The paradox of writing is this: there is no magic to it and yet it is a magical process. Writing is equal parts technique and spirit; it is the intersection between acquiring the tools to do it and learning to dream. Can you learn how to write? Perhaps the better question is; are you willing to be uncompromising in your commitment, to take the heartbreak with the triumph, to humble yourself before the beauty and mystery of language, to persevere in spite of self-doubt? I believe writing can be taught. I believe you can learn how to find your voice, create your characters, write convincing dialogue and acquire the skills to tell the story. But the spirit comes from a place that can’t be defined. If you are willing to delve into the miraculous, to take risks you’ve never dreamed of and to put yourself on the line, the rest is gravy.

I offer a wide variety of workshops for every skill level: An advanced intensive workshop, (submissions required for admittance), a workshop for beginning and intermediate writers, and private one-on-one workshops.

Also please look for updates for my fiction classes at the UCLA Extension Writers Program, the University of Iowa Summer Writing Festival and Vroman's Ed.

For more information contact Leslie

For more information, references, and rates please contact Leslie

“Leslie Schwartz is as insightful and sensitive a reader as I've met, and if that wasn't enough, her enthusiasm is infectious.  She gave this first novelist the confidence to cross the finish line, and it was under her influence and inspiration that I solved a key structural problem that allowed me to envision - and complete - my first novel.  A writer looking for the way forward could find no better friend than Leslie Schwartz.” -- Mark Sarvas, Author of Harry Revised (workshopped with Leslie Schwartz)

"I have been a student in Leslie's workshop for 7 years, during which I have completed two novels. The level of writing in the workshop is very high, and the standards keep rising as time goes by.  Leslie is a careful, thoughtful reader whose comments always inspire me to make my work better. The workshop is a place where we writers can expose our gifts and our weaknesses, our differences and vulnerabilities; Leslie makes it a safe, professional space in which I have grown, as a writer and as a reader, in skill and in self-confidence."  -- Lynn Cohen

"Structure! Structure! Structure! Leslie Schwartz's authoritative voice rings in my ears every time I sit down to write. I am convinced that without her sure, expert guidance my first novel would never have been published. She's everything I want in a writing teacher: dedicated to craft and a passionate artist who truly enjoys guiding and nurturing new writers.  Her classes are the perfect balance of creativity and discipline, and her infinite excitement for the skillfully written word is invigorating."  -- Eduardo Santiago, Author of the novel Tomorrow They Will Kiss (workshopped with Leslie Schwartz)