Adair Lara, author, teacher, and former columnist for the San Francisco
Chronicle, is available for consultation on essay and memoir by email or in
person. She will share what she learned in writing her memoir about raising a
teenage daughter, Hold Me Close, Let Me Go, (Random House)and her book in
progress, And My Boy Was No Picnic Either. (Just kidding about that last one.)
Work one-on-one with Adair Lara
How it works
You come to my house for whatever help you would like, and I charge a flat $100
an hour for my time, including time spent reading your work ahead of time if
you want me to. I tape the sessions and give you the tape, because I throw out
a lot, and draw a lot out of you, and it could be helpful to be able to listen
it to it later. If you're working on a book or any longer project, we should
meet for at least two hours the first time.
Do not get your writing in shape before the appointment!
Resist the urge. I can help you decide what you want to write, how to shape it,
what to keep, what to add. Mostly I ask questions and make notes.
I pay for such consultations myself, with another writer,and am a great
believer in them. A good editor can save you several years and several drafts
in wrong turns. I know they have me.
My students include Jackie Winspear, author of the best-selling Maisie Dobbs
series; Janis Newman, author of "The Russian Word for Snow" and a forthcoming
novel on Mary Todd Lincoln called "Mary; Lolly Winston, author of "Good Grief";
Robin Wolaner, founder of Parenting Magazine and author of "Naked in the
Boardroom" ; Terry Gamble, author of several novels including "The Water
Dancers"; Susan Parker, who wrote columns for the Chron and came out with
"Tumbling After," Peggy Vincent, author of "Babycatcher,: David Gottfried,
author of "Greed to Green," and James Frey, whom I told not to worry about
making shit up, no one would notice. (Ok, made up that one). JT Leroy may have
taken my class, who knows? Also numerous wonderful essay writers who now
publish widely.
"Bracing self-confidence among writers is a rare commodity and often a sign of
psychic instability."
(Charles Baxter, author of Feast of Love).
She can help you turn that self- absorbed piece about your cat into an insight
into human nature by putting in the epiphany -the insight you gained from your
experience-that made it worth writing about. And how to find the images and
details that will yank a reader out of his life and into yours. Also, when to
use imagery and not to get carried away and start describing everything in
sight, when to use detail, how much and which ones, and The Dread Necessity of
Inner Emotional Landscape--.
Yes, your efforts at revision have ended in stomping the life out of promising
piece but it doesn't have to always be that way. Adair can show you how to
start as late into the story as possible and come up with an angle and reach
back for more new stuff and murder your darlings and why it's important to
finish pieces (and how you can tell a piece is finished). She will show you how
to get rid of slacker verbs, slow or increase pace, quote your own interior
thoughts, and offer advice on how to publish in newspapers, magazines, and the
Internet.
If you are working on a memoir, she can help you outline the arc of your story
(as opposed to just writing
Comments from authors who have consulted with Adair
Adair Lara, author, teacher, and former columnist for the San Francisco
Chronicle is available for consultation on essay and memoir. She will share
what she learned in writing her memoir about raising a teenage daughter, "Hold
Me Close, Let Me Go," (Random House)and her book in progress, "And My Boy Was
No Picnic Either." (Just kidding about that last one.)
Jacqueline Winspear, author of the bestselling
Maisie Dobbs series
I loved Adair's memoir classes - so rich with content, conversation, advice and
solid direction - however, she was always pressing me to try fiction, which I
wasn't at all sure about. Then when the idea for my novel, Maisie Dobbs, came
to me, Adair read the first tentative fifteen or so pages and encouraged me to
keep going. Even after I'd had a dreadful accident resulting in a badly broken
right arm, Adair just kept on pushing, insisting that I use my convalescence to
finish my book, even if it meant training my left hand to use the keyboard. Her
belief in my ability to complete a manuscript was a most amazing support - and
the nagging didn't hurt either!
Mary Patrick, author of Family Plots
Adair's keen editorial eye and sharp sense of story arc helped me pare a 500
page manuscript into a tighter, plot driven read. Her coaching and enthusiasm
opened doors to locating an agent that had previously been bolted.
Ruth Chambers, author of The Chinaberry Album
A soul mate among editors, Adair Lara's skill elevates prose to its highest
potential. Her expert editing resonates through every sentence, paragraph and
page. The end result is equivalent to a college course in creative writing. I
have no doubt that my manuscript has reached the finalist stage in a novel
contest only because of her thorough editing. With Adair as your editor, the
only way is up.
Ruth's worry about her blurb:
Adair, glad you like what I said, but I am concerned about the credentials I
listed for myself. I did that only to try to make myself look like somebody to
be promoting your work. Was a bit uncomfortable with the Marquis Who's Who of
American Women. Might be a bit of an overkill. If you want anything from me
about the value of your book in progress, I can do that too. Feel free to edit
any way you like.
You'd said you would look at a short story of two. Don't know if it would be
any further benefit to mention those as well, as an example of your diversity.
I mean, what haven't you done! I could say something about your giving me the
hope of having Annie Proulx luck whose short story success reached the big
screen as Brokeback Mtn. Carol Costello couldn't have recommended you too
highly, and coming from someone who is a former editor, that's high praise.
Without Adair's guidance, sharp wit, coaching, seasoned interviewing skills,
succinct editing and experienced counsel, there is no way that my 2003 memoir
would ever have been published. She pushed me to find the best within myself
and beyond. I recommend her highly. David Gottfried, author of "Greed to Green"