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Student Voices“A great opportunityto explore your creativity, learnabout the craft, and meet a bunchof very interesting people thatyou would probably neverencounter in your daily life.”MICHAEL LEVITONFaculty ProfileBY BRIT T GAM BI NOThe most pivotal momentin Gotham teacher MichaelLeviton’s life was when hestarted playing the ukulele twelve years ago. He andhis friends were playing music on a beach in SouthernCalifornia, where Michael wasraised, when they decided theyshould have a ukulele in theirband. Despite not knowinghow to play, Michael jumpedin and said yes. (He taughthimself how to play guitar asa teenager, but had no musicaltraining.) Michael was able totrain his ear and help the bandmake up ocean-themed songs,inspired by their love of theBeach Boys.It was that split decisionthat set Michael off on awhimsical journey as an artistof all trades in New York.When Michael first arrived in the city, he went to anopen-mic night at SidewalkCafé on Avenue A, a classic East Village spot. He wasinvited to play ukulele witha band and ended up meeting the soon-to-be discovered“Quite simply,this has been a lifechanging, life-enrichingexperience. This is the bestgift I’ve given myselfin years.”—Brenda Nesbitt, Creative Director—Shelley Nagar, Attorney“I drove an hourand a half each way for thiscourse and I can’t wait todo it again!”Gotham Faculty“I know that I wouldn’t bea published novelist today had Inot taken that single step, whenI enrolled in a Gotham WritersWorkshop class.”THE BIGIDEA FORYOUR MOVIEBY ALEXANDE R ST E E LE—Elaine Wolf, TeacherBefore there is a movie, beforethere is a screenplay, beforethere is anything, there mustbe an idea. A glimmer, hint,whisper. Something to get theboulder rolling. Finding theinitial idea can be the mostdaunting part of the processbut, fortunately, there is noshortage of places to search.“Even my editor,a former senior editor at OxfordUniversity Press, was takenaback by my satisfaction withthe course. So, she’slooking into it herself.”—Mia Hankins, WriterAdam Hassnal Sulaiman of Adam Raasalhague PhotographyYour own life—Dodd Ellsworth, Software DeveloperAnd thus, the idea for MyFirst Ghost, Michael andMaggie’s picture book, wasborn. The fun challenge wascoming up with activities fora kid and his ghost to do. Forexample, the kid and his ghostcould share a milkshake, butinstead of illustrating thepair together, the illustrationwould show only the kid withtwo straws. Michael says, “Mybook is completely ironic—you can’t go play hide andseek with your ghost.”Indeed, how would yoube able to find a ghost?Michael has also written afamily memoir as well as ascreenplay for RKO Pictures.And in addition to teachingat Gotham, Michael teachesprivate music lessons—bothguitar and ukulele, of course.When he’s not teaching, youmight find him playing thekeyboard at The Leadbellybar on Orchard Street.More recently, Michaelhas been exploring photography, taking digital portraits. Itseems there is no shortage ofartistic endeavors for him to getinto. Michael has only one stipulation—he wants to make stuff.Words from our—Jamal Stroman, Technical Support“The most funthree hours of my week,every week. In just a coupleof months, I learned anincredible amount aboutthe craft of writing, andlaughed heartilywhile doing it.”musicians, Regina Specktorand Nelly McKay, along withthe band, the Moldy Peaches.It was quite a surreptitious introduction to the night life ofNew York, one that Michaelwrites about in the New YorkTimes Modern Love column,“Speaking at Arm’s LengthWith Music.” “I saw great musicians, got to become friendswith them, and play my ownshows!” he says.Turns out the drummer ofthe band he played with wasMaggie Miller—an editor atHarper Collins who eventually taught Michael how to writepicture books. He ended upghostwriting three celebrity picture books. (Which celebrities we can only guess )Some time later, Maggieand Michael were ghostwriting a children’s book aboutHalloween. Joking around,they came up with the silly notion of including a “free ghostinside” each book, but insteadof a plush toy, there would benothing. (The joke being thatyou can’t actually see a ghost.)“Kids are ironic and funny they’re like hipsters in theirsense of humor,” Michael says.