Your Favorite Relative: Writing Prompt and Gift Suggestions

By Antonia Crane and Marilyn Friedman

Stressed out by the holidays already? Here's a writing prompt to loosen those shoulder knots. Family visits can be stressful and fattening, but they can also be a time to build sweet memories and remember happier times. Scroll down below to use your favorite family members as inspiration for your writing! In the meantime, here's a few places you could buy a gorgeous card and a new journal or a gourmet gift basket for your favorite relative to show your appreciation—then treat yourself to a cupcake at one of these places:

• Landis Gifts and Stationery in Larchmont
• Fanciful Gift Baskets on Melrose.
• Best cupcake in town: Babycakes (they have one in California now!)

But Writing Pad has the best treats of all because our classes not only make your literary dreams come true, they won't add an inches to your waistline! In fact, someone once told Marilyn that writing burns calories, and she would really like to believe that.

This Sat., learn how to infuse true stories with subtext and conflict with successful screenwriter and show runner Lamar Damon ("Bunheads," "Celebrity Exes") or make your memoir a page turner with bestselling memoirist Brett Paesel ("Mommi.es Who Drink", More) On Sun., get a customized plan for landing that agent and primo book deal with successful author and book consultant Derek Taylor Kent ("Scary School")!

Then next Tues. you can learn everything you need to know to become a successful freelance journalist with Taffy Brodesser-Akner (NY Times freelancer, Self). Taffy has helped 21 students get published. You're next! Or on the Eastside, get your 15 minutes of fame with your very own one-person show with Emmy award winning writer and Moth host Brian Finkelstein!

Who said that there wasn't enough time left in 2012 to work on making your writing dreams come true? Not us!

Note: classes with an asterix (*) will be held at our new, posh Westside location in Westwood!

Classes Starting Week of Nov. 26- Dec. 2
•True Tales: Crafting Compelling Stories For The Screen
•Memorable Memoir Bootcamp: Getting To Second Base*

•Get Your Book Published Intensive*

Classes Starting Week of Dec. 3 - 9
•Do Re Mi, Baby: Songwriting Made Easy
•So You Want To Be A Freelancer*
•The You Show: A Solo Performance Intensive

•From Spec to Staff: A Ticket To The Writer's Room

•Say It Isn't So: A Storytelling Class

Classes Starting Week of Dec. 10- 16
•Stand Out Stand-Up: A Comedy Workshop

2013 Classes

•How To Hook An Agent*

Writing Prompt: Make a list of your three favorite family members. Pick one. Make a list of three great times you shared with them. Pick one. Now add a sensory detail to that event (smell, taste, sound, touch). Now write about that great time for 10 minutes, making sure to include the sensory detail. Then post your story in the comments of this blog to get entered in the contest for Oct./Nov.! There's only a few days left (and not much competition) so we hope that you'll post something!

For instance, Antonia is going to either write about the time when she was supposed to be in bed by 10 p.m. but instead her aunt took her to the county fair and let her ride The Zipper until she was sick or that time she had a really big secret and told her big brother who never told a soul. We can't wait to see what you come up with!

Write about your favorite family member and a fun time you shared with them. Then post your ten minute write in the comments of this blog to get entered into the contest for a free class!

Here Comes Family Writing Prompt

By Antonia Crane and Marilyn Friedman

Thanksgiving is a time of family which, for some, means a smorgasbord of suffering and trauma and for others, a time of cozy snuggling and full tummies. For me, it's somewhere in between my Dad's emotionally reticent wild rice stuffing and my Mom's overbearing cranberry beet salad. My sister's kids bring me joy but also remind me of my fallow shortcomings. Family invites a complex palette of emotions and lots of distracting entertainment. My relatives are coming to visit this T-day weekend so I found some fun places in LA to bring your crazy family:

• Little India in Artesia for exotic shopping and a delicious lunch at Rasraj.
• J. Paul Getty Museum for a picnic.
• Huntington Rose Garden Tea Room for high end treats after a peek at Blue Boy and Pinky.
• Stark Bar at LACMA for a trendy cocktail after a jaunt to the Stanley Kubrick exhibit.
• Tula Tea Room inside the Museum of Jurassic Technology for free tea and a sampling of something odder than your family.

And here are two refuges to race off to for a few hours when your family is napping in your bed:
For Her: Olympic Spa in Korea Town.
For Him: Yoga for Men (Stephen Ewashkiw's class at Urth Yoga in Silverlake).

And don't forget that Writing Pad has a wonderful collection of classes to keep your muse sharp and warm in the last two months of 2012. For instance, on Tues., Dec. 11, transform that hellish T-day visit into a hilarious stand-up comedy routine with master comic Johnny Walker ("The Tonight Show," "The Hollywood Improv,"  "Laugh Factory")! Find out how to land that plum staff TV writing job so your Dad will stop bugging you with Emmy award- winning writer Ed Crasnick ("Hot In Cleveland", "The Sopranos") on Sat., Dec. 8. A full list of our classes is below. Click on the links to sign up before they are full!

Note: classes with an asterix (*) will be held at our new, posh Westside location in Westwood!

