Our Online Level I workshop is an introduction to the philosophy on which The Writers Studio was founded in 1987 by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, Philip Schultz. Persona writing, a method of borrowing the voice and temperament of accomplished writers, offers writers the imaginative distance and perspective they need to overcome their negative inclinations, their fear of self-exposure and endless doubt. This method also helps writers try on different voices, or personas, to develop narrative and lyric voices to be used as a tool for unlocking one's most intimate and private stories and turning even their most difficult subject matter into inspiration for writing fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction.

Class Structure & Details

•Format: Weekly, unrecorded live classes via Zoom

•What to Expect: During the hour-long, weekly Zoom class, we will discuss techniques used in a range of literary models. After the class meeting, students put those techniques to use in an exercise and share their work in the online classroom. Each student receives structured, written feedback in the online classroom from three of their classmates and the teacher.

•Who Can Join: All are welcome! This class is open to new and emerging writers as well as those who may have writing experience, but are new to The Writers Studio method.

•What You Need: A computer or tablet with an internet connection. A link to our online classroom is emailed to you after you register, and tech support is available throughout the class.

📌 Note: Our Zoom sessions are highly interactive and designed to be a safe space for sharing fresh work, so they are not recorded.

Instructor

Writers Studio Teacher

Gail Ford

Gail, a graduate of Stanford, teaches poetry, fiction, essays, Art Speaks to Art, and CD Wright’s hybrid writing. Gail loves thinking, talking, and laughing with writers about writing, and welcomes all to “try this, try that” as a playful means to both deepen access to our material and engage the reader. Her work has appeared in the NOYO River Review, Carquinez Review, Minotaur, and Northern Contours and has been anthologized in An Eye for an Eye Makes the Whole World Blind, and A Ghost at Heart's Edge, Stories and Poems of Adoption.

"Every week, I presented a new story. Finally something did click, the very thing that’s their specialty at The Writers Studio, emotional content. Before, my work was dead. When I brought in my breakthrough story, I felt I was carrying a weird animal in my bag. It was the first story I sold."

Jennifer Egan, former Writers Studio student, Winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

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