Cara Bruce

6-Week Writing Intensive: September 15, 2009 to October 27, 2009

Write your truth. Tell your stories. Make a commitment to yourself. Wherever you’re from, whatever you’ve survived, however you live—it’s all fodder for your work. Your unique experiences are vital to creating and critiquing. This multi-genre workshop will serve as a tool for self-discovery and story excavation under the guidance of two professional writers in a focused, supportive environment.

Generate dynamic new material through exercises and peer review; revive dormant work using elements of craft, community and critique. By the end of the course, writers should be comfortable sharing their writing and offering constructive criticism.

This is a multi-genre online workshop for anyone serious about turning life stories into publishable works. Our stories span generations, theme, structure and region. Thanks to the Internet, Life’s a Bitch Books offers access to professionals and dialogue with a worldwide writing community.

We will be publishing 50% to 75% of students’ work (depending on quality) in one of our upcoming anthologies.

Cara Bruce brings fiction, publishing and editing expertise to the class, while Shawna Kenney offers nonfiction and memoir advice. Both have nurtured many writers on their way to publication.

Online workshops allow you to set your own schedule, no matter how busy you are. In addition, online writing workshops give you the opportunity to present your work with no fear. It is often easier to share your most personal experiences online instead of face to face. Assignments are given weekly and feedback is given daily.

Limited enrollment for maximum attention to your work. Waiting list maintained for next workshop. Space may be reserved by sending a writing sample or letter-of-intent to the email address below. All inquiries should be directed to:

info@lifesabitchbooks.com

Total Fee: $250, payable by check, money order, or Paypal
For more information visit our Register page.

A partial deposit is required. Once enrolled, you will receive a password and link to the online Moodle classroom, with instructions for uploading documents and initial introductions. Refer a new student and receive a $25 discount. Email us for more information.

We look forward to reading your work!

For more information visit: www.lifesabitchbooks.com

I am teaching a workshop with Shawna Kenney. We’re going to teach you how to use experiences from your own life to write memoir, fiction & features.

Write your truth. Tell your stories. Make a commitment to yourself. Wherever you’re from, whatever you’ve survived, however you live—it’s all fodder for your work. Your unique experiences are vital to creating and critiquing. This multi-genre workshop is designed to serve as a tool for self-discovery and story excavation under the guidance of two professional writers in a focused, supportive environment.

Generate dynamic new material through exercises and peer review; revive dormant work using elements of craft, community and critique. By the end of the course, writers should be comfortable sharing their writing and offering constructive criticism. Participants will possess at least one polished piece ready-for-publication, with rough drafts for many more. We will teach you how to prepare pieces for publication, write pitches, and submit pieces for both fiction and nonfiction publications.

Wednesdays     
April 1st – May 6th
6:30 – 8:30 pm
Minas Gallery
815  36th Street
Baltimore, MD 21211

Limited enrollment (10 writers, maximum)
Contact us with questions or a letter of intent to reserve a space: roamingwriters@gmail.com

Fee: $300, payable by check, money order, or Paypal
Waiting list will be maintained for next workshop.

About the Instructors:
Shawna Kenney is the author of Imposters and the memoir, I Was a Teenage Dominatrix, which earned a Firecracker Alternative Book award, international translation and a film development deal. Her work has appeared in Swindle, Juxtapoz, Transworld Skateboarding, the Florida Review and LA Weekly, among others. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing and teaches online for the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program.

Cara Bruce is the editor of Viscera and the author of two books in The First Year health series. Her short fiction has appeared in many anthologies including Pills, Thrills, Chills & Heartbreak, Best American Erotica, Best Women’s Erotica, Necrologue, Noirotica, Shameless and many more. She has written for The San Francisco Bay Guardian, While You Were Sleeping, GettingIt.com, Playgirl, Salon.com, the McClathy-Tribune, and more. She is currently writing a novel.

On Workshop
Workshopping your writing can help you to become a better writer. You don’t necessarily need teachers or editors. You don’t need prescriptive advice about what changes to make in your piece. You need what a book called Writing Without Teachers calls “movies of people’s minds while they read your words.”  What you write may be rough, and it may be in the beginning stages, but it can only be improved if you learn how people perceive your words.