“I recommend it to
everyone who writes.”
LINDA LAEL MILLER
author of eight NY Times bestsellers |
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“The best there is.”
MICHAEL HARVEY
Emmy winner, Academy Award nominee for Best Screenplay |
WHY You Should Take
The Writers’ Loft And HOW It Is Different From All Other Workshops
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- The most comprehensive course in the Midwest.
- It has produced more successes and prizewinning authors than any other workshop in Chicago.
- It's taught by the author of a five star, best-selling writing book who has thirty years of experience giving writers what they need to reach their goals.
- He's also the creator of the world wide online course Write Your Novel Now (with students in New Zealand, Alaska, Hong Kong, Turkey, Australia, Singapore, Ireland, England, Germany, Canada, India).
- You will learn to write successfully in the shortest amount of time and have the most fun doing it.
- STORY HELP LINE. Call any time for help with any writing problem. Get the help you need when you need it. No need to wait until the next class. Call any time for personal help with any and every writing problem whether it's trouble with your story or yourself. Don't sit there and suffer.
- UNLIMITED PERSONAL CONFERENCES. Personalized help tailored to your needs of the moment and the future. Help finding your subject, setting your goals, and dealing with any other writing problems.
- FULL MARKETING STRATEGY. Taking one Writers’ Loft workshop entitles you to full marketing help and guidance — even if you're no longer in the workshop. Whenever you have a novel, short story, screenplay, or stage play ready, Jerry will give you everything you need to market your work and help you short cut the submission process and get your story a serious read by agents, editors, and publishers.
- YOU CAN TRY IT NOW. To sample the style and substance of The Complete
Story without committing yourself to anything, click on: SAMPLE THE COURSE
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The best kept secret is: Writing is easy. If it's not, you're doing something you don't need to be doing.
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It's a lot easier to do it the right way than to do it the wrong way.
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Letting your imagination run wild on the page is the best way to uncover great ideas.
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Mistakes lead to discovery.
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Letting yourself be bad is the best way to get good.
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The best way to give the reader an experience is to make sure you have it first.
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Some writers plan first. Others jump in and go. Whatever works for you is right.
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Let your urges and impulses lead the way.
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You don't have to be brilliant to succeed. Plenty of average writers are making fortunes writing mediocre stories.
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Your biggest problem is yourself. Getting out of the way and letting your imagination take over is the best way.
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The Writers' Loft has been turning out published, award-winning
writers for more than 20 years — and it really does meet in a loft!
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Is This You?
- You want to write but you have no time.
- When you do find time, you just can't drag yourself to the desk.
- If you do get going, your writing starts strong, but becomes such a mess you don't know whether to keep working or dump it all and start something new.
- You write lots of bits and pieces, but none of them fit together into a meaningful whole.
- You have training (workshops, college courses, or even a degree in creative writing) but little or nothing you write gets published.
- You haven't taken a class because you're not sure where to turn or what to do first. One thing you do know is you want to get the right start so you don't waste a lot of time working on things that don't matter.
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GET SOLUTIONS to these and any other writing problems at Chicago's legendary Writers' Loft. Because the right guidance and coaching is crucial to a writer's success, Jerry Cleaver, creator of The Writers’ Loft presents:
A workshop series designed to give writers of all levels the crucial skills that make every story and every writer a success. Learn everything you need to unlock your imagination and bring your ideas to life on the page, stage, or screen. The Writers’ Loft, created and taught by Jerry Cleaver, is the oldest, most successful independent writer's workshop in the Midwest.
MORE THAN A WORKSHOP, The Writers’ Loft is a writer's community. It's a place for you to be with other writers, have your work presented, and get the support, guidance, and coaching you need to write successfully in all genres and all media, including novels, short stories, screenplays, stage plays, biography, memoir, nonfiction. Plus it is a place to get insider help and advice on how to market your work and how to make those all-important connections to agents, editors, and publishers.
Where
The Writers’ Loft is on the north side of Chicago at 1450 W. Waveland (3700 north), ½ mile west of Wrigley Field, in a quiet, safe, residential neighborhood with easy parking and within walking distance from the Southport, CTA brown line el stop. (Click here for a map.)
