Writers:

"I have thrown away thousands of pages--and sometimes you need to do that--sometimes you have to start over. But sometimes you don't. Sometimes your story needs some serious renovation--the walls are full of mold, the roof is leaking--and sometimes it simply needs some cosmetic work, a little paint splashed on the walls..."

It looks like the article is available only in the print issue. If you can get your hands on it, do it. Most inspiring article I've ever read about revising work.

Low-residency check-in

2010-06-17T15:39:00.001-07:00

A friend of mine just graduated from her low-residency fiction program. We'd taken Writers' Program short story workshops together a few years ago and started our low-res MFA programs the same year. And now she's finished already? Eek! That went fast.

I'm headed in the same direction: one semester left. But I'm really milking it-- taking this semester off to write (and, as many of my friends know, move to New Orleans with the man), and then I may even try to squeeze in another semester before entering that final semester (when the thesis is due, when we have to teach a craft class to our peers).

I think my fear comes from my initial expectation that after four semesters of an MFA program, I'd magically have a viable collection of short stories. I'm not even close to that, although I've gained so many other, possibly less tangible benefits. And I think I'm sort of in denial about that, too. Maybe with the semester off, maybe with an extra semester and then the final semester, I will have that collection done. It's not necessarily the approach they want us to take, I think. In my program, publication is emphasized much less than process. (In fact, though several of my classmates have recently published books, I haven't heard much about them within the program itself; it's within the channels of Facebook that everyone markets themselves.)

I think this semester off will be a trial run. How will it be to write without the grad deadlines, without the instant feedback from brilliant people two days later? It's going to happen eventually. The what next after grad school will always be: keep writing. My friend just found that out herself.

Speaking of 6...

2010-06-17T15:28:00.001-07:00

...a student pointed us towards an interesting site: Six Sentences. This could be an interesting place to submit your flash fiction or other super-short pieces. It's probably much easier to write a six-sentence story than a six-word one.

Check out the site for exact submission details. Here's an excerpt of their guidelines: "Just write six sentences. Say anything you like. All submissions will receive a response within six days."

Now, get to work on your shorts! Clock's a-tickin'.

And the Cyberhouse 6-word story contest winners are...

2010-06-15T16:48:00.000-07:00

Thank you to the hundreds of students (literally) who participated in the Cyberhouse: An Online Open House earlier this month. We had dozens of lively, interesting conversations. More than 30 writing instructors shared their expert advice and guidance. And many, many submissions to our six-word story contest flooded our in-boxes.

What is this six-word story contest? you ask. Just what you'd expect: a story told in six words only, no more, no less. (In fact, we had to disqualify a few entries for squeezing in one extra word. Nice try, guys.) Our idea for the contest traces back to that super-famous Hemingway story: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." Devastating, isn't it?

The Writers' Program students who entered our contest also touched upon a certain something in their six-word tales. Please help us congratulate our three winners! Read their stories below:

Marriage counseling -- husband brought girlfriend. Adios! – Nona Bice-Stephens
Headline: Peace! Our bomb clinched it! – TaraShea Nesbit
Nun Kissed the Priest. God Knows – Sunita Heredia

Thank you again for all who participated in the Cyberhouse and entered the contest! And congrats again to our winners.

Steve Almond's response to New Yorker's 20 Under 40

2010-06-15T11:17:00.000-07:00

By now, most of us have heard about the New Yorker's 20 Under 40 list. http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/20-under-40/writers-q-and-a

Is it depressing or inspiring? Can you believe a couple of writers on it were born in the 1980s?! What have I been doing with my days, I wonder.

Fiction and nonfiction writer Steve Almond writes a fantastic response to it:
http://therumpus.net/2010/06/the-new-yorker’s-one-over-40/

Pub Party Recap

2010-06-10T12:43:00.000-07:00

Thank you to the hundreds of students who attended the Writers' Program Publication Party last night at the Skirball. Such strong energy in that auditorium as our 18 poets, novelists, short fiction & nonfiction writers read their new work. We hope you all left inspired. I know I did (if not a little sugar-buzzed from the dessert bar at the reception afterwards).