Classes Starting Week of Nov. 26- Dec. 2
•True Tales: Crafting Compelling Stories For The Screen
•Memorable Memoir Bootcamp: Getting To Second Base*

•Get Your Book Published Intensive*

OTHER CLASSES BY GENRE

Book Publishing

•How To Hook An Agent*

Journalism
•So You Want To Be A Freelancer*
 

Writing for Actors

•Do Re Mi, Baby: Songwriting Made Easy
•The You Show: A Solo Performance Intensive

•Say It Isn't So: A Storytelling Class
•Stand Out Stand-Up: A Comedy Workshop

Screenwriting
•From Spec to Staff: A Ticket To The Writer's Room

Writing Prompt: Your Most Annoying Family Member
You know that family member who makes you want to stab his or her eyes out? Use that relative to write a deeply flawed and wonderful character for your next story. Make a list of your three most annoying relatives. Pick one. Write down something that relative does that make you want to scream. Make up a code name for that relative based on that annoying behavior so you don't get into trouble posting about them (e.g. Competitive Buddhist, The Nagging Queen). Give your character a life dream and a unique physical characteristic. Now, place that character in their favorite setting like a dude ranch, a casino, or hammering tiles on the roof. Start with a scene in that setting where your character is doing that annoying thing and include their life dream, code name, and unique physical characteristic (or whatever you get to in 10 minutes). Before you know it, you will fall in love with the character on the page and so will your reader! Then post the results in the comments of this blog to be entered into the contest for a free class!

I can’t wait to see what you come up with (feel free to email marilyn@writingpad.com if you want to remain anonymous but still enter the comment contest).

Write about your most annoying relative!  Post your 10 minute write in the comments of this blog, and you could win a free class!

Comfort Food Writing Prompt and Recommendations

By Marilyn Friedman

Last week, it started to get pitch black at 5 p.m. every day, and the weather finally cooled off. Although I'm not a fan of the early darkness, I am enjoying the chillier weather and the excuse to light my fireplace and excavate my winter wardrobe! Another thing I love about winter is indulging in a hot bowl of soup or some comfort food before sitting down to write. Here are a few of my favorite places to get comfort food in LA so my muse feels toasty and ready to get to work:

• Fire Roasted Tomato Soup at Bread Lounge in DTLA
• Truffle Mac and Cheese at Blair's in Silverlake
• Clam Chowder at Santa Monica Seafood in Santa Monica
• Mongolian Hot Pot at Hot Pot Hot Pot in Monterey Park

And don't forget that Writing Pad has a wonderful collection of classes to keep your muse cozy and amused in the last two months of 2012. For instance, on Tuesday, Nov. 27, you can learn how to write a hilarious stand-up comedy routine with master comic Johnny Walker (“Just For Laughs” TBS Las Vegas Comedy Festival, "The Tonight Show","The Hollywood Improv", "Laugh Factory")! Johnny will show you how to mine your life for hysterical material and how to master the mix, act out, and logic play. By the end of the class, you'll have a short set written that you can perform at the Pad! 

Also, on Wed., Nov. 28 find out how to land that staff TV writing job and keep it with Emmy award winning writer Ed Crasnick ("Hot In Cleveland", "The Sopranos") in From Spec to Staff: A Ticket To The Writer's Room! Ed will show you how to create and market a pilot or spec script to get that writing job that you've always dreamed of and share how to excel in the writer's room. You'll even get feedback on your show idea.

A full list of our classes is below. Click on the links to sign up before they are full, my darlings.

Note: classes with an asterix (*) will be held at our new, posh Westside location in Westwood!

Classes Starting Week of Nov. 26- Dec. 2
•Stand Out Stand-Up: A Comedy Workshop
•From Spec to Staff: A Ticket To The Writer's Room
•True Tales: Crafting Compelling Stories For The Screen
•Memorable Memoir Bootcamp: Getting To Second Base*

•Get Your Book Published Intensive*

OTHER CLASSES BY GENRE

Book Publishing

•How To Hook An Agent*

Journalism
•So You Want To Be A Freelancer*
 

Writing for Actors

•Do Re Mi, Baby: Songwriting Made Easy

•The You Show: A Solo Performance Intensive

•Say It Isn't So: A Storytelling Class

Yum! Butternut Squash Soup!

Writing Prompt: Cold Weather Comfort Food
It's cold outside which means it's time to make baked apples with caramel sauce, Mama's crock pot chili, and of course, roast turkey with wild mushroom stuffing and heaps of piping hot gravy! Start by making a list of your 5 favorite comfort foods (or your fictional character's favorite comfort foods). Pick one. Now add a specific memory that comes to mind when you think of that dish. Last, add a sensory detail to this comfort food (sound, taste, touch or smell) that goes with your comfort food. Now write for 10 minutes about this comfort food, and make sure to include the memory and the sensory detail. Then, post the results in the comments of this blog to be entered into the contest for a free class!

I can’t wait to see what you come up with (feel free to email me if you want to remain anonymous but still enter the comment contest). I'm going to write about my mother's homemade hot borscht that she made on cold winter days. It was full of wonderful vegetables like beans, carrots, and potatoes and tasted like a warm hug.

Write about your favorite cold weather comfort food!  Post your 10 minute write in the comments of this blog, and you could win a free class!