Ongoing Weekly Workshops in Santa Cruz

All groups are open to both men and women, beginning and experienced writers

Tuesdays, 6-9:00 pm
Writing Workshop--all genres including poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, memoir

Wednesdays, 1-4:00 pm
Poetry Workshop

Thursdays, 3-6:00 pm
Writing Workshop--all genres, but emphasis on fiction, creative non-fiction and memoir

These groups are an inspiring and supportive space in which we can work to trust our perceptions, discover our truths, gain the skills to communicate these clearly, and build the courage to do so. If you are participating for the first time, I hope you will enjoy the atmosphere of encouragement, honesty, and focused work. There are a maximum of twelve participants in each group--both beginning and experienced writers.

l give suggestions of topics to explore, approaches you might take. You may follow these, or you are always free to do what you choose. We read what we've written and hear responses, learning what our words touch in others' lives. We help each other to become clearer, go deeper, express our feelings and ideas more powerfully. We study the craft of writing, revision, the search for fresh and resonant language.

Prose writers focus on many aspects of the craft, from writing clear, graceful sentences to believable dialogue, vivid descriptions, creating a compelling narrative arc, developing complex characters and much more.

Poets focus on many essential topics such as the element of discovery in a poem, beginnings, endings, metaphor, logic, narrative, lyric, and the tension between order and chaos--to name a few.

There is usually time for each writer to share work every week and receive feedback and critique. I also use the writing that is presented to illustrate various aspects of the craft, so you will find that the feedback on other people's writing may be as helpful to you as the feedback on your own--sometimes more so.

The critique I offer goes beyond line-editing or my opinion about what to leave in and what to leave out. Rather it is guidance and advice on how to go deeper into your material, how to open up your writing to greater emotional power, and how to encourage the wildness in your poems and prose while gaining more control over your craft.

The class is $280 for the first seven weeks.


"To work closely with Ellen Bass is to know the full measure of her wisdom, insight and compassion."
    - Maude Meehan — poet, Washing the Stones