Story Makers Show

See you today at 5 PM at FUN?! Visit by signing up here for an invigorating and inspiring hour of , a high-intensity interval training for ! Via Zoom.

Sign Up to Visit Craft FUN! Sign up below to join our list and get an invitation to class on June 12, 2024, 5 - 6 pm PT. If you are unable to attend live, sign up anyway. Everyone who signs up will also receive the recording.

Tonight Ellen Sussman and I are offering a sneak peek into our October Sonoma County Writers Camp. Join us 5:30 - 6:30 PM PT to start exploring our fall topic: What Story Do You Have to Tell? Sign up here:

FREE Writing Class | Sonoma County Writers Camp Free Classes: What is the Story You Have to Tell? Sneak Peek into Our Fall Generative Writing Retreat Kick off your summer with story and carry the power into the fall with this June 10 Sneak Peek into our October Writers Camp! Ellen Sussman and Elizabeth Stark will be offering a free one-hour writi...

Two FREE Writing Classes:
Sign Up Now for Tonight
or Wednesday
or Both!
Tonight Ellen Sussman and I are offering a sneak peek into our October Sonoma County Writers Camp. Join us 5:30 - 6:30 PM PT to start exploring our fall topic: What Story Do You Have to Tell? Sign up here: https://sonomacountywriterscamp.com/free-class/

And then on Wednesday, join us for a Craft FUN lesson on Cliff Hangers and Narrative Questions FREE. 5 - 6 PM PT. Sign up here: https://www.storymakersacademy.com/joinus

Both are on Zoom--you'll get the link the day of the class, after you sign up. Recorded if you can't attend live--but I hope to see you there, at both!

Sign Up to Visit Craft FUN! Sign up below to join our list and get an invitation to class on June 12, 2024, 5 - 6 pm PT. If you are unable to attend live, sign up anyway. Everyone who signs up will also receive the recording.

Last call--come away to the South of with me and my brilliant award-winning film producer/ screenwriting sister and knock out your dream summer goals?

A Retreat in Provence: Transformation in Story and Life! | Book Writing World Time to write in the gorgeous and inspiring peace of the French countryside. Held at Le Foulon, a beautiful retreat center in Provence that will be all ours, including verdant grounds and heated pool. Hikes to medieval villages. We will take you on an afternoon excursion to Grasse for lunch (optiona...

! Last call for the 's for someone who identifies as a woman or non-binary, for a FULL RIDE (tuition, room and board) to July 2024 Sonoma County Writers Camp with Ellen Sussman and me and fabulous guest de Leon! : Apply TODAY by MIDNIGHT, here: https://forms.gle/grEjBfd6Jrsw76HF8

SCWC BIPOC Writer Scholarship application form Sonoma County Writers Camp (SonomaCountyWritersCamp.com) is a 4.5-day generative writing retreat in Cazadero, CA, run by acclaimed authors and teachers Ellen Sussman and Elizabeth Stark. We are pleased to offer a full tuition waiver for one recipient who is BIPOC and self-identifies as a woman or no...

It was an honor to speak with Hari Ziyad about their beautiful and important with its powerful and unforgettable characters on http://www.storymakersshow.com/2021/05/episode-160-rest-and-revolution-a-conversation-with-author-hari-ziyad/

Episode 160: Rest and Revolution: a conversation with author Hari Ziyad | Story Makers Show Episode 160: Rest and Revolution: a conversation with author Hari Ziyad May 11, 2021 | Show | 0 comments Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS The promise of knowledge management for the widely curious brain. Paper books and index cards and card catalogs and the art o...

Don't miss our great talk with Angie Kim on her Edgar- novel Miracle Creek, and on Story Makers Show this week! https://www.storymakersshow.com/2020/05/episode-136-suspects-motives-and-red-herrings-a-conversation-with-author-angie-kim/

Episode 136: Suspects, Motives, and Red Herrings: A Conversation with Author Angie Kim | Story Makers Show Episode 136: Suspects, Motives, and Red Herrings: A Conversation with Author Angie Kim May 19, 2020 | Show | 0 comments Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS It was a blast to have Angie Kim on the show talking about her now-in-paperback legal mystery MIRACL...

