Brett Paesel / Warner, Summer 2006
“Claudette is a master teacher. She quite simply changed my life. I certainly didn’t consider myself a writer when I first started her class. Five years later, I was publishing a book. Her approach is half method, half inspiration. Plus, her classes are a blast.”
http://www.mommieswhodrink.org/
Kelle James, Author
(Book launches in November 2010)
“I wanted to make a happy little story about a unicorn. I joined a writing workshop led by Claudette Sutherland. As an exercise she asked us to write a page or two about an emotionally charged moment in our lives. I read mine to the class. That was the night SMILE FOR THE CAMERA was born. The highlight of my week became that class. I was learning. I was supported. And I was having fun. One incredibly exciting year later, I had a manuscript, an agent and a book deal. Claudette is a writer’s best friend.”
–Kelle James
Moon Zappa, / Scribner Paperback Fiction, 2002
“I wrote the book, but Claudette guided me to themes I couldn’t see, pointed to structure that was missing, best of all, she helped me translate editor’s notes. It’s easy to get lost so close to the project, but she kept me on track with great consistency and kept me true to my voice. When you work with her, it is always about the work”
http://www.moonzappa.com/The-Book/index.html
Adrienne Barbeau / Carol and Graff, Spring 2006
“I had never written a word for publication before I met Claudette. A year after I started her class, I had a literary agent. A year later, I had a book deal all because of her. She just knows how to teach!”
http://www.thereareworsethingsicoulddo.com/
Dani Modisett
I walked in to Claudette’s class a comic, having been working on the road for five years. I knew how to write jokes. I had little understanding of how to move people beyond that. I can honestly say after studying with Claudette for five years, on a day when I don’t hate myself, I believe I have become a writer. She gently, and sometimes not so gently, broke me of habits that kept my work stuck. She is that rare combination of nurturing and no bullshit. Take the class, your interest in wanting to be a writer, or become a better writer, is worth the investment.
Cynthia True / HarperCollins, 2002
“I have worked with several of the top editors in magazine and book publishing and Claudette Sutherland is unequaled. As an editor, she has the eye and steady hand of a surgeon. She was crucial in shaping the final result.”
Yeardley Smith – One Woman Show, New York & Los Angeles
“Not only can Claudette Sutherland teach an alligator to write, she can teach you. She’s the best I know at helping students of all levels, get that story out their heads and onto the page. She’s the real deal.”
Amy Bryant / HarperCollins, Fall 2006
“I would never have gotten my novel into publication without the valuable expertise of Claudette Sutherland. I learned more about writing from Claudette in six months than I did in all of my formal education.”
Rule 10 from Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing:
“Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.”