“They would see the sham.”Your own life is, after all, thething you know best. But youshould tread carefully here.Movies require a lot of storyjuice to keep them pumpingand intensifying for two hoursor so and that’s why movieslean on autobiography far lessthan fiction, which has morelicense to be meanderingand introspective.A somewhat autobiographical movie is Almost Famous,written and directed byCameron Crowe. As a teenager obsessed with rock music,Crowe got a job writing abouta rising rock band on tour forRolling Stone without theeditors knowing how younghe was. And that’s the basisof Crowe’s movie. You haveto admit, Crowe had a goodstory. Take an innocent kid,drop him in the midst ofhigh-profile sex, drugs, androck’n roll, add in the pressure of writing for a majormagazine and being torn between his need for a good exposè and the bonds he formswith the band. Crowe’s truestory was strong enough sohe didn’t have to fabricate toomuch, but fabricate he did,to make the story all the moredramatic. If you’re tempted towrite a movie based on yourlife, ask yourself if you’vegot something half as goodCrowe’s story. If the answeris yes, great, use it and thenyou still need to make thingsup. Just because somethingreally happened doesn’t meanit’s good enough, yet, foryour movie.A better approach is to usesomething from your lifemerely as a starting point.Let’s say you’re stuck on anairplane next to a big, loud fellow who won’t stop jabberingand causes an ungodly odorwhen he pulls off his shoesand yet after a few hours yourealize that he isn’t such a badguy. It’s a good start but you’llneed much more to make amovie. So eventually you manipulate and magnify; for example, it’s the holiday seasonand the plane is grounded bya snowstorm so the two travelers are forced to share a onebed motel room and then travel by ground together all thelong way to their destination. Idon’t know how John Hughesgot the idea for the moviePlanes, Trains and Automobilesbut it could have been justthat. Lost your job? Endureda bad divorce? Struggled withaddiction? All kinds of thingsin your life might prove the inspiration for a movie and—thegood news about bad experiences—the more trying thecircumstances, the more potency they will have as storymaterial.When it comes right downto it, though, don’t worry toomuch about that old adage:write what you know. Writewhat you want to write about.Something you’ve seen orheard aboutKeep your eyes and ears open.Regardless of where you live—small village or bursting metropolis—you’ve got a worldof material around you.One night SylvesterStallone watched theworld heavyweight champ,Muhammad Ali, take on anunknown contender nicknamed The Bayonne Bleeder(for his ability to absorb punishment). The challenger lostbut, against all expectations,he lasted fifteen rounds andin one electrifying moment heeven knocked Ali to the canvas. That’s how Stallone cameto write Rocky.The great writer/directorBilly Wilder was watchingthe movie Brief Encounter,a tear-jerker about a couplewho borrow an apartmentfor their adulterous trysts.Despite the film’s poignancy,Wilder found himself wondering about the fellow wholent the apartment, the person who had to climb into thatwarmed-up bed at night.This led Wilder straight intoThe Apartment.History or the NewsThe pageant of history offersan endless source of storyideas. In World War I, aneccentric Englishman led anarmy of Arabian Bedouinsagainst the Turkish army andthen found his allegiance wavering between his Arab followers and the British armythat employed him. It wasonly a matter of time beforea movie captured the saga ofLawrence of Arabia. Historicaltales don’t have to be so epic,though, nor do they need tostick all that close to the historical fact (especially when thefacts aren’t that well known).The Lion In Winter is an intimate drama about a dysfunctional family in 1183 that happens to include King Henry IIof England, his wife, Eleanorof Aquitaine, and their lessthan-princely sons Richard,Geoffrey, and John.Also, the news is an evergreen source of ideas. While ingrad school, Kimberly Piercecame across an article in analternative newspaper abouta young woman who passedherself off as a man in a smallNebraska town. Fascinatedby the tale, Pierce went to thetown, interviewed the peoplewho knew Brandon Teena,and co-wrote the movie BoysDon’t Cry. While Boys Don’tCry, stayed fairly true to thefacts, which lent themselvesbeautifully to