Lyzette Wanzer, MFA

This three-hour writing workshop will take place on June 10th, and is open to writers of all genres including fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, songwriting, essays, and graphic novels. As a writer in the 21st century, you will need some incarnation of this statement on your grant, fellowship, and other funding applications, your residency applications, and your author web page. This statement serves as your opportunity to demonstrate that you are a thoughtful, deliberate writer who takes their literary career seriously.

In this seminar you'll learn how to cast your work in its strongest, most evocative light. You will read several statement examples, learn how vetting committees use them, and then craft, workshop, and revise several drafts of your own statement. You will complete a series of writing exercises to generate ideas about how to talk about your work. We'll polish your statement until it is ready to impress! Reserve your seat at https://grubstreet.org/findaclass/class/artist-statements-for-creative-writers

This workshop offers information, guidance, and strategies for writers ready to present their work on a conference panel, whether virtual or in-person. You will learn how to choose the right writers' conferences, prepare polished submissions, create a conference plan, obtain financial support to attend, practice conference etiquette, and avoid common, costly mistakes in your materials that mark you as an amateur. Open to writers who feel ready to present their work at a professional writers' conference. Register at https://hugohouse.org/product/get-invited-to-read-your-work-at-literary-conferences

This three-hour seminar is geared toward African American, Afro Latina, and multiracial women of the African Diaspora who are interested in a safe, nurturing, intentional space to write, develop, and share their hair stories. For over four hundred years, Black natural hair has been the target of erasure efforts, keeping us in the margins. This workshop explores how writing about one of the still-remaining systemic biases in schools, academia, and corporate America might lead to greater understanding, respect, strength, and a sense of agency.

Poems, essays, short scenes, and hybrid pieces are all welcome. Have your favorite brainstorming materials handy, whether that be that a notebook, journal, sketchbook, or a roll of newsprint or butcher paper. All emotions that surface—anger, sadness, outrage, empowerment—are welcome. Open to all levels of writers from beginning through advanced. Register at https://grubstreet.org/findaclass/class/narrative-healing-writing-our-hair 

This workshop is designed for writers who are thinking of enrolling in a Creative Writing MFA program, but feel intimidated by the application process. Do you fret about how to make your application rise to the top in a stack of fierce competitors? What are the most common pitfalls, and how can you avoid them? You probably know how competitive these programs are and how exacting the admissions requirements can be. Learn to present each aspect of your application in the strongest light, and avoid both the blunders and the omissions that many of your fellow applicants will make. During this workshop, you will complete several drafts of the dreaded "tell us about yourself" statement, compile your literary CV, understand the differences and (often surprising) variations among MFA programs, and consider which program model may be the best fit for you. Though this class is geared for people thinking about or planning to apply to an MFA program in fiction, creative nonfiction, or poetry, playwrights and screenwriters are also welcome. Registration is now open at https://grubstreet.org/findaclass/class/ace-your-mfa-application

This writing workshop is open to writers of all genres including fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, songwriting, essays, and graphic novels. As a writer in the 21st century, you will need some incarnation of this statement on your grant, fellowship, and other funding applications, your residency applications, and your author web page. This statement serves as your opportunity to demonstrate that you are a thoughtful, deliberate writer who takes their literary career seriously.

In this seminar you'll learn how to cast your work in its strongest, most evocative light. You will read several statement examples, learn how vetting committees use them, and then craft, workshop, and revise several drafts of your own statement. You will complete a series of writing exercises to generate ideas about how to talk about your work. We'll polish your statement until it is ready to impress! Register at https://wordcrafters.org/craft-your-artist-statement.

In this class that starts on March 20th, you will birth, nurture, and release one brand-new flash fiction story. You will engage in extensive revisions of your work, and close readings and analysis of ten sudden fiction stories. Students registering for this class should be prepared to create new work from scratch in a concentrated, serious environment. Homework will consist of revisions and exercises to help ensure that your piece is as polished and economically written as possible. Prior fiction or nonfiction writing experience is required. Registration is through The University of Chicago's Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies. This is course #WRIT32850.

