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Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Writing Prompt: Favorite Summer Destination


By Marilyn Friedman and Alana Saltz

We're winding down for the summer, but we still have a few fantastic classes and events to engage your creative brilliance this summer. Scroll down for your writing prompt. Hope to see you soon! I'll be posting the September classes shortly. Keep writing!

Photo credit: Alana Saltz

Writing Prompt: One of the best parts about summer time is the long-awaited summer vacation. We all have our own favorite summer destinations - those places we daydream about all year long, eagerly anticipating a visit.

Make a list of three places you've visited during the summer. Be specific (e.g. Zuma Beach, Wisconsin Dells, Ft. Lauderdale). Pick one. Add a specific detail that you remember about this place (e.g. Harry's Fish Shack where they have the best shrimp tacos, the Spanish moss covered Haunted Victorian house). For 10 minutes, write a story that involves this place and include the specific detail. Post your story in the comments of this post to be entered into the July/August contest for a free class.

For example, Alana's stepmother has family in Northern Ireland, so she's gone there on vacation a few times in the summer. She stays in a village along the coast called Glenarm. Her favorite spot there is a beautiful wooded stream just down the cobblestone main road with a view of Glenarm Castle. The tiny town has two pubs, one cafe, and no restaurants or post office. It's quite a contrast to Los Angeles!

What's your favorite summer destination? Write about it for 10 minutes, and you could win a free one-day writing class!

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Exploring the Real Within the Surreal with Francesca Lia Block

Award-winning author Francesca Lia Block knows novels. She has published over 30 ground breaking novels—postmodern, magic-realist tales that transport readers to the unfamiliar within the familiar, the real within the surreal.

If you're interested in writing a bestselling novel of your own, Francesca is offering a special one-day Novel Writing class next Saturday, July 27! She'll share fun brainstorming exercises that take the pain out of coming up with a plot for your book. You'll leave the class with inspiration, an outline, some great scenes, and a brainstorming toolkit that you can apply to flesh out future novel ideas.

Francesca was kind enough to take time to answer some questions about her writing process and what inspires her. 

You've written over 30 novels. Can you talk a little about what your brainstorming process is like and how you've been able to generate so many ideas? 

I usually combine my life experience with a myth, fairy tale, current event, etc. I am inspired by people, locations, music and art. The process is akin to collage--layering different disparate elements that fascinate me.


Setting (specifically, the city of Los Angeles) plays a big role in your novels. How can writers utilize setting to enhance their stories? 

"I think of setting as a character. Los Angeles is a character in many of my books. Setting is also a way to express conflict directly through action (a dramatic event taking place during a storm, for example) or symbolically through description (using tense, terse language and dark imagery to describe a landscape to foreshadow a dramatic event). Lyrical and tension-laden description of setting can be a great tool to move the story through time. In other words, if you want to skip over a few months, you could summarize using setting.

Here's an example from the book I'm working on now:"Spring moved into summer like a child resentfully becoming an adolescent, mortified by sweat glands, acne and pubic hair. The excessive heat we'd had in April was worse and set everyone on edge. The air smelled flammable, gasoline prices and unemployment jumped again, fires still raged through the canyons, murder rates went up. At Body Farm, I switched back and forth between the news (explosions, fires, floods, tornadoes, rapes, shootings) and, when it got too depressing, reality shows, which sometimes made me equally depressed, if in a very different and ludicrous way."

You utilize magical realism in your novels. Do you have techniques for tapping into the surreal side of your imagination and for surprising your readers?

The key word is surprise!  I try to surprise myself as I write, to scare, shock and delight myself. I like to look at magic as a metaphor for real emotions and events.

If you could give advice to your younger self, what would the accomplished author tell the aspiring first-time novelist? 

Dear Little flb (Francesca Lia Block),
Follow your heart, passions, and obsessions, don't be devastated by harsh reviews but try to learn from them, share your work with a trusted few first, read a lot and widely, develop a writing community, write daily, get an MFA if possible.

Here at Writing Pad, we're obsessed with process. Tell us about your writing routine.

I have two kids so my schedule revolves around them. I also teach quite a lot. I write whenever I can, usually daily unless doing a teaching or promotional intensive but I don't have a strict schedule. The writing is usually a pleasurable escape/stress reliever and I seem to be able to get it done without having to put aside specific hours to do it.

Thanks, Francesca! We can't wait for your Novel Writing class next weekend.

Writing Prompt: Funny Dating Stories


By Marilyn Friedman and Lorinda Toledo

We're so excited! A Night of Sexy Stories at Writing Pad is almost here! Join us  for an evening of hilarious tales about love, relationships, and sex performed by writers who are also successful actors!

