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Meet the Teaching Artist: Fran Ayala on Why Your Work Can't Speak for Itself
by Writing Workshops Staff
An hour ago
Fran Ayala is a brand strategist, international stand-up comedian, and former journalist who spent six years working her way from the fashion and lifestyle desk to the homicide beat. She has built communications work for clients including Microsoft, HSBC, Singapore Airlines, and Marriott, and she founded Bitches in Stitches, a global stand-up comedy group with chapters in three countries and a recent three-week run at the Edinburgh Fringe.
In Pitch Perfect: PR Fundamentals to Promote Your Work, a one-day Zoom seminar on Sunday, September 20, 2026, at WritingWorkshops.com, the official education partner of Electric Literature, she turns all of that experience toward a problem most writers avoid until it is too late: nobody knows the book exists.
Over two hours, you will learn how editors, journalists, and producers actually decide what to cover, how to build a message house that holds your narrative together across every pitch you send, and how to draft a press release and pitch note you can put in an inbox the same week. Ayala also offers live critique of one or two draft press releases during the session, so you leave with something tested rather than theoretical.
Here is our Meet the Teaching Artist Interview with Fran:
Writing Workshops: Hi, Fran. Please introduce yourself to our audience.
Fran Ayala: As a professional, there are two wolves inside me — one does pitch decks and the other writes punchlines. I'm a brand strategist and stand-up comedian who stops exceptional people from being overlooked by telling stories that get them seen and taken seriously. I'm always asking questions and (sometimes) breaking rules. It might get weird, but that's how it feels when you're making change happen.
I've worked with global firms for clients like Microsoft, HSBC, Singapore Airlines and Marriott before building my own practice to help founders, creatives and underrepresented voices take up space, unapologetically. I'm also the founder of Bitches in Stitches, a global stand-up comedy group of 90 girls, gays and theys with chapters in three countries. We've been featured in Vogue, Rolling Stone and Tatler and just wrapped a three-week run at Edinburgh Fringe, the world's biggest performing arts festival.
Before building my career in comms, I worked as a journalist for six years. I started out as a fashion and lifestyle columnist and ended as a crime reporter on the homicide beat. I've interviewed the second man to walk on the moon, Hong Kong's youngest billionaire, an intoxicated political candidate facing charges... and Air Supply.
Writing Workshops: What's the thing you wish someone had taught you earlier in your writing life, and how does this class address that?
Fran Ayala: That storytelling doesn't end when you've finished a piece; you need a clear narrative that helps your audience understand what it is, why it matters and what they'll gain from it. And while it's one thing to tell everyone that you've written a masterpiece, it's far more effective for them to read about it in content from sources they already trust. That's what PR does.
Writing Workshops: If a student walks away from this class with one skill or shift in their writing they didn't have before, what is it?
Fran Ayala: They'll learn that writing effective press releases and pitch notes requires an entirely different approach than their process for excellent long-form features/novels/short stories. Understanding how to structure that information makes all the difference.
"Storytelling doesn't end when you've finished a piece; you need a clear narrative that helps your audience understand what it is, why it matters and what they'll gain from it."
Writing Workshops: What's the last sentence you read that made you stop and reread it? Type it out for us.
Fran Ayala: Job market so bad I'm forced to follow my dreams
Writing Workshops: Describe a moment in a workshop, one you were teaching or one you took as a student, where something clicked for someone. What happened?
Fran Ayala: When I present a brand audit to clients, I like to copy and paste the "About Us" paragraphs from theirs and their competitors' websites (with no logos or brand names) and ask them to identify which company each block of text is referring to. It's a quick and effective way to show them how a strong narrative and tone of voice help brands stand out, and reach their target audience.
Writing Workshops: What's a craft move you're slightly obsessed with right now? Not a big concept, but a small, specific technique.
Fran Ayala: Sharpen your first draft by underlining all the adverb + verb combos and replace them with verbs for the exact emotion, image, context or personality you want to convey. Don't say:
- "Completely destroyed" (Ditch "completely;" destruction already implies total ruin)
- "They raced quickly" ("They scrambled")
- "We were laughing so loudly" ("We were howling")
Fran's anonymous "About Us" exercise is exactly the kind of work you will do live in this seminar. Bring your own narrative and find out whether it stands out.
Enroll in Pitch Perfect →Writing Workshops: What's a book you press into people's hands that has nothing to do with writing craft?
Fran Ayala: Gweilo by Martin Booth — This memoir of the late British author's childhood in Hong Kong (where I lived and worked for 13 years and will always be dear to me) is a masterclass in writing that doesn't tell, but transports you to a specific time and place that no longer exist and somehow, leaves you yearning to experience that same wonderment, adventure and belonging that Booth found in his beloved city.
Writing Workshops: What's the worst writing advice that sounds smart?
Fran Ayala: "Let the work speak for itself." This is never going to happen without a PR and marketing strategy. Your work can't speak for itself if no one knows about it or why they should read it.
Writing Workshops: Finish this sentence: "Most writing classes won't tell you this, but..."
Fran Ayala: Your wizardry with the written word doesn't mean you're the most qualified storyteller to promote your work.
Writing Workshops: Who was your first literary crush?
Fran Ayala: Probably Lestat from Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles. A fictional overdressed, immortal f*ckboy with cheekbones, zero emotional regulation skills and low-key bisexual energy? That's way hotter than a 13-year-old in a puka shell necklace whose idea of romance is making out while you listen to the Dave Matthews band.
Writing Workshops: What's your teaching vibe, in one sentence, not a paragraph?
Fran Ayala: Sharp, interactive, engaging and warm... but not fuzzy. Absolutely zero fuzz.
"Your wizardry with the written word doesn't mean you're the most qualified storyteller to promote your work."
Writing Workshops: What would your students be surprised to learn about you?
Fran Ayala: I did PR for my own wedding and got it featured in Rock N Roll Bride magazine.
Two hours on a Sunday afternoon, a press release you can actually send, and live critique from a strategist who has pitched global brands and a sold-out Fringe run.
Save Your Seat in Pitch Perfect →WritingWorkshops.com is an independent, artist-run creative writing school and the official education partner of Electric Literature. Since 2016, we've helped writers strengthen their voice, develop a greater understanding of craft, and forge a path to publication.