4/30/23    

11am – 3:30pm

$60

This workshop is geared for writers who are planning to participate in open mics, literary festivals, a reading series, or who will be reading their work at a writers' or humanities conference. In this workshop we will cover the myriad ways in which to ensure that reading your work to an audience helps you build your reputation as a writer and share the passion you have for your story, poem, or essay. Reading in public is one of the best ways to propel your literary career forward and get yourself invited to other events.  In this workshop you will learn:

• the critical but too-often-overloooked preparatory steps to take before you ever set foot in the venue
• how to notate your excerpt or your piece to guide the pace, inflection, pauses, phrasing, and emphasis of your reading
• how to harness stage fright and make it work for you
• how to establish presence at the mic
• what NOT to do at the microphone!

A laptop, tablet, or notebook computer is required for this class.

Registration closes April 26th. The registration process:

1)       Email AuthorLyzetteWanzer@LyzetteWanzerMFA.com

2)       Mention the workshop(s) for which you wish to register

3)       You will receive a message about whether space remains in the class. If space remains, you will receive online payment instructions. Do not attempt to remit payment until you receive confirmation that a seat is available.

4)      Tuition is non-refundable after April 26th.

4/18/23 – 5/23/23   

5:30pm – 8pm Pacific Time

Zoom and in-person

$175

*** Submission required for admission ***

NOTE: Students who've completed one of the following classes with Lyzette in 2022 do not need to apply and may register without a submission:

• Building a Career as a Literary Artist (Writers.com)
• For BIPOC Writers: Get Invited to Read at Literary Conferences (Muse & The Marketplace Conference)
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Creative Writers (Loft Literary Center)
• Lyzette's August 2022 Rooted & Written Fellowship workshop (The Writers Grotto)

All others wishing to register for this multi-week grant seminar must apply. Submit a literary resume and a link to your author website (or your author LinkedIn or Facebook profile). If you are in academia, you may submit a CV in lieu of a resume, and a faculty profile page in lieu of a LinkedIn or Facebook profile. Attach your resume as a Word, Pages, or PDF document only. Email your submissions to AuthorLyzetteWanzer@LyzetteWanzerMFA.com by April 15th, 2023.

You can secure a grant and focus on your work without the day-to-day pressure of paying bills. While there is no quick fix for securing a coveted grant, there are several strategies that position you to put your best foot forward and avoid the mistakes that other applicants make. This six-week  seminar intensive is geared for students eager to learn how to increase their odds of winning grants, fellowships, scholarships, or residencies from the nation's major funding foundations. We will cover:

• the best places to locate funding opportunities that are a fit for you
• getting inside the minds of review panelists (what are they looking for? what turns them off?)
• avoiding faux pas that mark you as an amateur and brand you as unprofessional
• how to curate your application package, online presence, and personal statements to portray a three-dimensional view of you, and why this step is absolutely crucial to success
• the Top 10 Tips for grant applications
• the often-overlooked importance of being a good literary citizen (hint: Funders actually prefer to give money, space, and financially supported time to these applicants).

This seminar is best suited to students who are interested in securing financial support for a period of one month to one year for writing projects that will start in late 2023 or in 2024. Registration closes April 16th. 

Prerequisite: Students must be computer-savvy, serious, focused, committed to completing assignments, and dedicated to the success of everyone in the seminar. Participants complete an emailed pre-work assignment prior to the first class meeting.

4/29/23

10am – 5pm

$70

In a safe, supportive community, learn how to plan a submissions strategy, create a plan of attack for your work, research markets, and locate the ones that are the best fits for your writing. Begin by learning proper submission etiquette and protocol, avoiding pitfalls that mark you as an amateur and get your submission tossed onto the "No" pile—before editors have even read it. Then we will submit short stories, articles, poems, essays, novel excerpts, and/or creative nonfiction pieces to several markets. It's time to set aside the bevy of excuses about why you're not sending your work out to creative writing journals, magazines, and contests!

