Write Where You Are:
The Art of Being Present on The Page I'd be honored to guide your writing journey. I refer to my writing classes as “writing circles,” to emphasize the intimacy and community found there. Each writing circle is small, dynamic, and transformational. I teach a wide range of students, from beginners to professionals, working across genres. My students write novels, memoirs, poetry, short stories, articles, blogs, essays, plays, and more. I am an experienced, skillful facilitator who knows how to create and maintain a safe, sacred space in which magical things unfold!
“Write Where You Are: The Art of Being Present on the Page” may inspire you to write something truer, deeper, and perhaps funnier, than you ever imagined possible. My on-site writing circles takes place in Studio City, California. I also offer Zoom Video writing circles, which follow the same format as my on-site writing circles. Students from all over the world participate in my online writing circles. All you need is a computer with internet connection. Another option is to call in by telephone. Participants write and read in every meeting. It’s very supportive and inspiring! NOW ENROLLING Spring 2019 WRITING CIRCLES: 8 Wednesdays (Online via Zoom Conferencing) April 24 - June 12 4:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. PST $399 8 Thursdays (On-site, Studio City, CA) April 25 - June 13 7:00 - 9:30 p.m. PST $499 Students from both classes are invited to participate in the Salon.
Please note: Enrollment is contingent upon Bella’s approval and writing circle availability. New Students: After registration and payment, you will be taken to a final page to complete a New Student Application. |
I host free literary salons several times a year featuring my students reading work they’ve written in my classes. We can accommodate 60 guests. This event is always eagerly anticipated, inspirational, and fun.
is a writer’s oasis, for both beginners and seasoned writers alike. She provides an environment that supports, encourages, and challenges the creative process in all of us. A great class for those who want to connect with their inner storyteller and get it down on paper. Highly, highly recommended!” —David Cordova, High School History Teacher 
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More About My Writing Circles
Writing Circle participants are wise, accomplished women and men from diverse backgrounds, with various degrees of writing experience. Some have never written before; others are paid professionals. Everybody learns from each other. Each class has 6-10 students.
My writing circles are not genre-specific, because no matter what you’re writing—poems, essays, fiction, memoir, blog posts, articles, blogs, or performance art—the process is the same. The structure/container takes on a different shape depending on the project, but the creative process does not. While most people gravitate toward a genre that feels right for them, several of my students write more than one genre.
My focus is on process rather than product. Engaging in the creative process honestly, and with integrity, automatically generates product. Product is excrement of process. I guide people as they work from the inside out, and provide an expansive yet intimate setting.
On-site writing circles take place in my San Fernando Valley home, aka “ The Tree House.” Many students have said my on-site class feels like a retreat, and part of this has to do with the surroundings, which include floor-to-ceiling windows with a view of mountains and sky, comfortable seating around a coffee table covered with inspirational books and journals, flowers, and candles. In the wintertime, flames flicker in the fireplace.
Zoom video writing circles have taken the place of my beloved tele-class. We're excited this new technology is available! This writing circle is open to students around the world. All you need is a computer with internet connection. You can also call in if you’d prefer to take it as an audio class.
Writing circles begin with a five-minute grounding meditation, which helps students come into the present moment. I begin and end the meditation with Tibetan bells or a singing bowl, and invite students to connect with their breath and drop down into their bodies.
After the meditation, we read the day’s writing prompts and ask for a volunteer to read them aloud. The list contains a page of one-line prompts I’ve gleaned from poetry texts, selected with my students in mind. I ask people to mark the ones that elicit a visceral response.
Two 15-minute timed writing exercises follow the reading of the prompts. The only rule here is to write as fast as you can without thinking. This bypasses the inner critic. No matter what people are working on, the prompts give whatever is percolating underneath the surface a chance to come forward in fresh, unexpected ways.
Participants read after they write—either what they’ve written during the timed session, something they’ve brought from home, or both. I try to hold my comments until the end so I don’t influence student discussion—unless I am bursting at the seams with enthusiasm, which sometimes happens.
