.Best Place to Feed Your Muse

Whether you’re an aspiring novelist who needs the structure of fixed deadlines or just a dabbler looking to broaden your creative horizons, The Writing Salon has something for you. Conceived by founder Jane Underwood as a creative writing school for adults, the Salon consists of two classrooms, one in San Francisco and the other in Berkeley, and offers a rotating slate of classes taught by local writers: everything from food writing to erotica to straight-up fiction. The classes are small and intimate (between six and thirteen students) and are serious without being intimidating. There’s a nice mix, too, both in terms of age (with most students ranging from their twenties to their fifties, but you get the occasional retiree) and writing experience. And the Berkeley classroom, located at the Strawberry Creek Design Center, is set up like someone’s living room, complete with comfy couches, hot tea, and — if your teacher is kind — plenty of tasty snacks.