When
Next workshop begins May 28, 2008 and meets once a week from 7:00 PM to 9:30 PM for six weeks. Visa and MasterCard accepted. Monthly payment plan available.
Guarantee
All workshops are completely guaranteed. That means that if, at any time for any reason, you're not satisfied, you're entitled to a full refund — so you won't be risking your money in any way.
Who Is Jerry Cleaver?
 Author of St. Martin's Press' five-star, best selling book Immediate Fiction.
- Teacher, writing coach, and creator of The Writers’ Loft, Chicago's most successful writers' workshop for the last twenty years.
- Creativity specialist. He's spent the last thirty years studying the creative process, writing, and the teaching of writing to uncover the fundamentals that make every writer and every story work.
- Teacher of Professional Fiction at Northwestern University for ten years.
- Teacher of special seminars for Writer's Digest, published articles in the Writer's Digest Magazine, and featured in the Writer's Digest Yearbook.
- Creator of the worldwide "Write Your Novel Now" online course (students in Alaska, New Zealand, Turkey, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Ireland, England, Canada, India),
- Creator and leader of the Fiction Writing for Lawyers seminar series.
- Author — published in various magazines, and ghostwritten for several books.
Fine, but is Jerry's workshop any good and how can you tell?
How Do You Judge A Workshop?
You may have never had a workshop and may have little or no idea what to look for. Or you may have had a workshop or two or even a bunch and still not be sure what you need and what works. Or you may feel you know what you need, but how can you tell if that's what you'll get from any particular workshop? What is the best way to choose? What's the best measure of a workshop's effectiveness? If your goal is to be a successful writer, then only one thing matters: Results. Learning the right skills to get you there as quickly and as painlessly as possible. And that can only be measured by the accomplishments of the students who have studied at that workshop. What are the accomplishments of those who have worked with Jerry Cleaver and studied at The Writers’ Loft? Here are a few:
"I recommend it to everyone who writes."
Linda Lael Miller, author of eight New York Times bestsellers. Over 12 million books in print.
"The best there is."
Michael Harvey, Emmy winner, Academy Award nominee for best screenplay for Eyewitness.
"Without Jerry I never would have published at all."
Josh Landsman, playwright, author of Frank Talk About Matters Big and Small (Organic Theatre, Chicago).
"A powerful motivator."
Laura Caldwell, author of Burning the Map and A Clean Slate (Red Dress Ink), The Year of Living Famously (November, 2004), Look Closely (June, 2005).
"Simply brilliant. Brilliantly simple."
Donal Harding, author of The Leaving Summer (Wm Morrow) and winner of the Paris Afton Bonds Screenplay Award.
"The best storyman ever."
Jane Leder, author of Brothers and Sisters (St. Martins - nonfiction) and Dead Serious (Atheneum - nonfiction - rated one of the top ten books of the year by The National Library Board).
"Demystifies the story process."
Michele Fitzsimmons, winner of $7,000 Illinois Arts Council Award for 21 pages of The Writers’ Loft in-class writing.
"Better than all my English and writing classes combined."
Donald Catherall, author of Back from the Brink (Bantam).
"Simply the best workshop ever."
Nicole Hollander, nationally syndicated cartoonist, creator of Sylvia.
Here are some endorsements from those who have the expertise to know:
"Plainly gifted."
C. Michael Curtis, senior editor of
The Atlantic Monthly.
"A true story master."
Bernard Sabath, Broadway playwright, author of The Boys in Autumn, starring George C. Scott and
John Cullum.
"Jerry proves there is method to this madness."
Tim Kazurinsky, Saturday Night Live writer and performer, screenwriter for About Last Night (Tri Star), For Keeps (Tri Star), and The Cherokee Kid, HBO special.
"Stretches your limits."
Bob Condor, Columnist, Chicago Tribune.
What You Get
- SIX WORKSHOP SESSIONS. Each session meets from 7:00 PM to 9:30 PM. Each class consists of three things:
- Specific story techniques presented and explored through examples and discussion.
