Writing Pad
Upcoming Classes in Los Angeles

Instructor actually published a memoir that sold very well. She shared tips that we could use immediately and was open with her story and her process. Respectful when class read stories and offered great commentary.

Very informative and inspirational! Highly recommend.

It was good to have exercises and not just consist of lectures from the instructor. I would've enjoyed more participants sharing their writing.

This was my first zoom experience but will not be my last. I am already looking into which class to take next. I learned quite a bit and he gave steps to take now if someone wanted to be a tv writer.

This was THE BEST CLASS I ever took. Ryan is an excellent teacher. His passion and dedication to what he does is extremely contagions. At the end of each class none of us wanted to leave. Ryan always stayed after class to answer all our questions. We all felt very saddened that the class ended and suggested that he should also teach TV Drama II.

Excellent instructor, well-formatted, learned so much in 3 hours! Highly recommend.

Excellent for someone who had no background and is curious about writing a novel. Great class dynamic.

Nicky was an absolutely fantastic instructor! The course was everything I had hoped for and more.

This course was a gift from my family for which I am very grateful. By profession, a prolific writer of policy analysis, media releases, political speeches, and legislative presentations, I had never attempted memoir writing. Our instructor is an accomplished, published author of two memoirs as well as a stage and television actor. She clearly grasps her craft. Her teaching style, though sometimes brusque - even a bit Socratic - communicates her criticisms cogently. Still, class/instructor give and take was often truncated by her cutting it off mid-sentence - almost as if she was expecting a taxi to show up any minute. The bottom line is that I am a better writer thanks to her and my classmates.

It was very informative and Anna Scott was a great instructor. I learned a ton and can't wait to start my podcast.

Love it! Learned so much!

An amazing class - really got a lot out of it. One note - the last class is a 20 minute 1:1 with the teacher. I would've liked to have a longer 1:1 session but I was able to develop my Personal Essay skills exponentially in a matter of a few weeks.

She is great! Good content, Process and outcomes. Highly recommend!

Overall great class. Learned so much in such a brief amount of time. I would’ve loved to learn more about log lines, and an example of a pitch. Overall, amazing experience. I’ve already signed up for additional classes.

Great environment. The last class what a short one on one with the instructor to get notes on your essay. This was awesome, and very helpful. But I did feel a little let down because your last class was those 20 or so minutes, rather than a three hour session. Maybe my expectations weren't quite in alignment and I would have felt differently if I expected this from the beginning. But overall, I learned a lot in the class and would recommend it to others who want to tell a personal story and learn how to pitch it for publication.

Enjoyed the class very much and thought the teacher was great. I would definitely do another class with Brett.

The writing pad offers a fantastic variety of writing classes. It's run by a very nice and helpful couple who would always make you feel at home and your concerns heard. I continuously take classes at the writing pad, because they're awesome!

I've taken several classes with Writing Pad. I've taken classes with showrunners (Nastaran Dibai, Joey Gutierrez, and Michael Saltzman, ) and worked on outlines and drafts, and then taken a couple of comedy revision classes, both great. The one with Craig Gerard was useful, fun, and the class really bonded. The one with Todd Waldman I liked because he has a development background as well to give another angle. I especially liked that he encouraged people to bring back work if they could to revisit the changes that had been suggested in other classes. I found the instructors here bring real world experience and give great notes and suggestions. It's also helpful to hear what other writers have to say. It's definitely a place where you benefit from the community as well as the instructors. I took an essay class with Christopher Noxon, who is fantastic as well - I really want to take his illustrated journal class. Marilyn and Jeff really work at creating a community, and getting great people in. I've read a couple of the negative reviews, and it sounds like people had an expectation about what they'd get, but for me I've learned from every class I've had. The few people who seem dissatisfied/disinterested in the classes are the ones who don't show up for anyone else, have their stuff read and leave, and don't participate unless it involves their stuff - that's been what I've seen in taking several classes.

I've taken classes from both Lauren and Steph and both were exceptional teachers, offering constructive criticism without seeming harsh or patronizing (something you might get from published authors). The people who run this take a real interest in seeing writers grow. They listen to their students and do their best to make the space comfortable. They have snacks.

I LOVE Writing Pad. The past couple of months I have done several classes there. I've been doing Memoir Writing with Brett Paesel, Comedy screenwriting with Devanshi Patel and Drama writing with Dailyn Rodriguez. All three of these classes have taught me so much about craft. These three women are all so generous and so skilled. I can't believe how much energy and insight they have for each student's writing. They are able to see each project on its own terms and offer extremely useful feedback, ideas and advice. I came into this from a mainly playwriting background, wanting to learn about writing for television and memoir and I am thrilled with how much I've learnt. I also really appreciate being made to write stuff! I find as a writer, one of the things that's hardest is making myself write. Doing classes at Writing Pad makes me write constantly! I would recommend taking classes to writers of all levels of experience. I'm thrilled with what I'm learning and really enjoy the classes and talking to the other students. Marilyn and Jeff, who run Writing Pad are a delight, as are all the staff there. I am doing Brett and Devanshi's classes next year too. I wish I'd started doing classes at Writing Pad as soon as I first moved to LA a year ago.