DC Pierson ("Community," "Weeds"), Lauren Weedman ("Hung", "The Five Year Engagement"), Annabelle Gurwitch (Host of "Dinner and a Movie", "Fired"), Brian Finkelstein (Host of "The Moth"), Jeff Kahn ("The Ben Stiller Show"), and Iris Bahr ("Curb Your Enthusiasm") are performing! Plus, we'll be serving special summer-themed cocktails and snacks. What could be sexier than that?

Scroll down for your writing prompt and to check out our upcoming classes. Hope to see you soon!

Classes Starting July 21-25
Mini Novel Writing Bootcamp
What Do You Think? Writing the Op-Ed or Cultural Essay
Micro Short Stories: The Art of Flash Fiction
You've Been Featured: Writing The Mini-Feature or Interview

Writing Pad Events
Writers With Drinks
A Sexy Summer Night At Writing Pad

Other Journalism/Web Writing Classes
From Cheng Du to Timbuktu: A Travel Writing Workshop 
#FameSuccessLove: Harnessing The Power of Twitter
You In 1200 Words: Writing and Publishing The Personal Essay (5 Wk Intensive)

Other Fiction/Memoir Classes
A Novel Approach: Mastering The Long Form Story
It's Story Time: Storytelling For Kids
Get Your Book Published
Short Story Reboot: Rescuing Your Crashed Creation
Addictive Fiction: Writing The Knock Out Novel

Other Writing For Actors Classes
Storytelling Bootcamp

Other Screenwriting Classes
Writing A Pilot That Can Fly (Weekend Intensive)
Mini Screenwriting Bootcamp






Writing Prompt: Going on dates can seem like an exercise in embarrassment. We've all tripped and fallen, dribbled red wine on our white clothes, or passed gas at an inopportune moment. And even after you're in a relationship, there's still plenty of opportunities to humiliate yourself -- or end up laughing at your blushing beau!

Make a list of 3 dates or moments in your relationship when something embarrassing, crazy or funny happened. Pick one. Add a sensory detail (smell, taste, sound, touch). Now, write for 10 minutes about this funny incident. Make sure to include the sensory detail and post your story in the comments of this blog to be entered into the July/August comment contest for a free class!

Although it was not funny in the moment, Marilyn is going to write about the man who will be forever known as Valentine's Day Killer in her dating history book. He not only neglected to buy her even a card for Valentine's Day, he mauled this once happy, romantic holiday by getting hysterical when confronted and begging her to go with him to his shrink so she could explain why he was such a thoughtless jerk.

What is your embarrassing date or relationship story? Write about it for 10 minutes, and you could win a free class!

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

From Trial Attorney to Bestselling Author: James Scott Bell

So you wanna write a novel? Great! Set yourself up for success by learning from master craftsman James Scott Bell.

Not only has James written numerous thrillers – including Deceived, Try Dying, Watch Your Back, One More Lie, and the Mallory Caine series – but he's also the #1 bestselling author of Plot and Structure. His career has been a melding of this two passions: writing and law. First, he attended the University of California, Santa Barbara where he studied writing with Raymond Carver, then he graduated with honors from USC law school and went on to write over 300 articles and several books for the legal profession. 

James has served as the fiction columnist for Writer's Digest magazine, to which he frequently contributes, and has written four craft books for Writer’s Digest Books. A former trial lawyer, James now writes and speaks full time, but fortunately, he took a time-out of his busy schedule to answer a few of our burning questions.

If you want to study with James at Writing Pad, he'll be teaching a one day class Addictive Fiction: Writing The Knock Out Novel on Sunday, July 14 and Sunday, August 18.

What sparked your transition from trial attorney to full-time writer?

I sort of flowed into it. When I went into practice for myself, I had more time to try writing. When I got a five book contract, things grew from there. I was able to stay connected to the law by writing a law book, which I still keep up, but fiction writing became primary. 


You're the author of the Mallory Caine zombie legal thriller series. What are the crucial elements for keeping readers engaged in a series?

The lead character, of course. I wanted Mallory to be unique--a Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer who just happens to be undead. Of course, some people contend all lawyers are undead, but I protest. 

Were your thrillers Deceived, Try Dying, Watch Your Back, and One More Lie inspired by true events? If not, can you tell us where you find inspiration for your story ideas?

Try Dying came from a news item I read years ago that haunted me. I kept the clipping. A man shot his wife in LA, drove to a freeway overpass, then shot himself. He fell 100 feet to the freeway below and hit a car, killing the driver. That's where Try Dying begins. Deceived popped into my head with a 'what if' question. What if someone found a load of stolen diamonds and somebody wanted them back? Watch Your Back was me wanting to do a James M. Cain style story. And One More Lie started a great opening chapter I thought up. Then all I had to do was figure out the rest of the story.

You've written FOUR books about craft – Plot and Structure, Revision and Self-Editing for Publication, The Art of War for Writers, and Conflict & Suspense. What's your #1 tip from each?

From PLOT: Make sure your Lead character is forced into the struggle of Act 2. I call this going through "the doorway of no return."