a story, you canuse the news merely as a starting point. Dr. Strangelove is aridiculously far-fetched storybut it was obviously inspiredby the Cold War paranoia thatpervaded the headlines in theearly 1960s. Truth is, you canflip through a newspaper almost any day of the week—front page, wedding announcements, obituaries—and findthe seed of a great story idea.ImaginationOh, yes, you can also just spina story out of pure imagination. Who knows what gavesomeone the idea of makinga movie about a gigantic apewho is shipped from a remoteisland to New York City andfalls in love with a beautifulactress, eventually climbingthe Empire State Buildingwith her clutched in his massive hand? Maybe someonejust thought it up. Doesn’tmatter. King Kong was afabulous idea.Often it’s a matter of playingthe game of What If? What ifa guy lent out his apartmentfor adulterous trysts? Let’ssay he’s an ambitious fellowwho lends out his apartmentto executives in the corporation where he works, lured bythe hope of advancement. Allright, interesting, somewhatplausible. And let’s say he’sreally a romantic at heart sothe whole arrangement is a biticky to him. And that meanshe should have a romanticyearning of his own so let’sgive him a crush on a womanwho works at the corporation.These things happen. Andthen what if his crush is having an affair with one of theexecutives to whom he’s lending his apartment? Yes, good.And what if he doesn’t discover this until after the executivehas given him a covetedpromotion? Even better.And what if . ” The beststorytellers are masters ofthis game.This is an excerpt from theGotham Writers book WritingMovies: The Practical Guide toCreating Stellar Screenplays.

WHAT'STHESTORYOF YOURLIFE?The 91-Word Memoir Writing ContestDo you wish there was a place you could go for writinginspiration and practice? Where you could hang out withother writers? Without needing to make a long-termcommitment or spend a lot of money?THE INSPIRATION: This annual contestcelebrates longtime Gotham studentand published writer Norma Crosier who died a few days short of her91st birthday.Gotham Write-Ins are that place.HERE’S WHAT HAPPENS: The teachergives an interesting writing prompt.Everyone writes for a while.Then, those who want to read aloudtheir work. You take a break andsocialize. Then you go throughthe process one more time. Thenyou partake of free drinks andsnacks and socialize a littlemore. It’s 90 minutes plus socialtime afterwards.There is no pressure, no critiquing,no angst. Just freewheeling creativity. It will get your juices flowingno matter what type of writingyou favor.RegistrationTHE CHALLENGE: Tell a story fromyour life in 91 words or fewer.NYC ONLY 20 /per session 45 /3-session passTHE PRIZE: The winner gets a freeGotham class of his or her choosing.IN MANHATTANFridays 6:30–8:30pmIN BROOKLYNSaturdays 12–2pmFurther details on our website.TO GIVE YOU A GOOD EXAMPLE,HERE IS LAST YEAR’S WINNER:Cops, cashiers and railroad men:my people sprang from the Bronx.My parents used college like a polevault, soft-landing in the burbs.At 23, having horrified my familyby salmoning back to that borough,I hung on the roof of a tenementbuilding with Hector and Luis. Iwanted a sharper life with guys likethem, who dealt Mexican weed andstripped junkers on the MosholuParkway service road. They werelike brothers until one caught theother with his woman. Out camethe knife.Too sharp. I moved.—Jim O’Grady, Brooklyn, NYYou can sign up in advance or youcan just drop in. It’s like an exerciseclass for writers. And it’s really fun!For competition rules and online entry form,— visit —GOTHAMWRITERS.COM/91CONTESTGOTH AMWRIT E RS .COMTwitter @GOT HAM W RI T ERSCO N TACT@GOT HAMW RI T ERS .CO M2 12–974 – 837 7

REVISING OUR STORYGotham Writers Workshop is celebrating 20 yearsof helping writers discover their stories. Nowwe’re revising ours, with a new logo, a new look,and all kinds of new courses and initiatives.Stay tuned by visiting our website, getting on ourmailing list, or following us on social media.G OTH A MW RI TE RS .COM212–974– 83 7 7

NYC CLASSES BEGIN JAN 11 Online classes draw together writers from across the globe. ONLINE CLASSES BEGIN THROUGH DEC–MAR Registration fee for these classes: 25 paid once per term. Events and Free Classes Gotham offers various events that bring writers together, such as our weekly Write