Online Writing Workshops, Online Writing Classes, Online Writing Courses

"Hands down, the best writing book on the market today!"
--Annie Dillard, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

With so many writing books and workshops available today, you need to know:
How does Writing the Wave stand out in the crowd?
What's special about it?
Why is it better than other approachs?

Books about writing fall into three categories: books that use writing as a means of self-exploration; writing how-to books that DO NOT provide instructional writing exercises; writing how-to books that DO give specific writing exercises.

1. Books that use writing as a means of self-exploration.

None of us can see our own face. If we want to know what we look like, we must use a mirror. Words mirror inner realities, and the person who would look inside his or her soul can use language to see within. Preeminent among the books which help readers achieve greater self-awareness through the written word is The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron, as well as the sequels Ms. Cameron has written to this groundbreaking book, which has awakened thousands of people to their need for creative self-expression.

The Artist's Way consists of twelve chapters to which the reader is supposed to devote a full week of work. This work includes journal writing every morning, as well as on selected topics (called "tasks") during the week. Tasks appear at the end of the chapter and revolve around that week's "issue" (e.g., Recovering a Sense of Strength). Cameron's book is modeled after the 12-Step Recovery Programs. Her tasks are designed to help readers uncover psychological blocks to creativity. Sample tasks are: "As a kid, my dad thought my art was [fill in the blank]. That made me feel [fill in the blank]." Or, "Describe your childhood room." Or, "Write a letter to the editor [about your creativity] in your defense. Mail it to yourself." Following Cameron's program, a reader will be able to say, at the end, "I am a creative person." Hopefully, readers will have done enough exploratory writing to know which of the infinite outlets their creative impulse may want to take: filmmaking, pottery, cooking, dance or crotchet.

WRITING THE WAVE: INSPIRED RIDES FOR RELUCTANT WRITERS picks up where The Artist's Way leaves off. In fact, new callers to the Elizabeth Ayres Center for Creative Writing will often say, "I've been doing The Artist's Way and now I want to take the next step with my writing." Cameron's book shows readers that they want to create; WRITING THE WAVE teaches you how to create with words. Cameron's book is a general exploration of a creative impulse which could express itself in any number of ways; WRITING THE WAVE shows you how the creative impulse channels itself into language qua art form. Cameron's book, and others like it, use the written word as a means to an end; in WRITING THE WAVE, creative writing is the goal, and the book teaches you how to achieve that goal. Cameron's book concentrates on private, journal-type writing; WRITING THE WAVE teaches you how to construct publicly accessible literature. With Cameron's book, one writes for oneself; with WRITING THE WAVE, you learn to write for others. Cameron's book is an exploration; WRITING THE WAVE is a "how to" book. Cameron's book requires an intense commitment of time and energy: 1/2 hour every morning, plus several hours during the week; WRITING THE WAVE requires no commitment beyond the individual chapter/exercise, which you can usually complete within 1/2 hour.

Reigning 'Queen of Creative Writing' is Natalie Goldberg, author of Writing Down The Bones: Freeing the Writer Within and Wild Mind: Living the Writer's Life. With her Zen attitude and gentle encouragement, Ms. Goldberg has probably done more than anyone else to popularize creative writing.

Goldberg's books are extended essays on her personal experiences as a writer. As she tells of her own struggles with fear, loneliness and self-doubt, readers see that their struggles are valid. The suggestions she gives may or may not involve writing. For example, "Say to yourself, 'I am a writer' every morning and night." Or, "Read good books." Or, "Write in restaurants with a friend." Or, "Write about a time you had a spiritual experience. Tell the details."

Writing Down the Bones was my first Bible and Natalie Goldberg my Guru -- until I found Elizabeth Ayres. Ms. Ayres showed me how to crack open those dried up old bones and dig out the marrow! Her exercises made writing seem effortless. One session and wham! Out it comes! An explosion of creativity that brings characters alive, renders places unforgettable and makes writing -- a miracle. (Eileen O'Keefe, student)

Elizabeth Ayres is a teacher, and WRITING THE WAVE is a how-to book which instructs. In the Ayres' book, the only relevant experience is your moment-by-moment encounter with the literary act as you follow a controlled sequence of exercise steps. Goldberg, for example, might talk about how she feels a kaleidoscopic "click" when she's writing. WRITING THE WAVE guides you through a series of actions such that you are bound to feel that "click" for yourself.

Moreover, the Goldberg books are not really for beginners. In order to relate to Goldberg's writerly experiences, a reader must already be writing. Goldberg's suggestions present interesting possibilities for proficient writers. They will sabotage beginners. She says, for example, "Write about towns and cities you have passed through and places you stayed in a weak or less. Write about a car trip. Go. Write about trains. Go. Write about a hotel you stayed in. Go. Make up twenty of your own travel topics. Explore different dimensions of your travels."

But which towns? When in my life? Should I count the times I've traveled with others? If I write about the train, do I have to describe it? How? What does she mean by different dimensions? Goldberg's suggestions trigger too many possibilities, overwhelming novices, who don't know where to start. WRITING THE WAVE shows you exactly where to start, exactly what to do. Its exercise steps offer clearly defined goals and thereby remove doubts, questions and anxieties.

Finally, because Goldberg's suggestions are made in the context of her essays, they're willy-nilly. There's no logical sequence, no teacherly intent. WRITING THE WAVE is constructed in a purposeful, logical way gradually to build up your skills, give you confidence, and transform you into a competent practitioner of the writing art.

One of the most successful -- and enduring -- of the writing "how to's" is Writing the Natural Way: Using Right-Brain Techniques to Release Your Expressive Powers by Gabriele Lusser Rico. Her book is devoted to her discovery, "clustering," a technique which makes writing a natural process by teaching the student to flow with, rather than fight, the cooperative rhythms of the brain hemispheres. Each chapter explores a different aspect of the clustering process and each has, at the end, a "Directing Your Hand" writing section.

