Ella Martinsen Gorham

Ella Martinsen-Gorham, writer from Los Angeles. Ms. Martinsen Gorham’s short stories have been published in New England Review, ZYZZYVA, Carve, and Best American Short Stories 2019. She was a finalist in the 2020 Raymond Carver Short Story Contest.

Instructor Statement:

We can conjure and hold in our imagination stories that are compelling. For those new to creative writing, the question becomes how to express those stories with language, to capture them in words on the page. The process can feel mysterious and even intimidating. But strong fiction is less the result of magic, and more dependent on a set of skills that can be acquired and honed. I aim to help develop this set of skills. In class, we will discuss the component parts of story, the complex characters and vivid worlds and engaging narratives that coalesce to move the reader. We will read published work closely to discover how other artists have manipulated those component parts. We will carry those ideas into our workshops of student work. Workshops will be tailored to offer each student meaningful feedback, with direction on how to deepen the work moving forward. The goal is to empower new writers, to both spark and sustain a joy in the practice of writing.