Teaching

 Hike ‘n Write at Neot Kedumim, June 20, 2012

 To celebrate my leaving the organized work force at Bar-IlanUniversity, I am organizing a writing tour at Neot Kedumim called The Nature of Work/ The Work of Nature.

 Join me for an easy4 kilometer walk through the Biblical Landscape Reserve located on Route 443 between Modi’in and Lod. Our hiking will be studded with writing sessions in caves and other rugged shelters. We will explore the natural world, the biblical work world and write about our own experiences with work.

This Hike ‘n Write enables me to combine my job in program development at Neot Kedumim (from 1993-2000) and my job as coordinator of the Shaindy Rudoff Graduate Program in Creative Writing (2007-2012) with my love of teaching and writing.

Please join me for an unusual writing experience.

When:    Wednesday, June 20^th, Rosh Hodesh Tamuz

Tine:      8:30 AM – 2:30 PM

Cost:     NIS 360. (Entrance to Neot Kedumim is an additionalNIS25/NIS20 for seniors.)

 The group will be limited to 16 participants on a first come first serve basis.

 To register: Send a check made out to Judy Labensohn forNIS 360.

                    Mail to POB 15306, MoshavBeit Zayit,90815. 

                    Include a note with your name, address, phone number and email.

 I will then send you further details for the day.

 You can read about Neot Kedumim  here 

 Looking forward to hiking and writing with you on June 20^th.

NB – The route we will hike is not handicap accessible. Judy Labensohn is not responsible for any damages that may occur during the hike.

 

So You Want To Write: A Year Course with Judy Labensohn 

An academic course in the basics to learn about genres, elements of fiction and creative nonfiction. Second semester workshop. Admission with writing sample. Starts in Oct. 2012 .  Sundays, 5:45-7:15 PM at David Yellin College in Beit Hakerem, Jerusalem. Tel. 02-658-7528  or contact judylabensohn@gmail.com

Monday  Workshop in Jerusalem

This weekly year-long workshop is for people who have experience  participating in writing workshops in fiction and/or creative nonfiction. Admission with writing sample. Contact judylabensohn@gmail.com for details. Starts in September, 2012 in central Jerusalem. 

Individual mentoring: Email me to set up an appointment to discuss your needs. I can meet you in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem or Mevasseret.

***********

The writer, like everyone else,  is a person with much inner confusion. The writer wants to craft something clear and perfect from that confusion, something a reader will understand. Often, writers do not know what they are doing.

 That is why it is important to have a good teacher/mentor nearby.

 A good teacher/mentor is a person who understands the writing process, who has read widely, wants to write, struggles with making sense, succeeds, publishes and starts from scratch again.   A good teacher/mentor is not afraid of her imagination or her feelings. 

I love to teach and mentor almost as much as  I love to write.  I bring this enthusiasm to each session, be it a classroom, consultation or Skype conversation. Since I understand  that the creative process is slow, I never make promises how long it will take you to finish a story, a book or an essay. I believe that as you nurture a piece of writing, the writing nurtures you. 

I also believe in violent cuts. Unfortunately for some, I suffer from  acute honesty. I will not tell you what you wrote is wonderful if I don’t think it is. However, I promise to point out the strengths in your writing and help you build from them.  I promise to help you cut your clutter, so you can actually see your story. I promise to point out the other story lurking beneath the page.

I’m not everyone’s choice of teacher/mentor, but if you want to work with me, know that I will dedicate myself  100% to your success. 

Since  each writer’s pace is unique, I follow your needs. Some writers want to meet once every three weeks for ninety minutes. Others want to meet weekly for an hour.  Others say they are ready, but it takes them another three months (or three years) to show up. Each person and his/her timing.      

I’ve enjoyed mentoring by excellent writers and fine human beings – - Diana Hume George, Lauren Slater, Leslie Rubinkowski, Phil Gerard, Mark Mirsky, Steve Stern and Allen Hoffman. I understand the critical importance of good mentoring and love sharing what I know and what I have received from others.

I bring to the table understanding experience seriousness and a sense of humor.

Testimonials :

Your help this past summer with the essay was invaluable to me; I simply couldn’t have done it without you. (Remember the long introduction we ditched?) Thanks for your encouragement and support.            Janet Gool, author of “Messiah, Not Otherwise Specified,” to be published in Becoming a Nurse, Creative Nonfiction Books, 2013

I am grateful to Judy Labensohn for her insightful comments on so many phases of the manuscript, her enthusiasm and her invaluable guidance.                                           Diane  Wyshogrod, author of Hiding Places: A Mother, A Daughter, An Uncovered Life, SUNY Press, 2012.