And for those of you who couldn't make it out last night, here's a taste: videos of readings by instructors Barbara Abercrombie and Cecilia Brainard. You will enjoy these! (A big thank you to Cecilia for sending these to us!)

Click here:

Barbara Abercrombie's reading

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's reading

Poet Laurel Ann Bogen on stage fright, writing in a vacuum, and her students' Diesel Books reading on June 16th

2010-06-03T17:29:00.000-07:00

Hey Poets!

We don't write about you enough on this blog. Let's change that right now. There's a great poetry reading coming up June 16th: Writers' Program instructor Laurel Ann Bogen's Creative Writing: Poetry class will read recent poems at the Diesel Bookstore at the Brentwood Country Mart (225 26th St. Santa Monica) at 6pm.

I attended one of Laurel Ann's student readings back when Dutton's in Brentwood was just about to close its doors and can tell you the students' work was powerful. You should go.

Maybe poetry as a form lends itself to performance more than fiction does. Maybe. I wanted to know more about the way Laurel Ann prepares her students for their reading and her own approach to writing poetry. Enjoy our Q&A below (especially her comment about stage fright!).

Here goes...

Writers' Program: Why do you set up readings for your poetry students?

Laurel Ann Bogen: For some of my students this class is a gateway to whether or not they would like to continue in their studies in poetry. And, because giving readings are very much a part
of the experience of being a poet, I feel that why not let them experience the "whole she-bang". The class usually is 12 weeks long and for those who complete the class this is a sort of "graduation" where they can show their friends and family the work they have done over the quarter, as well as a celebration of their creativity.

WP: What advice do you give them about choosing the right piece for the audience? Any tips about pacing or stage presence or calming their nerves in public?

Laurel Ann: Usually I tell them to choose their poems as if they were giving a concert. Vary the types and themes they read. Perhaps start with a political poem, then read a love poem, followed, say, by a humorous poem, a serious poem, etc. They want to show all the sides of their work. One thing that seems to help them with stage fright is the true story I often tell them about possibly the worst experience anyone could ever have at a reading. It was my very first out of town poetry reading (in Austin) and right in the middle my pants fell down (I am not kidding). Nothing they can ever experience will be as mortifying as that was. If you want to know more about this, you need to take my class.

WP: What is your favorite aspect of reading in public?

Laurel Ann: When I feel like I am connecting with the audience. Especially after the reading when folks speak to me. Like all other poets, I write in a vacuum, often unaware if what I am writing is worthwhile or will mean anything to anyone other than myself. I find it very gratifying when I learn that it does.

WP: What do you look forward to most about your students’ readings?

Laurel Ann: Their sense of accomplishment, also I enjoy meeting their family and friends.

WP: When you write poetry, do you consider how the poem would play aloud?

Laurel Ann: Not always, but sometimes. It depends on the theme. Some poems I never read aloud.

WP: What are you favorite venues around town (for both your own reading and others’ readings)?

Laurel Ann: Diesel Books has been great, I also am fond of Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena, Skylight Books in Los Feliz, Village Bookstore in Pacific Palisades but the #1 place in my life has been and always will be Beyond Baroque in Venice.

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Thanks again to Laurel Ann Bogen for her responses! And see y'all on the 16th.

Cyberhouse now in the House

2010-06-01T10:22:00.000-07:00

How many bad house puns can we come up with? (A favorite has been Cyberhouse Rules.) The Cyberhouse is the Writers' Program's annual virtual open house-- which kicks off today with more than 30 online teachers on Blackboard answering your questions about summer online courses. We have a writing contest on the Cyberhouse. We have lively discussion. We have advisors' baby pictures (worth the price of admission alone!). And we offer a 10% discount off most online summer workshops for Cyberhouse participants who enroll during the event. And it's free to participate-- all you have to do is register for it: https://www.uclaextension.edu/r/Course.aspx?reg=V5504.

You have to know that this Cyberhouse has won awards, is the first virtual open house of its kind. I know, I got to drive to Palm Springs once with our boss to pick one up (she had tons of writing and relationship advice). The Writers' Program used to hold the Open House on the UCLA campus, but now the Cyberhouse offers so many more possibilities: it basically allows writers from Greece and Egypt and Detroit and Los Angeles to meet all together in one place online. (Thank you, Al Gore.)