Registration closes April 26th. The registration process:

1)       Email AuthorLyzetteWanzer@LyzetteWanzerMFA.com

2)       Mention the workshop(s) for which you wish to register

3)       You will receive a message about whether space remains in the class. If space remains, you will receive online payment instructions. Do not attempt to remit payment until you receive confirmation that a seat is available.

Tuition is non-refundable after April 26th.

3/4/23   

10:30am – 2:30pm

$50

This workshop offers information, guidance, and strategies for writers who wish to apply to have their work accepted at a writers' conference, whether virtual or in-person. In a safe and supportive environment, we will explore how to:

• choose the right writers' conference for you
• prepare a polished submission
• make a professional impression from submission to attendance
• create a conference plan
• get financial support to attend
• practice conference etiquette: the do's and dont's of both applying and attending

Open to writers of all levels who feel prepared to present their work at a professional writers' conference. Students completing this workshop will be prepared to research, select, and submit work to several literary conferences, and will be well-equipped with the conventions and expectations of attending. A laptop, notebook computer, or iPad is required for this workshop.

Registration closes March 2nd. The registration process:

1)       Email AuthorLyzetteWanzer@LyzetteWanzerMFA.com

2)       Mention the workshop(s) for which you wish to register

3)       You will receive a message about whether space remains in the class. If space remains, you will receive online payment instructions. Do not attempt to remit payment until you receive confirmation that a seat is available.

2/2/23

5:30pm – 8:30pm

$50

Ready to elevate your writing career to the next level, but not sure how to present your background in an appropriately professional fashion? Whether you have a long list of publication credits or just a few, you need a literary resume that both adheres to professional standards and encourages panelists, editors, and reviewers to learn more about your work. When done properly, this resume helps you:

•     land grants, fellowships, and other funding for your writing projects

•     get invitations to present work at conferences

•     obtain reading opportunities

•     present strong artist residency applications

•     get editors' and publishers' attention

•     be taken seriously as a writer, and not a hobbyist

Leave with a shiny new resume and an author bio  that makes your accomplishments--whether large or small--stand out!  A laptop, tablet, or notebook computer is required.

Prerequisite: You must bring a rough list of your writing-related achievements, or a draft of your writing resume.

Registration closes February 4th. The registration process:

1)       Email AuthorLyzetteWanzer@LyzetteWanzerMFA.com

2)       Mention the workshop(s) for which you wish to register

3)       You will receive a message about whether space remains in the class. If space remains, you will receive online payment instructions. Do not attempt to remit payment until you receive confirmation that a seat is available.

4)      Tuition is non-refundable after February 4th.

The lyrical essay has become a highly popular genre in multiple disciplines, from journalism to the personal essay. Authors from Purpura and Forché to Didion and Dillard have written them. But what, exactly, is this form? Poetic essay or essayistic poem? Both – or neither? The form employs a series of images or ideas, rather than chronicle or argument, to sculpt a narrative. Often inconclusive, lyrical essays reach beyond archetypal classical frames to a meditative sense of place and displacement. In this workshop you will birth, nurture, and release a brand-new lyric essay. We'll begin by identifying key components of the form, learn how to negotiate its terrain, and then get down to the business of crafting a lyric essay. You will engage in extensive revisions of your work, and then during our last two weeks together, submit your finished piece to six literary journals and contests for publication. Students registering for this class should be prepared to create new work from scratch in a concentrated, serious environment. Outside of class assignments will consist of revisions and a few exercises to help ensure that your piece is as polished and economically written as possible. This class is best suited to those who have a basic understanding of craft in fiction or nonfiction. Register now at https://loft.org/classes/writing-lyric-essay