- Presentation of in-class writing with feedback and coaching using Jerry's innovative feedback techniques. Jerry reads your writing to the class, anonymously, so no one is put on the spot or forced to present their own writing.
- In-class writing. The last half hour is committed to writing, using your own idea or one of the dramatic setups provided.
Each class ends with this half hour of writing to put you into the process of writing, get you loosened up, and create some momentum that will carry over to the outside. One Writers’ Loft student took a class exercise and expanded it into a novel (The Leaving Summer by Donal Harding) that was published by William Morrow. Another student entered 21 pages of her in-class writing in the Illinois Arts Council Awards and won $7,000.
- IMMEDIATE FICTION, St. Martin's Press. One of the nation's major writing books. This is no self-published book to try to gain credibility but a five star, best selling book published by St. Martin's Press — one of the world's leading publishers.
 CDs/AUDIO TAPES. A set of CDs or audiotapes that cover the critical elements of storytelling. Play them as you ride in your car or in your Walkman. The more you listen the more you learn. A great way to perfect your skills and technique while you're doing other things.
 STORY HELP LINE. Call any time for help with any writing problem. Get the help you need when you need it. No need to wait until the next class. Call any time for personal help with any and every writing problem whether it's trouble with your story or yourself. Don't sit there and suffer. Remember no writing problem is too big to conquer and no problem is too small to disable you. This is Jerry's specialty. Call any time and let Jerry get you back on the track.
- PERSONAL CONFERENCES. Unlimited personal conferences. Personalized help tailored to your needs of the moment and the future. Help finding your subject, setting your goals, and dealing with any other writing problems.
- OUTSIDE WRITING HELP. Get feedback and coaching with outside writing. If you already have a story, you will get the coaching and guidance you need to get it into shape and off to market.
- GUARANTEE. Unconditional guarantee. That means that if at any time, for any reason, you're unsatisfied, you're entitled to a full refund - no questions asked.
- FULL MARKETING STRATEGY. Taking one Writers' Loft workshop entitles you to full marketing help and guidance - even if you're no longer in the workshop. Whenever you have a novel, short story, screenplay, or stage play ready, Jerry will give you everything you need to market your work and help you short cut the submission process and get your story a serious read by agents, editors, and publishers.
Still Unsure?
Check out:
 WHAT YOU LEARN
HOW YOU LEARN
WHAT IT TAKES
PHILOSOPHY
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TRY IT NOW — Experience the style and substance of The Writer’s Loft’s approach without committing yourself to anything.
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CALL FOR A FREE CD OR TAPE. Hear Jerry in one of his interviews on a major radio talk show and get a feel for his style, philosophy, and innovative approach. Call 773-348-4116 and leave your name and address, or email jerry@loftworkshops.com. Be sure to say whether you want a CD or tape.
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CHECK OUT IMMEDIATE FICTION at Amazon.com, where you can read the first chapter of Jerry's book.
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ALL OF THE ABOVE!
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FINAL WORDS: The most important thing to keep in mind is: You can do this. Storytelling is an acquired skill and not an inborn talent. You don't have to be brilliant or write a brilliant story. You just have to master enough craft to tell a good enough story. Plenty of writers of average intelligence are making lots of money writing mediocre stories. Look around. They're not hard to find. Unlike the other arts (music, painting, dance, etc.) where you must have an inborn ability, to be a successful storyteller, you have what you need already. You don't have to know how to play the piano or paint a portrait to get along in the world, but you'd better understand yourself, how people work, how the world works if you're going to make it in this life. In fact, if you've survived this long, you have at least 10 novels in you. You have a full set of emotions and plenty of dramatic, painful, and exciting experience to draw on. That doesn't mean you have to write about yourself. Even if you're creating Martians, it all comes from your imagination. They're your Martians and your Martians are unlike all others.
You have what you need already, but you must learn how to use it. That means developing the skills to get in touch with your imagination and to bring it to life on the page. So, it's not what you have, but learning how to use it. All you need is the desire. The Complete Story gives you everything else.
Classes begin May 28, 2008. Please call me at 773-348-4116 to register.
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