I could go on, but you probably get the idea. And I'm not that great at writing commercials. Just know that the event is going on now, so you might as well sign up and get your discount on summer classes.

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Anyone have a great Memorial Day weekend? Sure, you did. The man and I are obsessively watching The West Wing. I know, I'm a little behind the times, eh? The man swears the show took a nosedive when Aaron Sorkin left it. I can agree with that, but I still want to know what happens. The characters are that compelling. We had to run over to Amoeba Records late Thursday night to pick up the fifth season. Now I have to find seasons six and seven cheap and used online. Also, we saw Flight of the Conchords at the Hollywood Bowl ("Bowie's in space" has been in my head all weekend). And just started reading Anthony Doerr's memoir Four Seasons in Rome about the year Doerr, his wife, and their months-old twins moved to Italy when he won the Rome Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. I've read several of Doerr's short stories and can recommend this reflection, which seems to be both about a writer balancing novel-writing with infant-raising and about a man confronting time and mortality (easy to do when you live minutes from centuries-old marble temples and palaces). It would be incredibly distracting to move to such a dynamic/vibrant/rich city and will yourself to sit down and write a novel, wouldn't it?

Does writing get easier over time? Guest blogger Christopher Meeks wrestles with novel structure

2010-05-26T11:21:00.000-07:00

Writers, when it comes to narrative structure, are you a meticulous plotter or the dive in and go type? (I'm dive in and go.)

Today we're very happy to present a guest blog post by Writers' Program fiction instructor Christopher Meeks, who struggles with structuring his novel. Here he talks with the pros, including Writers' Program novel-writing teachers Caroline Leavitt and Lynn Hightower. (The post originally appeared on Caroline's blog and is currently also on Chris's own blog. How's that for spreading the word!?)

Thank you, Chris, for sharing your insights with us. Here we go...

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Struggles for Writers: News At Eleven
by Christopher Meeks

Up-and-coming writers want to hear how down the line things will get easier. Heck, I want to hear that. Thus, when I sent my current novel-in-progress, Ten Days to a Bad Habit, to my agent Jim McCarthy in New York, I wanted to hear how my first mystery was an amazing delight, staying true to the genre while leaping to new heights. I hoped the tension would squeeze him, tempered by occasional comic relief. I hoped to hear it’d be an easy sale.

Before I go any farther, you have to realize most writers think this way. They’re imagining the European vacations they’ll take, the Ski-Doo lessons in Monte Carlo Bay they’ll enjoy, or even the college tuition for a son they can afford before Chapter One is finished.

Jim instead told me, after tactfully mentioning his favorite parts including some tension and comic relief, that he was mystified about my protagonist’s initial leap into his sleuthing. There was something about the opening few chapters that he couldn’t pin down but it didn’t work. In fact, unlike with his other authors, he couldn’t offer a fix or a solution. I knew where to look: the structure. If the basic plot doesn’t work, whether in genre fiction or in literary, you’re in trouble.

Thus, I did what any former journalist writing a novel might do: contact a blogging author and suggest she write an article about structure. Maybe I’d learn something. I emailed Caroline Leavitt, author of nine novels and book reviewer for People and the Boston Globe, and she said, “That’s a great idea for a blog. I’m so busy—would you mind writing it as a guest blog?” This is what I wrote for her site, CarolineLeavittville.

This challenge also meant I had to hunt down any answers on the subject. I contacted three published authors that I respect, including Caroline Leavitt, whose Girls In Trouble introduced me to her wonderful work. I nabbed Janet Fitch, whose novel White Oleander I was teaching in my Santa Monica College English classes before I met her as a colleague at USC where I taught for two years. I also asked mystery writer and Shamus-Award-winning author Lynn Hightower, whose book Fortunes of the Dead was first devoured by my wife Ann before I got to it.

Lynn and Caroline are also “virtual” colleagues of mine at UCLA Extension—teaching novel writing in online classes. Caroline lives in New York, and Lynn, in Tennessee. I teach on the Westwood campus, usually a class called “The Writer’s Workout,” which has students reading a lot and writing, writing, writing.