From REVISION: Write hot, revise cool.

From ART OF WAR: You will understand the business of writing best if you understand that the parties are in this to make money.

From CONFLICT: Trouble is your business. Make more of it.

In your one-day class at Writing Pad, you'll be teaching everyone about your L.O.C.K. system for writing a novel. Can you tell us a little bit more about that and how you came up with it?

I was trying to learn to plot, to figure out the basic elements that worked every time. I came up with LEAD, OBJECTIVE, CONFRONTATION and KNOCKOUT ENDING. I wrote this up as an article for Writer's Digest magazine, and it proved so popular I wrote a book around it, Plot and Structure. If a writer gets these elements right, she will never write a weak story. From there, you build into unforgettable.

Here at Writing Pad, we love to learn about different writers' routines. What's yours?

Get the coffee going and write early. I try to do a "nifty 350" before I do anything else. If I get those 350 words down right away, the writing day goes much more smoothly. I currently aim for 6000 words a week, taking Sunday off. I do this weekly, because I may have to miss a day for some reason, and can make it up on other days. I use an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of my words.  I edit the work I did the previous day, then press on.

Thanks, James! That was helpful and very interesting. We can't wait for your Addictive Fiction: Writing The Knock Out Novel class this Sunday, July 14 and Sunday, August 18!

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

May/June Contest Winner

Thank you to everyone who submitted entries to our May/June comment contest! If you didn't win this round, there's still plenty of time to be entered into our July/August contest for a chance to win a free one day writing class.

And the winner of the May/June contest is...Rebecca Green!

We asked Rebecca a few questions about her writing process:


What's your favorite place to write?
Anywhere outside -- could be the small plot of land I call my garden, or the courtyard of an outdoor mall, or a cafe table on a sidewalk.  I just want sunlight and breeze.

What inspires you to write?
I'm inspired to write when I sense that writing could help me reach a resolution. Maybe I'm processing loss or heartbreak or joy, maybe I'm trying to figure out why I love the desert so much or whether I've grown and changed as much as I hoped to.  I just get this feeling that if I write, I'll find clarity.  

You can read her response to our "Dream Job" writing prompt here.

Congratulations, Rebecca! We're looking forward to reading the entries for the July/August contest. Please keep posting your stories.

Monday, July 1, 2013

Writing Prompt: Summer Tradition

By Marilyn Friedman

Fourth of July is almost here! My last class for a whole week is tomorrow night, and I can't wait to have a little unfettered free time to write. I hope that you enjoy your holiday, and when you are done with the BBQ's, weekends away, and fireworks, don't forget that we have lots of exciting classes to make your July productive and inspiring. And in this sweltering heat, the refreshing air conditioning of Writing Pad East and West our homemade iced tea will keep your muse cool and comfortable.

Scroll down for your writing prompt and to check out our list of upcoming summer classes. Hope to see you soon!

Classes Starting July 9-14
Memorable Memoir Bootcamp: Make Your True Tales Thrilling

Writing Pad Events
Writers With Drinks
A Sexy Summer Night At Writing Pad

Other Journalism/Web Writing Classes
Personal Essay Punch Up 
Hello World, Welcome To My Blog
What Do You Think? Writing the Op-Ed or Cultural Essay
You've Been Featured: Writing The Mini-Feature or Interview
From Cheng Du to Timbuktu: A Travel Writing Workshop 
#FameSuccessLove: Harnessing The Power of Twitter

Other Fiction/Memoir Classes
Mini Novel Writing Bootcamp
Micro Short Stories: The Art of Flash Fiction
A Novel Approach: Mastering The Long Form Story
It's Story Time: Storytelling For Kids
Get Your Book Published
Short Story Reboot: Rescuing Your Crashed Creation
Addictive Fiction: Writing The Knock Out Novel

Writing For Actors
Storytelling Bootcamp

Other Screenwriting Classes
Work The Room: Mastering The Power of The Cocktail Party Pitch
SNL Dossier: Your Ticket To The Big Leagues
Writing A Pilot That Can Fly (Weekend Intensive)





Writing Prompt: I don't know about you, but my family had certain things we'd do ever summer. For instance, we'd often go to Wisconsin Dells, and my father and I would go paddle boating. Sometimes, we'd go to Lehigh Acres, Florida and we always saw fireworks on 4th of July. Back at home, we'd pick fresh cucumbers off their vines in our garden, wash them with a hose, and eat them whole. What were your summer family traditions?

Make a list of 3 summer traditions you had with your family (e.g. activities, vacation spots, foods). Pick one. Add a sensory detail (smell, taste, sound, touch). Now, write for 10 minutes about this summer tradition. Make sure to include the sensory detail and post your story in the comments of this blog to be entered into the July/August comment contest for a free class!

What were your summer traditions? Write about a summer tradition for 10 minutes, and you could win a free class!