Thrilling interview with of Angie Kim https://www.storymakersshow.com/2020/05/episode-136-suspects-motives-and-red-herrings-a-conversation-with-author-angie-kim/

Episode 136: Suspects, Motives, and Red Herrings: A Conversation with Author Angie Kim | Story Makers Show Episode 136: Suspects, Motives, and Red Herrings: A Conversation with Author Angie Kim May 19, 2020 | Show | 0 comments Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS It was a blast to have Angie Kim on the show talking about her now-in-paperback legal mystery MIRACL...

This week on Story Makers Show, "Salting the Soup: Getting Metaphor Right" https://www.storymakersshow.com/2020/05/episode-134-salting-the-soup-getting-metaphor-right/

Episode 134: Salting the Soup: Getting Metaphor Right | Story Makers Show Episode 134: Salting the Soup: Getting Metaphor Right May 5, 2020 | Show | 0 comments Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS Angie and Elizabeth fumble toward answering a listener’s question about metaphor, at first blaming the heat in their pandemic garage...

Hello, Story Makers! You are invited to a , online tonight at 7 pm Pacific. This is a sneak peek into Sonoma County Writers Camp's April session: Twists, Turns and Revelations: and in , with Ellen Sussman and me. Sign up for the free class here, and come write with us for an hour:
http://sonomacountywriterscamp.com/free-class/

FREE Writing Class | Sonoma County Writers Camp FREE Writing Class   Free Class Online: Tuesday, February 19, 2019, 7 – 8 pm PT Note: a recording will be available after if you sign up, even if you can’t attend. Get a sneak peek at Sonoma County Writers Camp April 2019 session, Twists, Turns and Revelations: Secrets and Surprises in Story. T...

If you haven't done your New Years Resolutions yet (or have been struggling to keep up with them) check out the latest podcast on updating how we think about goal setting.

Episode 86: Let’s Talk About Goals | Story Makers Show Episode 86: Let’s Talk About Goals Jan 8, 2019 | Show | 0 comments http://media.blubrry.com/storymakers/p/content.blubrry.com/storymakers/010819.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS In this week’s episode, Angie and Elizabeth talk about goal setting ...

Story Makers Show | A Podcast for Every Story Teller Catch up on the latest episodes... Episode 81:The Blind Date or Why Your Rejection is Your Fault Nov 27, 2018 | Show | 0 Comments Elizabeth and Angie discuss many, many things in a short time, including coffee, Kafka, the relative speed of mail in the 19th century and why rejection might be more und...

I'm teaching a free writing class for teens (down to age 11) and young adults this Friday afternoon in Sebastopol. It's called, Secrets and Surprises: Writing Stories That Intrigue:

https://sonomacounty.libcal.com/event/4587431

Creative Writing Club for Young Adults & Teens Visiting authors and writers venture to the Library to share their craft with Young Adults and Teens! This week we'll meet Elizabeth Stark! "Secrets and Surprises: Writing Stories That Intrigue&q...

Congratulations to Jabari Asim, Writer, on his upcoming book, featured in this great review:
https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781250174536
Check him out on Episode #74 of Story Makers Show!

Nonfiction Book Review: We Can’t Breathe: On Black Lives, White Lies, and the Art of Survival by Jabari Asim. Picador, $17 trade paper (208p) ISBN 978-1-250-17453-6 In this small but expansive collection of essays, writer and cultural critic Asim (Preaching to the Chickens: The Story of Young John Lewis) draws on the full breadth of black history in the

New Makers Show podcast with the fabulous Marian Palaia: http://www.storymakersshow.com/episode-71-little-knots-of-why-and-what/

Episode 71: Little Knots of Why and What | Story Makers Show Episode 71: Little Knots of Why and What Jun 12, 2018 | Show | 0 comments http://media.blubrry.com/storymakers/p/content.blubrry.com/storymakers/June_12_2018.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS It was great to catch up with Marian Palaia from her home i...

The Importance of Change (and a free class) -

The Importance of Change (and a free class) Story is about change. We need story because we need to make sense of change and to instigate change and to survive change. We need to mourn when change--that seemed possible, necessary--doesn't manifest. We need to celebrate when it does. Mostly, we need to crawl with our heroes through the throes....

