Meet the Sweet Lab Community.
“Laura Zinn Fromm’s Writing Our Stories seminar is where I learned about writing personal essay and memoir. Laura’s reading assignments, guided class discussion, and insightful comments on writing submissions opened my eyes to story structure and helped me to clarify my own voice in writing.”
NORA WONG Loving My Son, After His Death (The New York Times)
“Laura's workshops are always lively, fun and packed with excellent advice. I have published pieces I wrote for her classes, and they were the basis for the portfolio for my MFA application. Thanks to Laura's classes, I began my MFA well versed in critiquing and workshopping, which has proven to be invaluable preparation. Laura helps her students to discover what works for them in storytelling, rather than simply teaching her opinion.”
JO VARNISH Chasing Shadows (Short Fiction Break), Metamorphosis (101 words), Five Minutes (Everyday Fiction), Looking Glass (The Bangelore Review)
“Laura is a gifted writer, editor and teacher. Under her wise and soulful wing, I was finally able to put together and publish The Girl in the Red Boots: Making Peace with My Mother, a book I’d yearned to complete for decades. Although I had written other books before I took her class, but writing a memoir is different! And harder! Laura sensitively helped me sift though hundreds of pages and find the core thread of my story. Laura is thoughtful, respectful and strong and I feel blessed to have created such a deep and meaningful relationship with her as we plodded along, often feeling like we were in the weeds together. Now we co-teach Family Matters, a monthly writing workshop, and it’s one of my favorite moments of my week.”
“Laura is the consummate writing teacher. I took her first class knowing only that I had a story to tell, and she has turned me into a writer. It’s kind of scary when someone sees possibilities in you and helps you see them too, because then the real work starts. But Laura gives you the skills to write well and the courage to keep plowing ahead.
Plus the classes are an oasis from the rest of the world. And Classes get very real sometimes — like the time a discussion of a particularly moving submission left everyone in tears. I’ve come back again and again and always learned something new. Whether you’re a novice writer or just want to write better, take Laura’s class. Just don’t take my spot.”
SHARON SILVER When Covering Up Becomes Trendy (Tablet Magazine)
“For the last several months, I have been taking classes with Laura Fromm, and her insights and direction have changed my writing. Laura has an unerring sense of just what a story needs to make it sing — and sell. Her comments are not only on target but also communicated in a way that shows respect for the writer. She has also helped me figure out where to pitch pieces, and when my essays have found homes, she has been just as excited as I am. I have been writing first-person pieces for years but because of Laura’s coaching, never with such enthusiasm or clarity about what I am trying to say. Coincidentally, I began in the online Sweet Lab Writing Workshops during the start of the coronavirus lockdown. Laura’s classes have sustained me, and I plan to keep them — and her — in my writing life long after this pandemic is over.”
ELISSA CATERFINO MANDEL, Bulls and Bears (Pennsylvania Gazette), A Wave From the Window (The Forward), My Catholic Husband Wanted Me to Marry a Jewish Man When He Died (Kveller)
“Intelligent and perceptive, Laura combines her excellent judgement and kind manner to provide students with just the right balance of direction, guidance, and encouragement. Her love of good writing is shown in the reading selections she assigns for each class, starting points for lively discussions through which she teaches craft. Laura was my first of several writing instructors over the past three years. To say that I have returned again and again to her classes and have relied on her for private editing of my work is, I think, a strong indicator of my enthusiastic endorsement. To add that my daughter has already signed up to join the next session is stronger still!”
BARBARA TROMMER A Widow's Bed (Ducts.org), Kitchen Ballet (Still Point Arts Quarterly)
“Laura's feedback is what sets her classes apart from other writing courses. She unfailingly pinpoints the strengths and weaknesses of your story, while offering gentle guidance that helps you elevate that flawed first draft into a polished - and publishable - final work.”