Newton and Einstein were both scientists who made discoveries about the physical universe. The ramifications of those discoveries are quite different, however. Gabriele Rico and Elizabeth Ayres are both teachers who have made discoveries about how the mind words when writing. The implications and uses of those discoveries are totally different.

Rico's book focuses on "clustering," which brings together related ideas and associations. WRITING THE WAVE focuses on "layering," which brings together unrelated ideas. Rico's clustering device originates in her academic research, and she is an academic; Ayres' layering device originates in her personal experience as a practicing poet. Clustering is adapted to the writing act from a generalized theory about creativity and brain functions; layering is Ayres' name for the fundamental writing act. The goal of Rico's book is to make readers adept at clustering -- a student who masters the technique can use it for any kind of writing, including business memos or legal briefs; WRITING THE WAVE's goal is to make you adept at producing self-expressive literary works. Rico's writing suggestions are complex and make readers work hard. WRITING THE WAVE's exercises are easy. Rico's narrative is academic and technical, for example:

The corpus callosum connects the two brain hemispheres primarily for two main purposes: it allows them to communicate with each other at the rate of thousands of impulses per second, but it can also inhibit this informational flow when it is more advantageous to focus the talents of one hemisphere alone on a given task.

To understand what I mean by Artistic Structure, imagine you want to build a house. You're not just going to pile pieces of lumber on top of each other, are you? No, of course not. First, you must dig a foundation. Next, you must construct a framework. Finally, you nail the lumber onto the framework which is solidly fixed into the foundation.

The Rico book is not for beginners. Its academic orientation, confusing layout and complicated exercises make it a tough nut, indeed. Cracking it requires a commitment and dedication which beginners do not possess. WRITING THE WAVE requires nothing from you except the willingness to follow a few simple steps in a streamlined layout. Finally, readers of the Rico book have to put out a lot of writing before they see any results; with WRITING THE WAVE, you get instant gratification.

A more results-oriented book in the "how-to" category is The No-Experience Necessary Writer's Course: A Unique Stress-free Approach for Anyone Who Has Ever Wanted to Write by Scott Edelstein. It consists of 98 short chapters on writing issues (e.g., "The Uses & Limits of Catharsis," "Creative Lying," "Metaphor") interspersed with 25 one-page writing exercises.

Edelstein's writing suggestions are "story starters." They don't explore fundamental principles. They don't teach anything. For instance, "Imagine you are browsing through an old family album, looking at photographs, clippings and other memorabilia. Suddenly you spot something that surprises you. Write a piece that begins with, includes or takes off from this situation." This suggestion may or may not stimulate reader's imaginations. After executing it, however, readers still won't know how to create their own writing topics.

WRITING THE WAVE's exercises are completely different and vastly superior as teaching tools. They break the writing act up into parts (the way a chemical compound breaks up into elements). The exercises show you exactly how the parts recombine in you mind during the literary act. While Edelstein's readers must rely on him throughout the book to provide writing topics, WRITING THE WAVEshows you how to generate your own raw material from scratch after the second chapter.

Edelstein's readers must also wade through four or five pages of narrative between exercises, which are presented in a one-page "lump." WRITING THE WAVE's unique "Stop 'n Go" format keeps you writing literally on every page, and, because explanations are only presented between exercise steps, the narrative never intrudes on your writing activity.

Edelstein's exercises have little logical sequence. The last one ("Write a piece about a black box.") is no different than the first ("Imagine you're down town in a major city during rush hour .... Write a piece that begins with or includes this scene.") WRITING THE WAVE's exercises are designed to build skills. They follow each other in an ordered sequence and guide you from beginning through intermediate and advanced levels.

Edelstein's exercises can only be used one time. How often could someone "write a piece in a waiting room," or "write a piece about a black box"? WRITING THE WAVE's exercises are like templates. They provide a basic structure which can be used time and time again, because the actual ideas are coming from YOU! Edelstein's book, which claims to be for beginners, requires a high degree of commitment. In Exercise 11, for instance, readers are instructed to record their dreams for a week. In Exercise 16, they're instructed to look at everything they've done in all previous exercises, then pick something to revise according to the hints in Chapters 59 - 62. This is too vague and too large a task for the easily overwhelmed novice. It also requires a huge amount of work, which only a dedicated writer is likely to undertake. WRITING THE WAVE caters to intimidated fledglings. It spoonfeeds you baby-sized bites until you're ready for bigger ones. And it requires virtually no work.

Finally, Edelstein's book is devoid of a spiritual dimension, nor does it address general issues concerning creative self expression. It's a hard-nosed, product-oriented work. WRITING WAVE is a process-oriented how-to book. It is premised on the existence of Spirit as the numinous core of each human being, and shows how writing is an expression of an individual's Spirit. This is what creative self-expression is, and WRITING THE WAVE trumpets that truth loud and clear.

In the end, what none of these books has is Elizabeth Ayres. Since 1972, Ms. Ayres has been the Johnny Appleseed of Creative Writing. She's pioneered her own programs, invented her own techniques and created her own school of writing, which is thriving because Ms. Ayres can teach what no one else can. The challenges of proselytizing for the written word among unwed teenage mothers, children, adults in the South Bronx, senior citizens and people from every walk of life have sharpened her methods to a razor point. WRITING THE WAVE is the fruit of twenty-five years of passionate commitment to teaching. It is everything Elizabeth Ayres is: dynamic, inspiring, one-of-a-kind. WRITING THE WAVE will give you the ride of their lives.