Free Writing Class Tonight -

Free Writing Class Tonight Just a quick note to remind you to sign up at http://sonomacountywriterscamp.com/free-class/ and join us for a sneak peek (including two writing exercises) into our upcoming Sonoma County Writers Camp, August 8 – 12, 2018:

Courage for Writers (and a Free Class) -

Courage for Writers (and a Free Class) Here's the news: in the battle between courage and fear, the opponents are unmatched. Fear is a toddler, a teen, young and, well, afraid. Courage is everything you have in you and also what you need when you don't know if you have it in you at all.Courage knows the next step--if you ask and listen--...

The Secrets of Story: our Matt Bird interview! -

The Secrets of Story: our Matt Bird interview! Dear Writers, Whew! I just had the most amazing week at Sonoma County Writers Camp. Well, okay, it was five days, but five wide open days in springtime Occidental packed with writing, discussion, incredible writers and thinkers and movers and shakers and creative folks there to get the work done and...

Don't Fear the Process -

Don't Fear the Process Snippet from the podcast: “It has to be right for you, and it has to be right for your readers, but it’s never going to be right for everybody." 

Makers is BACK after long hiatus. We start right in with that ' challenge, : http://www.storymakersshow.com/episode-64-rejection-and-resurrection/

Episode 64: Rejection and Resurrection | Story Makers Show Episode 64: Rejection and Resurrection Apr 16, 2018 | Show | 0 comments http://media.blubrry.com/storymakers/p/content.blubrry.com/storymakers/Podcast_April_17.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS We’re back after a long hiatus, and diving in with a to...

Rejection and Risk: My Own Report -

Rejection and Risk: My Own Report “Every rejection is incremental payment on your dues that in some way will be translated back into your work.” —James Lee Burke

Hello Writers! Best-selling author and awesome human being Ellen Sussman and I lead --and we've just opened enrollment for August and October camps. Check us out and come write, connect and bliss out with us: http://sonomacountywriterscamp.com/

Sonoma County Writers Camp | A Beautiful Place To Write Sonoma County Writers Camp April 25 – 29, 2018: Compelling Characters: Bringing People to Life on the Page August 8 – 12, 2018: Beg, Borrow, Steal: What We Can Learn from Different Genres October 10 – 14, 2018: Scene Making: The Essence of Storytelling Published Authors Ellen Sussman and Eliza...

Guess what, ? We recorded an episode of Makers Show for the first time in almost a year! Look for it's release later in the week... The topic? Surviving and Thriving Past ...

Connect -

Connect “What should young people do with their lives today? Many things, obviously. But the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured.” -- Kurt Vonnegut  

Courage and Motivation for Writers ( Plus Free Class Tonight and Thursday) -

Courage and Motivation for Writers ( Plus Free Class Tonight and Thursday) “Don't be afraid of your fears. They're not there to scare you. They're there to let you know that something is worth it.” -- C. JoyBell C

Not Writing. (And come to friends week for free.) -

Not Writing. (And come to friends week for free.) Either because I turned my manuscript in to my agent and am waiting to hear from her or because I flew to London for five not-very-sleep-filled days of memorial-attending and family and theater while we're at it or because I got sick when I returned or because I went on an overnight with my kids' cl...

What if I get it wrong? (Plus last chance for free class.) -

What if I get it wrong? (Plus last chance for free class.) What if I have no time? Write in between. What if I have no place? Carry a notebook. What if I have no story? Make one up.

Free Writing Class on Character with Bestseller Ellen Sussman and Me -

Free Writing Class on Character with Bestseller Ellen Sussman and Me "The one common thread in all of the books that are falling apart on my shelf? Characters—flawed ones with desires and needs who spend most of the story tripping over their weaknesses in an effort to get what they want." — Becca Puglisi

Morning Pages -

Morning Pages One of my students wrote me in response to my last newsletter, beginning with a line I'd written there:"Are you so busy taking care of everyone and everything else that to slow down and listen to your own (strong and unique) words becomes frightening?"Elizabeth, this is exactly where I am.  I tho...