It’s important to set the right tone for sharing work. This is not finished material. I don’t offer false praise, but celebrate what’s there, and reveal opportunities for discovery and growth. I ask, “ Where is the energy in this piece? Are there seeds that, if watered, might sprout? Are kernels ready to pop?” I also look for transformation lines, which are charged sentences that, if mined, have power to deepen the writing.
In the feedback portion of the session I celebrate courage, honesty, vulnerability, and the willingness to go deep. Then I look for threads to pull whatever timid or reluctant stories might need unraveling.
My job is to facilitate self-expression. I pull the goodies out of my students, helping them mine their inner gold. I know where and how to dig! This is a live, intuitive, creative process that often leads to people finding their voice on the page—and also in the world. It’s humbling and inspiring to bear witness to a person expressing something painful or deep, some truth that’s been hidden, shamed, or forgotten. I am deeply in love with this work.
Out-of-class assignments are optional and individualized to meet each student’s needs. I meet students where they are—each person is in their own place—and then usher them to the next level. Incrementally, over time, my students experience tremendous growth as writers and human beings.
My writing circles are not genre-specific, because no matter what you’re writing—poems, essays, fiction, memoir, blog posts, articles, blogs, or performance art—the process is the same. The structure/container takes on a different shape depending on the project, but the creative process does not. While most people gravitate toward a genre that feels right for them, several of my students write more than one genre.
My focus is on process rather than product. Engaging in the creative process honestly, and with integrity, automatically generates product. Product is excrement of process. I guide people as they work from the inside out, and provide an expansive yet intimate setting.
On-site writing circles take place in my San Fernando Valley home, aka “ The Tree House.” Many students have said my on-site class feels like a retreat, and part of this has to do with the surroundings, which include floor-to-ceiling windows with a view of mountains and sky, comfortable seating around a coffee table covered with inspirational books and journals, flowers, and candles. In the wintertime, flames flicker in the fireplace.
Zoom video writing circles have taken the place of my beloved tele-class. We're excited this new technology is available! This writing circle is open to students around the world. All you need is a computer with internet connection. You can also call in if you’d prefer to take it as an audio class.
Writing circles begin with a five-minute grounding meditation, which helps students come into the present moment. I begin and end the meditation with Tibetan bells or a singing bowl, and invite students to connect with their breath and drop down into their bodies.
After the meditation, we read the day’s writing prompts and ask for a volunteer to read them aloud. The list contains a page of one-line prompts I’ve gleaned from poetry texts, selected with my students in mind. I ask people to mark the ones that elicit a visceral response.
Two 15-minute timed writing exercises follow the reading of the prompts. The only rule here is to write as fast as you can without thinking. This bypasses the inner critic. No matter what people are working on, the prompts give whatever is percolating underneath the surface a chance to come forward in fresh, unexpected ways.
Participants read after they write—either what they’ve written during the timed session, something they’ve brought from home, or both. I try to hold my comments until the end so I don’t influence student discussion—unless I am bursting at the seams with enthusiasm, which sometimes happens.
It’s important to set the right tone for sharing work. This is not finished material. I don’t offer false praise, but celebrate what’s there, and reveal opportunities for discovery and growth. I ask, “ Where is the energy in this piece? Are there seeds that, if watered, might sprout? Are kernels ready to pop?” I also look for transformation lines, which are charged sentences that, if mined, have power to deepen the writing.
In the feedback portion of the session I celebrate courage, honesty, vulnerability, and the willingness to go deep. Then I look for threads to pull whatever timid or reluctant stories might need unraveling.
My job is to facilitate self-expression. I pull the goodies out of my students, helping them mine their inner gold. I know where and how to dig! This is a live, intuitive, creative process that often leads to people finding their voice on the page—and also in the world. It’s humbling and inspiring to bear witness to a person expressing something painful or deep, some truth that’s been hidden, shamed, or forgotten. I am deeply in love with this work.
Out-of-class assignments are optional and individualized to meet each student’s needs. I meet students where they are—each person is in their own place—and then usher them to the next level. Incrementally, over time, my students experience tremendous growth as writers and human beings.
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Please note: Enrollment is contingent upon instructor’s approval and class availability.
New Students: After registration and payment, you will be taken to a final page to complete a New Student Application. |
“Where the spirit does not work with the hand there is no art.” —Leonardo da Vinci