colophon
First things first: I'm teaching a virtual fiction writing workshop next year! If you have an idea for a story and want to figure out how to get started, this is the class for you. More info is below, and, as ever, email me with questions.
Beginning Fiction
Tuesdays, January 12-February 29
7:00-8:30 pm Pacific Time
on Zoom
In the course of this eight-week fiction workshop, we’ll explore the building blocks of writing stories by discussing craft topics like scene, character, plot and prose. Every week, students will be assigned to write a 500-word response to a prompt; then, in class, we will discuss the week's craft topic as well as each student's work. Students will also be asked to write a longer piece to be workshopped in the final weeks of class.
This class is intended to introduce students to some of the vocabulary and technique of fiction writing, and to encourage them to explore what works for them as they establish a fiction writing practice. You don't need to have any experience or even an idea of what you want to write yet-- though students with both are also welcome.
Enrollment limit: 6 students
Cost: $400, including a $100 non-refundable enrollment fee. Payment plans available-- I know this is a difficult time for many, so I'm happy to work with you on this front.
To enroll, reply to this email; you can also reach me at zanopticon@gmail.com.
-
Usually I do a year in reading roundup around this time of year. I actually read a lot in 2020-- I know for a lot of people that level of attention was hard to come by, but for whatever reason, for me, it wasn't. But that felt like a strange way to talk about what I consumed in a year when what I read and watched and listened to was often my only companion, something I relied on very heavily to get me through low patches and lonely days. So here instead is a colophon of Things That Got Me Through 2020, an assorted list in no particular order:
Letterkenny, Derry Girls, and a complete Buffy the Vampire Slayer re-watch. Who Weekly, Fansplaining, Effectively Wild. Ghosthoney's TikTok, Kerry Cowboy's TikTok, trying and failing to learn TikTok dances with my brother and his girlfriend. Spiky-strange speculative fiction (Gideon the Ninth; A Deadly Education; Chosen Ones; The City We Became; Mexican Gothic), books about the racial histories of California (Stealing Home, Set the Night on Fire, The Devil's Harvest), Children of the Land and Topics of Conversation. My neighbors putting buckets of lemons in their front yards to share. Niall Horan's song Heartbreak Weather, Robyn's album Body Talk, the line "I'm tired of the city / scream if you're with me." Fetch the Bolt Cutters & folklore, fucking duh, but also Haim's Women in Music Pt III. All of my group texts (Lady Jujitsu, One Direction Study Group, Cody Bellinger Fan Club, little freak ratboy vibes, et al) and the people who took my writing classes. My writing practice, my yoga practice, eating lunch in my parents' backyard. They want the best for your at your parents' house! Pictures of other people's babies and pets. Other people's good news & buying bottles of champagne from Vinovore to encourage them to celebrate it. Fan fiction about [redacted]; trust me, they're hockey players, you don't want to know. Sparrow & Wren & Lark Acupuncture. The World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Mutual Aid LA, LA Forward. Saturday Hang Gang, movie nights with Catie & Ed, everyone who has sat on my roof or let me sit on their porch for a while. County Line Harvest CSA and chili oil from Pine & Crane. Catie's martini recipe. Summer Fridays. Nice booze from Barkeeper. This photo of Cody Bellinger.
& lastly, three books I got to read this year that you will want to read as soon as they're out next year:
U Up? by Catie Disabato
Drawn That Way, Elissa Sussman
Like Other Girls, Britta Lundin