What are you doing March 22-28, 2015?

via Praiano Writers

If you love writing, and you have no plans for that time period, I can tell you exactly what you will be doing. You’ll be attending Praiano Writers, a cross-genre writing experience lead by the great Lary Bloom, Suzanne Levine, and Roya Hakakian.

If you’re still reading this, I’m confused. I honestly expected you to click right over and leave this page to learn more about the wonders of studying under some of the greatest mentors of all time.

How else can I convince you that this is an opportunity you don’t want to miss? Well, as a former student of Lary Bloom, I can attest that he is a phenomenal instructor. He is patient, yet pushes you. He is kind, yet direct. He is motivating, persistent, and cares so much about you as a person, writer, and student.

I can say with all honesty that Lary Bloom changed my life. Having him as a mentor was exactly what I needed when I needed it, without even knowing I needed something. He had an insight to my writing that I wasn’t even aware of at the time. In fact, I think that may be the biggest lesson he taught me: how to be aware of the undercurrents in my own writing.

I was once writing about what it was like to have autoimmune issues. The overall theme of the essay was: are you allowed to be sick if other’s didn’t give you permission to be sick? Often if others can’t see physical symptoms of an illness, it is dismissed by the people around you. Lary was shocked to find out my parents hadn’t found their way into my essay. “Why would my parents be in an essay about my autoimmune issues?” I asked him. “Erin,” he practically shouted (but didn’t, as Lary is not prone to yell at his students), “Your father is a psychologist and your mother is a nurse. There has to be something there when you relate it to an illness others cannot see!” While the story never became about my parents, including information about the people close to me and other influences in my life took the essay to a much deeper, different place it started.

All I can say is that I am sincerely grateful for the time I studied under Lary Bloom. Now, I haven’t studied under Suzanne or Roya, though I have heard wonderful things about them both. That and I know Lary, a great judge of character, makes company with people he admires.

I hope you’ll take my suggestion seriously and consider attending Praiano Writers in March 2015.