E.B AXELROD Break Fast (Split Lip Magazine), Strangers (East of the Web), Lolly (Cold Creek Review)
”I loved working with Laura. She is an excellent editor who makes your work better with a firm but kind hand, always keeping your authentic voice intact. Her classes offer a great combination of writing prompts, interesting reads and a warm class discussion where you can really learn from your peers.”
RANDI MAZZELLA How His Stint in Acute Care Connected My Dad and Me, Why I Hang Tight to Old Friends (Fine Line Mag)
“Laura Fromm has an incisive literary mind and has guided my writing gently and firmly with her uncanny ability to diagnose problems and encourage successes. My writing has found a secure home in her class.”
VALERIE FEIGEN A Taste of Cuba; In Memoriam, My Breasts: 1963-2017 (Herstry)
“Laura Zinn Fromm's feedback is always detailed, gentle, and inspiring. She had just published her memoir, Sweet Survival, when I was studying with her, and I ended up writing two essays about food and growing up in Romania. As I'm working on my memoir, I feel inspired to revisit these themes.”
ILEANA NACHESCU The Traveling Tomato (Ducts.org)
Laura Zinn Fromm is a wise, earnest and skilled writing instructor, mentor and editor who taught me the elements of storytelling and encouraged me to “dig deeper.” I will always cherish a photo I have of Laura and I doing a book talk together because, although it is a single moment in time, it captures the arc of my book journey—a soul-stirring journey of self-growth that began with Laura teaching me creative writing in the intimate setting of her dining room (with her sweet Labrador retriever, Roxy, snoring at our feet) and culminating with her moderating a Q&A of my published novel.
LISA TOGNOLA As Long As It’s Perfect (SheWrites Press)
“Laura Zinn Fromm’s class, Writing Our Stories, is wonderful. Through assigned readings of great writers and Laura’s own expertise on producing beautiful prose, she motivates and inspires all of her students.”
SUSAN BERGER ELLMAN The Hunt (Ducts.org), The Royalty of Brooklyn (Herstry)
“Laura has an exceptional knack for seeing and nurturing a writer’s potential.
Her caring and warm nature encourages a trusting, supportive environment for workshop participants. Her instincts and editorial feedback have been invaluable in guiding this novice to finding her writer’s voice. Laura, her classes, and the bonds with fellow writers are a gift.”
Zelly Ruskin
“I had a dream of writing a book, but it was just a dormant seed buried in the back of my mind. I wasn't sure of which direction it would take or how I was going to do it until I met Laura. The three years I was in Laura's workshop that idea blossomed into several chapters and an outline. I learned about approaches to tackle road blocks, was pushed out of my comfort zone, and met an incredibly supportive community of writers who I can depend on for feedback. I still get sidetracked by life, but I pull out the notes from Laura on my writing and re-focus. I highly recommend working with Laura to help bring out the best in your writing and set your goals whether it be short stories or a novel.”
NADIA HALIM
“As a harried mom to three children, I walked into Laura’s class craving intellectual stimulation. Two years later, I’m headed back to school for a Master’s degree in Journalism. Laura’s class not only challenged me but also inspired me to shift course in mid-life to pursue a career I had often dreamed about.
Every week, Laura deftly created a warm space amongst a small group of writers where I always felt supported and encouraged. Her feedback was consistently sharp, thorough and insightful and took my writing, and reading, to a whole new level.”
STEFANIE SORRENTINO
“Laura creates an invaluable community that helps the writer imagine, coax out and refine her work. I’m eternally grateful to have found her.”
MELANIE HOOPES
“Laura's a generous and incisive editor who delivers the good and the not so good news about my writing with kindness and candor. I trust her completely and I find the writers who attend her on-line workshop to be equally smart, literary, constructive and nice. I'm happy to have landed in this writing refuge and plan to stay for awhile. What could be cozier on these cold days than submitting pages and receiving written critiques without having to step into the city's noise and grit? I'm grateful.”
ELIZABETH CONN