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ANNOUNCEMENT: BWW Classes start next week, January 12/ 14, 2016! Classes are almost full but sometimes things shuffle around at the last minute, so if you think a weekly dose of creative inspiration, support and productivity would move you in the direction of your dreams, check out the registration page: https://bookwritingworld.com/winter-classes-2015/ We’d love to have you […]

I wake up early to write, as you know by now, and for a stretch I am alone, my thoughts bubbling up and my pen jotting them down. The house is still, the sky outside still dark, everything quiet. And then the kids join me, usually Charlie first and then Leo and somewhere in there

The holidays can turn us topsy-turvy. Schedules change. Families gather and disperse. Kids are home, ecstatic and then bored. Somebody still has to clean the kitchen, gather and recycle the wrapping paper. People no longer with us are missed afresh. In California, we’re all watching the weather, waiting for rain. In Sebastopol, lights go up

Story Makers Show: This week’s podcast features former BWW student and now published author Lea Page in a great discussion of how to get published, how to revise, how to stay inspired, and even how to use rejection as part of your writing process! Check it out at http://StoryMakersShow.com or on iTunes or Stitcher. I’m

Story Makers Show: This week’s podcast features the amazing author Carolina De Robertis in a generous discussion of story, structure, writing process, schedules, inspiration, revision and more. Check it out at http://StoryMakersShow.com or on iTunes or Stitcher! Friends’ Week: You are invited to visit my Berkeley class for free on the last week of class.

“You underestimate the power of the dark side. If you will not fight, then you will meet your destiny.” Darth Vader Charlie is reading Dragon Ball Z number 23. The bad guy, a chubby genie named Boo, is causing balls of energy to hurl bodies and enact destruction. “He’s really cute and really powerful. Boo

We are so excited to announce the launch of our new show. Story Makers is a podcast that features in-depth conversations with accomplished writers, filmmakers and industry experts about story craft, technique, habit and survival–everything you need to know to stay inspired, connect to your creativity, find others’ wonderful stories and your own success. The

[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] This quarter, in my “Time to Write” craft class, we’ve been working on stakes—what makes your story matter, matter to the characters and to the reader, and matter increasingly as it goes on? Characters, questions, withholding, revelations and more revelations. Language, detail, voice. All of

You don’t really know what you’ve written until after you read it aloud. One of the two rules in my “Time to Write” craft classes is that you can’t apologize for your writing–something people are inclined to do before they read aloud. I tell my students, Treat your writing as you would a friend you