 Judy is an incredible writing mentor who offers thoughtful critique, strong guidance, and inspiring words during the most frustrating moments of writers block!                                               Alice Mishkin, Dorot Fellow in Israel 2010-11     

 After attending a writers seminar at Maaleh Hachamisha where Judy was one of the group leaders, I turned to her to help me with a book that lay for many years in one of my drawers. For over four years I enjoyed many outstanding and productive sessions with her. I am deeply grateful for her skillful guidance and patience. She was always willing to take time to respond to my questions. Judy’s contribution to my book is immeasurable.                                                  Siska Topaz, Rehovot

     I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed learning with you and from the other fabulous writers in the course. You are a fantastic teacher, Judy — your knowledge of writing and literature are enhanced by your warmth, humility and sense of humor.                                                                      Ellen Greenfield, Beit Shemesh

     Judy is an outstanding writing teacher and coach. She has a keen sense of what makes a story work, a broad knowledge about the art of writing and general literature and has the innate ability to pass those on to her students. During the past four years in which I have participated in writing workshops led by  Judy, I have grown immensely as a writer, so much so that two short stories I wrote for her workshops have been published–one even winning an award abroad. I would have never reached that level of writing without Judy’s workshop and her direction. Judy is not only serious about writing, she is also very supportive of her students, fun and funny and her workshops have been the highlight of my very busy weeks.                                                                       Judith Sudilovsky, Jerusalem

     Judy manages to create a safe space where participants can speak honestly in an atmosphere of mutual respect. She provides a unique combination of warmth and rigorous professionalism.                                 Shoshana London Sappir, Jerusalem 

     After many years of not writing, I joined Judy’s writing group. I found her thoughtful and insightful editorial remarks very inspiring. In just a few weeks I was able to finish a short story that I hadn’t finished in years. Under her tutelage and with her encouragement, I submitted it for publication in an anthology. To my delight, it was accepted and is due out in 2011. I am very grateful for her support and hope to continue working with Judy in the future.                       Diana Flescher, M.D., Jerusalem

(Diana Flescher’s “Mr. Stone” appears in At the End of Life: True Stories About How We Die, published by Creative Nonfiction Books, Pittsburgh, 2011. See Community/Publications for more details.)

    I met Judy Labensohn in 2002 when I brought her a meagre twenty pages and asked her to teach me how to write. Six years later my memoir, The Rabbi’s Daughter, was published in the UK and the USA. We worked together for a year on the basics, from how to put narrative into scenes to the writing of credible dialogue.  Years later we worked on an edit for my agent before he sent it to the publishers. Judy was a guiding light, a careful reader, an insightful editor and an inspiring and encouraging teacher. I owe so much of my success to her.                                                                                    Reva Mann, Jerusalem

     I wanted to drop you a line to let you know that my second novel will be out this week. I owe you a debt of gratitude. Thank you for meeting with me that day in Tel Aviv and encouraging  me, even when I just wanted to quit. I’m so glad I didn’t quit. My novels may not win any prizes, but my audience likes them and that is what’s important.                                                        C.L. Gray, Civil War historian, USA

   You have moved us into and out of ourselves in a very profound way.                                                                   BrendaYagod,  Jerusalem                                                         

    I wanted to come to this (retreat) very much, but was afraid, intimidated. I found a place where I felt reconnected to a deep, personal space. I felt validated in being able to see myself as a writer…and I found a warm, accepting experience of meeting others who have embarked on a similar journey as Americans in Israel.                                                             Donna Ron, Kibbutz Ein Harod Ichud

   I acquired the tools to take pages of notes and turn them into something powerful and interesting.                                                       Avraham Berger, Jerusalem

I thoroughly enjoyed attending your workshop…a supportive framework in which the craft of writing was taken to a new level through the committment developed to writing and the valuable comments and insights that I received.   Mike Doktofsky, Jerusalem

You are   instructive and comforting, honest and gentle, insightful and positive…I am so lucky to have you by my side (on the net).          Laurie Bisberg, Haifa

… She speaks from the heart with such profundity and genuine emotional honesty.                                                Dr. Miriam Adahan, Jerusalem

Last night I did a rapid write. In the past I would never have considered investing only ten minutes writing and not an hour or two or more. What a gift to know that I can grow as a writer everyday.                                          Varda Levey, Tel Aviv

Please let me know when you have dates for the next retreat!                                                                                       Talia Shwartzberg, Kfar Saba