I asked the authors first not about structure but, “What is the biggest wrong turn struggling novelists make?” I started with Caroline, who this summer will be working with up to three students in the writing program’s mentorship class. She says the biggest mistake is that students give up too easily. “Next would be starting too early, taking too much time to set up the conflict. You don't really need yards of pages about the weather or the land before you get to the murder.”

Janet said the biggest problem with her graduate students in USC’s Master of Professional Writing Program is that, “They don't write in scenes. I see so much work in which people drive around, go from party to party. There's a lot of ‘action,’ but they never stop and have a real scene. So what's a scene? A scene starts and ends in one place at one time, and something happens in it after which the character can't go back to the way it was before.

“They also like to write with a group protagonist. They don't get that stories need a real protagonist. I think it's that they're still ‘me and my buddies’ in their own minds. They don't identify with themselves as separate from the group, with their own needs, wants and desires. I think that falls away as we get older.”

Lynn, who this summer will be teaching Crafting the Scene in the Novel, clearly agrees with Janet and said, “What I see, over and over, is students spending enormous chunks of time and effort on a story that does not work for squat--so much effort for a plot that does not work.”

In classes with advanced students, those who have a draft of a full novel already finished, Lynn has them write out in a few sentences each scene of their novel. They present the resulting outline to her and the other students for feedback. Most of her writers usually see how their basic plot is flawed--boring in parts or simply having some scenes that don’t add to the whole. It’s a tough time to be one of those people.

Lynn explained, “So many writers, and we've all been guilty, spend their time and effort defending what they've written rather than look at it logically and wisely enough to let it go when it does not work. So many students perfect and agonize over the craft of their pretty words, which is of course crucial, and completely pointless if the story does not work.

“Structure is how you make the story and pace work, and without a strong story and structure, your novel has no chance of publication. Bad story structure is the one thing you won't be forgiven. You can make any mistake so long as the story structure and pace are holding tight. It is the reason novels don't get published.”

I wanted to know more about these structure problems, so I asked them how do they teach structure? Caroline said, “You can't teach talent but you can teach structure. I make my students outline, do scene maps, character arcs, and I teach screenplay technique, which can help.”

Janet said that, “I teach them to write in scenes. Then I teach them what a story is and to watch for what the character learns. How to put pressure on character, the character's makeup, his intrinsic conflicts, in order to force him to make the changes he's going to need to make to resolve his problem in the world. Structure is character under pressure and watching for the moment of illumination. That's story, and a novel is a very complex story with lots of realizations and moments of illumination.”

Lynn said, “The story must begin where things get interesting and build from there. I try to get students (and myself) to hold the story accountable on every level the moment their feet touch down in my class. I talk to them about the overall structure in a lot of my feedback and often find they sort of hear me, but tune it out.”

Lynn says that bad structure leads to three forms of novel death: backstory rapture, a love affair with setup and character, and the convoluted plot line.

Backstory rapture is that the main story is put on the back burner so that all sorts of exposition about the past is brought up. A love affair with setup and character means, “The story begins to get interesting around page one hundred twenty-nine–long after your reader is gone. It means long stretches where nothing much happens because the writer has gone off on a tangent, because they did not have their story mapped out in the first place and have no idea they've taken an odd turn.”

The convoluted plot line is one that is “complex and murky and there are hints of this and that, but the logic and structure are hard as hell to follow, and the writer can't tell what the story is about in less than, say, ten pages. They simply can't give you an elevator pitch because there is no central story.”

I happened to start as a playwright and short story writer, and I never approached a new short story knowing where it would go. I had some basic ideas, but I liked the write-a-quick-first-draft approach and then see what I had. The first draft for me was the basic raw material where I’d move things around, throw things away, and add new dialogue and scenes. I’d struggle to sort out why I wrote the story—what was in my subconscious mind? I looked for meaning, and when I found it, I’d rewrite. I wrote in scenes, which I learned from playwriting.

When it came to novels, I saw early on that I couldn’t write 350 pages and then decide I made a wrong turn on page ten and I’d have to throw out 340 pages. Rather, I learned the joy in writing an outline and playing “What if?” I could imagine a whole scene in nanoseconds, and if I saw as it played out in my mind that it didn’t work, well, I’d try another “What if.”

