I  attended the annual UCLA Extension Writers’ Program Retreat last weekend – a time to hang out with other writing instructors and to be part of sessions that explore new writing exercises and teaching challenges etc. Picture the best party you’ve ever been to with the most interesting people you know with enough things to talk about for the next three weeks non-stop – and that’s what these retreats are like. There were screenwriting, fiction, non-fiction, poetry and kids’ books instructors – those who teach on-line and off-line. To get together like this is heady stuff cause we’re all writers and spend an awful lot of time alone in front of a computer, and even those of us who teach in a classroom still rarely see our peers.  If you live in or near L.A. and want to write, come check out the Writers’ Program. I’m teaching a six week course right now that’s full, but my one day workshop on Writing Your Own History is open (October 24^th) and the Writers Studio is coming up in February – a four day intensive workshop (five for screenwriting and five for creative writing.) This is a wonderful opportunity to really get serious about your writing. If you have any questions, drop me an email (B.Abercrombie@verizon.net) or get in touch with the Writers Program. (www.uclaextension.org)