Blog
Meet the Teaching Artist: Writing About Your Ex with Elizabeth Teets
by Writing Workshops Staff
3 months ago
Discover the perfect opportunity to transform your personal experiences into compelling narratives with Los Angeles-based writer, comedian, and fashionista, Elizabeth Teets.
Known for her witty and insightful contributions to publications like Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Repeller, Catapult, and Reductress, Elizabeth brings her unique blend of humor and vulnerability to a brand new 3-Week Zoom Workshop titled Writing About Your Ex.
Delve into the depths of past relationships and emotional landscapes as Elizabeth guides you through breaking free from inhibitions that often shroud writing about personal experiences. With carefully crafted writing prompts, a supportive community of fellow writers, and expert guidance, this course empowers you to not only channel your inner emotions but also elevate them from mere diary entries to captivating pieces of literature.
Join Elizabeth's workshop to unlock the potential of your past and turn it into artful storytelling that resonates and inspires.
Hi, Elizabeth. Please introduce yourself to our audience.
Hey there! I'm Elizabeth, I am a writer, comedian, and here to show off my outfit.
What made you want to teach this specific class? Is it something you are focusing on in your own writing practice? Have you noticed a need to focus on this element of craft?
I teach this class to help people get things off their chest without feeling like they will be judged. I love making new writer friends and hearing my students juicy ex stories. So many are beautiful and so many are sad. But they are all life and often a significant amount of someones life.
Give us a breakdown of how the course is going to go. What can the students expect? What is your favorite part about this class you've dreamed up?
This course is big on generating and getting through mental blocks. I try to make all my student spill their guts out. I want everyone to leave class feeling ready to put on a cute outfit and hit the streets having let go of something they were holding onto.
What was your first literary crush?
Roald Dahl.
What are you currently reading?
Brontez Purnell's Johnny Would You Love Me If My Dick Were Bigger.
How do you choose what you're working on? When do you know it is the next thing you want to write all the way to THE END?
If I find it more exciting than reruns of Golden Girls I know it's on.
Where do you find inspiration?
Old movie theater bathrooms, the bottoms of cheap cans of wine, stuffed in the pockets of clothes I find at the Goodwill bins.
What is the best piece of writing wisdom you've received that you can pass along to our readers? How did it impact your work? Why has this advice stuck with you?
I am a big fan of Ann Lamott and this bit of wisdom “Oh my God, what if you wake up some day, and you're 65, or 75, and you never got your memoir or novel written, or you didn't go swimming in those warm pools and oceans all those years because your thighs were jiggly and you had a nice big comfortable tummy; or you were just so strung out on perfectionism and people-pleasing that you forgot to have a big juicy creative life, of imagination and radical silliness and staring off into space like when you were a kid? It's going to break your heart. Don't let this happen.”
What is your favorite book to recommend on the craft of writing? Why this book?
Ray Bradbury's Zen in the Art of Writing: Releasing the Creative Genius Within You. The opening itself makes me weep.
Bonus question: What’s your teaching vibe?
The morning drinking coffee and gabbing with your closest friends after a really fun night at the club.
Learn More About Working with Elizabeth:
You can learn more about Elizabeth's upcoming class, Writing About Your Ex 3-Week Zoom Seminar, and sign up now!
Join Elizabeth Teets in this journey to explore new dimensions in writing and enhance your craft!
Instructor Elizabeth Teets is a Los Angeles based writer, comedian and fashionista. Her work has appeared in Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Repeller, Catapult, Reductress, and more. She works hard everyday with the intention to make Elle Woods and Bette Midler proud.