Student to Producer
I changed my life at UCLA Extension. I was in my late thirties, an actress who was tired of ac...
From TV Car Ads to Big-Screen Car Chases?
I work in advertising, and I'm familiar with making commercials. But I want to do more than make ...
5th book and 2 more on the way!
In the early '90s I took a six-part UCLA Extension course on cookbook writing with Norman Kolpas....
From Student to MFA Grant Recipient
It began with Leon Martel's "The Joy of Writing," continued with Philomene Long's "Writer's Sketc...
From Novel to Screenplay -- An Author's Journey
As a published author with four books under my belt, I was seeking a new form of creative express...
Another Happily Ever After
When you're an Okie, trying to understand the business of filmmed entertainment, it's like life i...
PLAN B: How an unemployed animator found a second career as a screenwriter.
I was in trouble, facing extinction. As a traditional 2D animator, more and more of my work was b...
New Writer on the Scene...Slowly Getting Noticed
Since taking the UCLA Extension course “Writing your First Novel” with instructor Car...
Teaching in the Writers’ Program for 28 Years
I myself am a product of the Writers’ Program, having taken courses for three years from Jo...
From Struggling Writer to Best Seller
In 1997, I was writing and working to improve my writing - taking workshops and classes whenever ...
Avast! Screenwriting Success Ahoy!
Years ago, I wrote a spec script based on the Disneyland ride Pirates of the Caribbean. At the ti...
So Many Great Classes
When I was an undergraduate, I wanted to study philosophy but didn't have the chance. So years la...
Twelve giant steps for a novice
How did I get here now? I took 12 courses in the Writers' Program which will stay with me forever...
Moving Along the Road from Lawyer to Novelist
Some years ago I decided to retire early from the practice of law and return to my first love, wr...
The 'Write' Choice
In 1989 I abruptly changed careers going from practicing the law to trying to write about it.&nbs...
Enjoying my dream at last!
Against enormous odds, and following serveral years as a TriStar Pictures production VP...
Better than NBA half-court drills...
Before discovering playwright J. Dakota Powell on the Writers' Program Faculty this spring, the l...
UCLA Extension Helps Turn Moviemaker into Book Author
In 1994, I suddenly lost my long-time job as story editor to B-movie mogul Roger Corman. Forced t...
Excited About New Opportunities
I really enjoyed the screenwriters course I took with Mike Janover, he was really fun & made ...
Just Another Name
Who am I? I'm not anyone of much significance, just another name on that long list of people who ...
Aspen -- A Tale of Two Cities
It is the best of times; it is perhaps, the worst of times. It is the spring of optimism; it is t...
A 10-Year Detour . . .
I saw the movie Jaws when I was eight years old and it literally changed my life. From the moment...
From Church Secretary to Proofreader/Copyeditor/Writer
In the summer of 2003, I took Copyediting 1 with Karre Jacobs. I had always wanted to be a copyed...
Bristol Boys, The Movie: From Script to Screen
In 2004 I was struggling with my screenplay, a true-crime genre called Bristol Boys, which was ba...
From England to Hollywood
I always wanted to be a screenwriter and thought that UCLA would be a good place to hone my craft...
From writing prescriptions to writing scripts
"You're smart, you should be a doctor or a lawyer." The mantra of my youth. So I did. I became...
Norman Kolpas is Mean. I Love Norman Kolpas.
I took Norman Kolpas' "Short Form Non-Fiction" course about two years ago. What I ...
Bumpy Road to a Contract
I’ve been writing for publication for many years now, but I knew historical fiction was alw...
A Wonderful Opportunity
I am currently 15 years old (16 this upcoming September) and I cannot possibly divulge the amount...
Famous Writer in the Making
Taking UCLA Extension courses has been a great experience for me. I love how there are&...
A World Was Waiting For Me
When I sat down for the second meeting of that UCLA Extension class, in the basement of a church ...
From A Village in Mexico
It was a small village in south central Mexico. The streets were still cobble-stoned and many loc...