Andrew Holyfield

Hi everyone! My name is Andrew. I graduated Summa Cum Laude at UC Riverside in 2016, with a B.A. in Creative Writing. While there, I completed the Honors Program, published a thesis, was an editor for both the campus Research Journal and Honors Program literary journal, joined the Writing Program as a Teaching Assistant, and completed three MFA courses, all with a 4.0 GPA.

Tutoring started for me in the campus Writing Program, in which I tutored eighteen students per week. Around that same time, my younger brother, diagnosed with Aspergers, started college. I tutored him during his four-year journey to receive his Paraprofessional Certificate.

Nerdy as it sounds, I love Grammar and read often (in-between Netflix binges). Until my time at UC Riverside, I abhorred reading and preferred the trusty summaries from Spark Notes. I know English and writing can be both challenging and boring, but perhaps all a struggling student needs a little help and positive reinforcement. If that sounds like you or your kid, I'd love to help.

I’m a published songwriter with 20+ years experience in the music industry.

The Writer's Lab

Ages 11+

Requirements: Required homework each week. Please plan on at least an hour of homework each week. Students must be willing to participate in both collaborative work and in sharing their own creative writing!

Homework:

Homework assignments will center around continuing the weekly revisions from the class work. There will be a final project as well.

Fall: The Writing Lab - Fiction

This class is designed to take writers through the three major branches of creative writing. Each trimester will focus on one genre and the unique and crossover elements of craft within the various disciplines. While grammar is not the focus of this class, students will be expected to understand the basic rules of writing (so they know how the break them!).

Winter: The Writing Lab - Non Fiction

Students will focus on various forms of non-fictive writing, such as Memoir, Biographical, Research/journalism, and Advertisement. We will discuss the different but equally important roles of Truth and Fact.

Spring: Poetry

Writers will get to study and compose various forms of poetry. Each follows specific structure with rules, which we will review three categories of poetic devices: Phonetic (rhyme scheme, slant rhyme, alliteration assonance), Pacing (enjambment, iambic pentameter) and Figurative Language (metaphor, hyperbole, personification, allegory). Students will experiment with different poetry forms and choose their favorite to present as a final project.

Contact

Andrew Holyfield

andrewjholyfield@gmail.com