Despite this approach, though, I’m guessing that what’s happened in my mystery novel is a lot of rationalizing. I’m typing out scene summaries based on how they are presently on the page, and I can see that the story can start sooner and that at another point there’s a leap in logic. I’ve tried not to think about all the writing I'll be throwing out or what I'd have to write from scratch. I’m also discovering as I type out summaries of what I have that there's an art to the outline. I've been paying attention to three things: 1) What's the conflict in the scene? 2) Does each scene build on what comes before it? That is, is there a sense of plot and is the action rising? 3) Do the subplots fit in clearly and juxtaposed well to the main plot?

I asked my three authors, “Are you more of an intuitive go-with-your-guts kind of writer, or are you closer to John Irving who spends a year plotting out his books before he starts writing?” As you may have guessed from Lynn’s earlier responses, she’s someone who meticulously plans.

Caroline said, “I'm more of a John Irving type. I know there are ‘follow your pen’ type of writers out there who happily spill their stories out on the pages, but I find that those kinds of books still are structured and often follow a more rigid formula than if the author had mapped and diagrammed.”

Janet falls into the follow-your-pen type. She’d been a journalist earlier in her life, working on deadlines where instinct helped. She still works on instinct and said, “I feel my way along, don't really shape it as an even semi-coherent story until I have a complete draft. Can't shape what you don't know. I'm easily bored. If I had it all plotted out, I would rebel when it came to writing it. Where's the surprise, from my point of view, the discovery? It would just be grunt work.”

This shows, too, there is not just one way to write. You have to discover what’s best for you, understanding that you’ll have readers, and you want to keep those readers on board.

For my novel, I’ll sort it out. I wish writing was often easier, but we all struggle. Now that I wrote the article I wanted to read, it’s back to the novel. Monte Carlo Bay is calling.

Pub Party countdown!

2010-05-24T17:45:00.000-07:00

Just about two weeks until our Writers' Program Publication Party at the Skirball Cultural Center. This is the big event held the evening of Wednesday, June 9th, featuring 18 Writers' Program instructors each reading 5 minutes of their recently published work.

Have you RSVP'd yet? Harry Youtt (pictured here) will be there. Email writers@uclaextension.edu if you'd like to go.

A visit with Thomas Hardy

2010-05-20T16:50:00.001-07:00

I was home sick Monday, having just turned in my final grad packet of the semester the night before. I wasn't even playing hooky but had a sore throat that could have eaten Manhattan and North Dakota combined (it hasn't left yet, but thanks for asking). Anyway, in the past three-week period for my MFA program I'd read a ton of contemporary work: Tony Earley's Jim the Boy, Yiyun Li's A Thousand Years of Good Prayers (great title, right?), Antonya Nelson's Nothing Right, and then as mentioned before, Dave Cullen's Columbine. So this day off Monday, put under house arrest by sickness, I picked up a novel I'd heard about my whole life and never thought to read: Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Ubervilles.

What a difference a century makes. Tess came out in 1891. How spartan so much contemporary fiction seems compared to this. How lacking in words like "shan't," "irksome," and "gossamer." I like that at a pivotal moment of despair, Hardy's narrator invokes the heavens, brings in swirling "darkness and silence," and asks, "Where was Tess's guardian angel?" Today that might be labeled pure melodrama-- hell, I'd like to try dramatizing a moment like that sometime (didn't Dave Eggers do something like that in A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius?)-- but here it fits with the rest of the story.

It's also interesting to read this in the framework of today's behavior. I'm only halfway through the book, but it seems that more than half the central conflict could be cleared up by an honest chat over coffee. The heroine's choices keep making me think, "Come on," (sometimes out loud on the bus). So, this is what I've been hearing so much about since about seventh grade? I must say Hardy makes very good (and frequent) use of coincidence. And he has some interesting insights embedded throughout, so I also wonder, what kind of book would Hardy write if he were living now instead of more than a century ago...?

Really, though, I'm drawn in by the story and really want to know where it ends up. My book cover shows a maiden in muslin weeping, and a friend told me that Hardy is the "most depressing man in the world," so I fear bad things. But I've been wrong before.

How's your writing (and reading) going?

