Written by Judith Schwartzstein, Director of Public Affairs, Sarah Lawrence College

Jan. 28, 2015:  The Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College and the Scarsdale Public Library have partnered to offer three classes set to take place at the library on February 2, March 4, and March 11.

The fee for the classes, Social Media for Writers, Writing Dialogue that Works, and Write Now!, is $100. To register, visit www.slc.edu/ce/writing-institute/ or call 914-395-2205.

The following is a listing of class information:

1. Social Media for Writers, Instructor: Eileen Palma

February 2, 2015, 10:00 am – Noon

Learn how to create an authentic social media platform that will make a publisher or art dealer confident that you know how to promote yourself and sell your writing or artwork. Whether you are a writer trying to make connections with small literary magazines, you are pursuing a large publisher for your novel, or you are trying to get your artwork in that hot new gallery, you need an online presence.

This hands-on workshop will cover the best ways to use Instagram and show you that there is a way to be yourself in this forum. Learn how to make real connections through social media that could translate into blog tours, speaking engagements, book reviews, art shows, or art deals.

Whether you are just starting out, in the middle of a writing or art project, or finished with one, this workshop will help you stop being afraid of social media and learn how to work it to your benefit while having fun with it.

Eileen Palma has a dual BA in English and education from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and is an alumna of The Writing Institute. Her romantic comedy Worth the Weight was published in April. Eileen has embraced the world of social media PR and has worked one-on-one with other writers to help them set up their own Facebook author pages, websites, and Twitter accounts.

2. Writing Dialogue that Works, Instructor: Deborah Laufer

March 4, 2015, 1:00 – 3:00 pm

All writing comes alive with strong dialogue—memoir, fiction, nonfiction. It lets us step outside the author's perspective and hear the characters speak for themselves. In this class, we will talk about what makes dialogue effective, using principles from playwriting. We will work to find character "voice," create conflict in a scene, and explore the many ways in which characters pursue their objectives. 

Deborah Zoe Laufer's plays have been produced at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Cleveland Playhouse, Geva Theatre Center, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Actor's Theatre of Louisville, Portland Stage, and eighty other theaters in the US, Germany, Russia, and Canada.

End Days was awarded a Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association citation and appeared at Ensemble Studio Theatre through an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant. Informed Consent will be produced in 2015 by Primary Stages and Ensemble Studio Theatre at the Duke Theatre in New York City.

3. Write Now!, Instructor: Patricia Dunn

March 11, 2015, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

There are two things most writers need and crave: time and space. In this class, we give ourselves the gift of time. In the nurturing space here at the Scarsdale Library, we find and begin to write the stories we live every day. Using our histories, our memories, and our senses as launching pads, we will begin to transform the ordinariness of our lives into extraordinary fiction and nonfiction.

This class is for those who want to write but don't yet believe they have anything to say, as well as for those who want to write but need the time and space in which to do it. The instructor will focus on craft, but most important, she will get you to write! Guaranteed!

Patricia Dunn is the director of Sarah Lawrence College's Writing Institute, where she has been teaching for the past 11 years. She is the author of Rebels by Accident (Sourcebooks Fire, 2014). Her work has appeared in Salon.com, the Christian Science Monitor, the Village Voice, the Nation, LA Weekly, and others. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Sarah Lawrence College.

Pictured here: Sarah Lawrence College.

Photo by N. Bower