Dear Writers,

Here is a pep-talk if you ever feel like quitting.

This feeling has washed over me as a writer and a creative person many times.

I think it’s a common thread with all creatives. Whenever we are almost there or really making progress, is exactly when the overwhelming feeling of quitting creeps up.

What if I go all the way, and I fail? What if I go out of business. What if I put full effort and self out there as a fiction writer and a poet, and arts curator, and a small business owner, and a creative, and people don’t like what I have to offer? What if I fail?

What if I do fail? Will people know me as a failure? Laugh at me. Maybe they’ll think I’m terrible.

Well, maybe. But really, I don’t think people will care. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. At the end of the day, nobody will really care about my own embarrassment but me.

Just as I am about to make a breakthrough, I get anxious and suddenly the urge to quit pops up.
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Does this happen to you, too?

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That’s when I know I’m on the right track.

When the urge to quit and the inertia is at it’s strongest, that’s when I know I must keep going.

Writing is the way we experience the world. “We write to taste life twice,” Anais Nin said.

If you’ve always wanted to write stories, just do it.

It’s okay to fail. To fall on your face. Think about beginning horn players and how their early attempts sound like a wounded, dying animal, but then, they get better.
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The only failure is not trying.​
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Don’t give up. You never know who needs your voice in your life.

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Here’s a quick update:

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This weekend, we are hosting our Intro to Fiction workshop with Nick Mamatas.

You can take the workshop as a drop-in since the first workshop is generative.

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We’ve got a reading scheduled as part of the Litquake festival at Et al. In the Mission on Oct 26.

And I will be continuing my monthly accountability and writing workshop intenstives for writers who are drafting a novel or memoir. I’m calling it the Autumn Character Arc Intensive. That class opens up on Oct 19 and will end on Dec 21. It’s primarily for people who have worked with me before and/or who have taken the Summer Plot Sprint and want to continue the momentum with their books. If you're interested in it, and want to know reply back to this email and let me know.

We have a new collaboration on the horizon with two great partner organizations that I think you will love. More on that soon.

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​Wishing you all a beautiful weekend and fall.

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Keep writing!

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-Alexandra

Alexandra Kostoulas,

Founder & Executive Director,

SF Creative Writing Institute

Oct 21-In Person

Drop-In Writing Workshop
Nick Mamatas

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In-Person Sept 21​
– Join us for a Drop-In Writing Workshop

Get expert feedback on something you’ve been struggling with, a prompt for generating new work and valuable critique in a warm, friendly environment. Suitable for writers working on poetry, fiction and memoir.

In this self-contained writer’s workshop, we will generate short new writing for feedback based on a prompt for developing and sharing. You’ll leave having written something new and gain some new perspective.

Additionally the workshop will offer serious, close critique of written pieces participants have previously prepared for class. This workshop is also cross-listed with the very first Intro to Fiction workshop (which is generative).

The tone of this class is congenial and fun but we’re also very serious about good writing and good writing practices. We’ll have a ten-minute break in between.

Join us for one class or sign up for all four! All levels welcome.

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​About the Instructor:​
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Nick Mamatas is the author of several novels, including I Am Providence and The Second Shooter. His short fiction has appeared in Best American Mystery Stories, Asimov's Science Fiction, Tor.com and many other venues. Much of it was recently collected in The People's Republic of Everything. Nick is also an anthologist; his latest book is Wonder and Glory Forever: Awe-Inspiring Lovecraftian Fiction.

SATURDAY, SEPT 21, 2024 * 2-4:30 PM

HARVEY MILK CENTER FOR THE ARTS

50 SCOTT STREET, SAN FRANCISCO 94117

TUITION: $40

Sept. 21-Nov. 2

Introduction to Fiction
Nick Mamatas

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In-Person Sept 21-Nov. 2 (skipping Oct 26) ​
– Starts tomorrow.

Where does your story start?

How on Earth do you keep it going?

What’s the difference between ending a story and just stopping it?

Regardless of genre, length, or form, every story has a beginning, middle, and an ending—in no particular order.

Beginning writers often start their stories in the wrong place, confuse action with plot, and then end a scene a bit too early… or too late.

In six weeks, award-winning novelist, anthologist, and editor Nick Mamatas will guide you up and down the path of storytelling—through the architecture of fiction. Nick acquires novels and short fiction, and knows what agents and editors are looking for in today’s marketplace. His work is acclaimed by critics, and praise from outfits like Publishers Weekly and Booklist prove he knows how to keep a reader engaged. This workshop will give you the tools you need to move through a story with confidence—whether it’s a novel, novella, or short story.No more getting lost.
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​About the Instructor:​
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Nick Mamatas is the author of several novels, including I Am Providence and The Second Shooter. His short fiction has appeared in Best American Mystery Stories, Asimov's Science Fiction, Tor.com and many other venues. Much of it was recently collected in The People's Republic of Everything. Nick is also an anthologist; his latest book is Wonder and Glory Forever: Awe-Inspiring Lovecraftian Fiction.

SATURDAYS

SEPT 21-NOV. 2, 2024 * 2-4:30 PM

HARVEY MILK CENTER FOR THE ARTS

50 SCOTT STREET, SAN FRANCISCO 94117

TUITION: $425

Oct. 19-Dec. 21

Autumn Character Arc Intensive
Alexandra Kostoulas

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Hyrbid Workshop Oct 19-Dec. 21 ​
– For writers who want to continue the momentum they built in Summer Plot Sprint or who want to finish their books.

This creative writing workshop series will focuses on editing and revising your in-progress work and offer exercises to keep you in flow. We’ve adapted to suit the needs of the writers and support the stages they are at in their work and life.

In this next workshop, we’ll continue to talk about narrative concepts, examine each other’s work, share ideas and edits, challenge each other, and cheer each other on.

Continuing students of Summer Plot Sprint will meet once a month over summer to focus on crafting dynamic characters and their arcs and move ahead with their books.

We still talk about plot a little bit, but this time we have a character arc focus— as writers work toward a deadline to complete a draft of their manuscripts.

We’ll meet once a month over fall in zoom, on Saturdays and/or online as required. Writers will turn in 20-25 pages of material each month.

There will be weekly office hours, pep-talks and accountability. Every Friday at noon there is an office hour to attend and get support.

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​About the Instructor:​
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Alexandra Kostoulas founded the SF Creative Writing Institute in 2015. She teaches people to find their voice and unblock themselves creatively every day. She has worked with thousands of students from all walks of life in her career as an educator and has coached many aspiring writers to publication and performance of their work. Her students have gone on to run literary organizations, become professors at prestigious universities, publish their work in peer-reviewed journals, land book deals and break barriers in their writing and lives. She writes poetry, nonfiction and fiction.

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SATURDAYS

OCT 19, NOV 16, & Dec. 21, 2024 * 2-4:30 PM

IN-PERSON & ONLINE

50 SCOTT STREET, SAN FRANCISCO 94117 & ZOOM

EARLY BIRD TUITION: $450

“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect."

— Anais Nin

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“As long as we are persistent in pursuit of our deepest destiny, we will continue to grow. We cannot choose the day or time when we will fully bloom. It happens in its own time."

— Denis Waitley

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“Your intuition knows what to write, so get out of the way."

— Ray Bradbury

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530 Divisadero St. #712, San Francisco, , CA 94117
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