Of rattlesnakes, six-figure book deals, and David Sedaris: a Q&A with writer/instructor Gordon Grice

2010-05-11T14:59:00.000-07:00

Today I'm happy to present a Q&A with nonfiction writer and instructor Gordon Grice whose latest book Deadly Kingdom: The Book of Dangerous Animals was just released. Here Gordon traces the origins of the book and evolution of his writing career. (See, he was a workshop student once himself!)

Help me welcome Gordon Grice to our blog!

Writers' Program: Deadly Kingdom: The Book of Dangerous Animals is out this month. Congratulations! Is it directly linked to your previous book The Red Hourglass: Lives of the Predators?
Gordon Grice: No, except that both depend on my love for wildlife and my habit of looking at it much closer than I ought to. Red Hourglass is a book of memoirs, more than anything else; all of the pieces in it begin with my childhood or the lore my family taught me. Deadly Kingdom is also full of personal stories, but it reaches further to talk about animals I'd never encountered before. I wanted to survey the whole kingdom, or at least the dangerous parts.

WP: What inspired these books?
Gordon: My rural childhood. Before I was seven, I'd had encounters with a mountain lion, a bobcat, several rattlesnakes, some black widow spiders, and an evil pony named Snoopy. Also, since we lived in the country, I fell asleep to the song of coyotes every night. I came to write Deadly Kingdom after I was stalked by a cougar one evening in the Rockies. That was only a few years ago, but it brought me back to the questions of my youth. The notions I'd been taught about animals had changed over time, depending on whom I talked to and when. I wanted to figure out, first of all, the truth about how dangerous the different animals can be, and second, why our attitudes about them are so confused and contradictory.

WP: How long have you been working on Deadly Kingdom?
Gordon: About seven years, but I'm claiming my whole life was research for it.

WP: How did you end up getting the quote from David Sedaris on the cover?
Gordon: I'm a big fan of his, and in fact I'm using his book Naked as a text in the Intermediate Creative Nonfiction course I'm teaching right now. In his latest book, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, there's a piece called "April in Paris," about keeping pet spiders in plastic containers. That's the sort of thing I've done since I was a kid. I thought he might get a kick out of my book, so I asked my editor to send it to him. It turns out he was a fan of Red Hourglass and was happy to read Deadly Kingdom.

WP: As a writer, you have credits in very impressive publications, including The New Yorker. How did you get started, and how did your career evolve?
Gordon: I knew since childhood that writing was the thing for me, but I didn't know how to go about it. I was always trying to write a story and getting frustrated with my lousy results. I went to college and signed up for creative writing classes, but at first I dropped them because I was too intimidated by the thought of letting others look at my failures. But eventually I took classes in poetry, fiction and screenwriting. I went to the University of Arkansas for an MFA in poetry. Near the end of my time there, I took a workshop in nonfiction, and that was a big breakthrough for me. It allowed me to write about wildlife, and eventually other subjects, with an intensity I'd never managed before.

I started publishing in literary magazines—poems, short stories, essays. I even wrote songs for a musician I knew. My big break came when Harper's reprinted an essay of mine from a litmag. The day after it hit the stands, I got a call from an agent. She put me to work on a book proposal about my wildlife adventures. That became The Red Hourglass.

I was used to the molasses world of litmags, so what happened next bewildered me. Within a week of finishing the pitch, I had a six-figure book deal in hand. I had a great time writing the book; whenever I dug through the woodpile in search of a rattlesnake, I could call it research. After the book came out, I was able to get my pitches read at magazines that previously had sent me form rejections.

WP: People are always curious about this: what is your writing routine?
Gordon: I write every day, but beyond that I don't have a routine. I work around my family and my teaching.

WP: How do you approach the revision process?
Gordon: With a cup of coffee and a disk of Steely Dan. It has to be a fluid, playful, creative kind of work. If I'm laboring at it, the prose comes out bad. So a lot of the work is freewriting, getting myself into the right groove.

WP: What are you working on now?
Gordon: I'm writing the lyrics for an album called "Flights of Moon" by James Addison Conrad. I'm also working on a book to be called Something Something: Tales from a Naturalist's Notebook. I can't tell you much about it because I don't know where it's going yet.

