
Tutoring and Writing Classes
I teach in person in New York City, NY, and Los Angeles, CA, and do online consultations and tutoring for people anywhere in the country. I tutor kids, teens and adults in writing essays and fictions. I have classes for people all over the world, both asynchronous and live online classes in which I guide you through each step of writing a novel or memoir. All price ranges ... I even have a free complimentary four class package to get you started in either essay or fiction/memoir writing.
You can reach me at kim@kimpurcell.com.
My phone number is 323-356-0563.
Leave a message or text with your name and number and I will return your call or email within one business day.
Online Writer Workshops
Novel-Writing Classes for Kids and Teens:
I've been teaching kids in various subjects including writing for over thirty years, from teaching sports to English as a Foreign Language to creative writing. My goal is always to make writing fun and connect with each kid. Kids learn best when the teacher cares about them. I see the intrinsic beauty in each kid and I help them believe and see that their words and their stories are important. Also, I make sure it's not boring! I use interactive and multi-sensory techniques to engage the kids, even when I teach them online, based on techniques I developed when I was the curriculum director for WriteGirl in LA, a wonderful mentoring organization based around writing. Right now I run two in-person creative writing programs for kids in Los Angeles, at Ocean Charter and La Ballona. I've worked with kids in crisis, both in alternative schools, the juvenile detention system and private sessions. It is one of the most fulfilling parts of my life and I view it as a great honor.
Teen Classes
My advanced writer teen classes are on Thursdays from 4-5:30 PM PST. They go for twelve weeks and include daily experiments so that kids can keep writing on their own, one live online class and one asynchronous class. Teens turn in their writing every week and I give them uplifting feedback. The cost of this class is 300 per session.
I also have an inexpensive asynchronous class for teens with just the asynchronous workshop each week and the daily experiments. This is just 100 dollars for 16 weeks.
Writing a book builds creative confidence and can be life changing for a teen. At the end of the class, they publish the books on lulu.com or on Amazon if they like. It's an incredible experience for the kids and teens.
Many of my students have been with me for years.
Kid Classes
I teach classes and winter/summer camps for kids on Outschool and have all 5 star reviews. Their first class is free! Just message me on Outschool and I'll send you a coupon.
A Busy Writer 16 Class Workshop
This class will ensure you write and includes a daily writing craft focus so that you never get stuck. You'll have something to write. This is an asynchronous class with daily experiments and weekly workshops/lectures. You can email me questions any time you get stuck. It is priced cheap and does not include feedback, but it will help you finish a solid draft within 16 weeks. The cost is just 100 dollars.
Mom Writer Workshops: Saturdays from 8-9:30 AM PST
If you're a mom and a writer, you know how hard it is to sit down and be creative, let alone get into that mental mindset of writing a story. However, once you start writing, you feel more creative in every area of your life, which also helps the kids. It's so wonderful to get that little moment of satisfying "me" time. I've designed a program for moms who are fiction or memoir writers. It's based on my experience as a mom and novelist, as well as my MFA and twenty years of teaching experience. I've brought moms together into a writing community that is both fulfilling and joy-inducing, while being time-efficient, resulting in published books. I give my mom writers real, proven strategies to find time to write and to be efficient in the writing so that you produce stronger-quality early drafts. Send me an email if you're interested in joining our uplifting group of mom writers.
School Visits
I love to do school visits both in person and online! I believe in encouraging kids to go for their dreams. I love to talk about easy ways to improve their writing, which tends to be quite popular since not every kid wants to become a novelist, but every kid writes every day, either online or texting or essays for school. For my talks, I discuss whatever the school needs me to discuss: the social issues my novels cover, like human trafficking, white privilege, mental health, the spectrum of biases, and body image, or pursuing one's dreams and pursuing creativity. I'm open to whatever the school wants. I also do interactive multi-sensory writing workshops, hands-on classes designed to make writing fun. At this time, for my in-person school visits, I've paused all bookings. During the Covid crisis, as a service to all, I'm doing fun interactive 30 minute school writing workshops via Zoom for free for schools anywhere, ages first grade to twelfth grade. Also, if you're a teacher or a parent, and you have a particular kid you'd like me to encourage, I'm also very happy to talk to them. My goal is to uplift kids everywhere, and especially, to help those who are struggling.
Contact me via my email on my contact page if you’re interested. I'm not doing in person events but I've been working with kids on Zoom since March, and I know how to make it a ton of fun.
PENS ON FIRE is designed as a book for teachers to give writing experiments to teens. I wrote it with Keren Taylor at WriteGirl (writegirl.org) when I was the Curriculum Director of WriteGirl. For years, Keren and I had worked together to create engaging monthly writing workshops for over 100 teens and mentors. Over the course of that time, many teens would tell us that they wished teachers at school taught writing this way so we created this book with some workshops for teachers to do.
For Students
If you are writing a book report on TRAFFICKED, go to my blog. I have many blog entries about my research and the issue of human trafficking in America and around the world.
For Writers
Check my blog. Most of my thoughts on writing can be found there.
Some of my favorite books on writing are:
WRITING DOWN THE BONES
by Natalie Goldberg
ON WRITING
by Stephen King
THE ART OF DRAMATIC WRITING
by Lajos Egri