WP: How do you balance writing and teaching? In what ways do both pursuits feed each other?
Gordon: For me, teaching is a way of talking about this stuff we do that outsiders just don't get. Our industrial world doesn't have much tolerance for people who want to make things out of daydreams. We artistic types live in solitude, sometimes even among the ones who love us. But in a writing class, everybody already believes, everybody accepts that the creative life is worthwhile and needs no defense. That sense of community is worth a lot to me.

But it's a practical exchange, too. I find that when I show a student how to do something, I'm also teaching myself to do it better. Plus, I'm constantly learning new techniques from students who are traveling where I haven't been. And whenever writing teaches me something new, I start wondering how I can work it into a lesson.

WP: What’s the biggest challenge facing nonfiction writers/writing students today, and how can they overcome, or at least fight against, it?
Gordon: The narrow market is the hardest part. The accessible audience for nonfiction is, in these days of the blogosphere, higher than it's ever been, but publishers haven't done a great job of adapting. They still think nonfiction books should come out shaped like novels. I'm sure they'll catch up eventually, but meanwhile it's up to us to find new paths to market, through the Web and other new outlets.

WP: What’s the best advice you’ve ever given your students about moving forward in their writing?
Gordon: I stole the best advice from others. Number One on my list is a famous quote from Annie Dillard: "One of the few things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time. Do not hoard what seems good for a better place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now."

Tied for #1 is a notion I got from the novelist James Twiggs, an old teacher of mine, when I asked him for help with a daunting problem. He said: "Write toward your fear."

I also like to tell about a story of mine that was chosen for Best of the 'Net a couple of years ago. It had been rejected 62 times before it hit print in Vestal Review, and revised almost as many times. Most writers fail not through lack of talent, but by giving up.

WP: What three books (aside from your own!) should the aspiring writer buy tonight and read asap?
Gordon: The aspiring writer should read what she loves, not my favorites! But, what the heck:
1) Ambrose Bierce: Bits of Autobiography. Because he invented creative nonfiction and is a genius with structure. You may as well read his fiction while you're at it.
2) Joan Didion: Slouching Towards Bethlehem. Because she's the best stylist in the genre. You may as well read all her other books while you're at it.
3) William Shakespeare: The Merchant of Venice. Because it's really, really good.

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This summer Gordon will teach Intermediate Creative Nonfiction (Online) and Approaching the Nonfiction Marketplace (Online) with the UCLA Extension Writers' Program.

Of deadlines, Colorado, and characterization

2010-05-10T16:48:00.000-07:00

What a strange day this has been. I still don't know how I ended up doing it, but late last night I submitted my latest grad packet a full week early... without meaning to, of course. I guess I'd just written the date down wrong and have been operating on that all month. My advisor wrote back this morning saying, Um, you have another week on this, actually. And I thought I'd met my last deadline of the semester. I thought it was over. No, sir! Guess I'm anxious for summer break, right?

It's good, though. I'm working on another story set in Colorado, and I'd been racing all weekend to get enough pages to turn in, but around 10:30 or so last night I hit a wall and couldn't take it any farther. I mean, I could have written more pages, but I'm 99% sure they would have been filler. The thought occurred to me: If I can just put this aside and come back to it in a couple of days, I'll be ready to keep going. So, though it felt like a setback this morning to have the deadline thrust upon me again, ultimately I think it will be very good for the story.

This story is very straight-forward and is getting sort of dark. Last week I was totally consumed by Dave Cullen's nonfiction book Columbine-- you know, about the massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado-- and I'm sure some of that material filtered into this story. I'm from the area, and my mom used to teach elementary in the same county, Jeffco, so it felt like a trip home to read it. I recognized some names from childhood, and it all felt very familiar (at one point, one of my brothers had worked at the same Blackjack Pizza where the two killers worked, though a few years before). Of course, more than a visit to the old neighborhood, the book is a sharp study in characterization, where the power isn't just in Cullen's depiction of the killers (although that's fascinating) but in his depiction of everyone in the community. And of course the whole story brings into play Faulkner's "human heart in conflict with itself" idea (from his Nobel Prize speech) especially concerning the killers' parents. That felt like the richest dramatic material to me-- how can you as a parent live with what your children have done? What can you do if you find out your child literally is a psychopath? It's chilling.

If you haven't read this book, you really should. The man is reading it now.