March 2019
Poets At Large
This is a closed group facilitated by Sharon Ackerman and Priscilla Melchior. The group's goal is a detailed study of the craft of poetry.
Find out more »Writing, Revising, Pitching: Getting Your Novel Out of the Drawer and Off to Market (This class is full!)
Instructor: Randall Klein $1299* Members | $1299* Nonmembers Select Mondays 1/14/19 – 9/23/19 | 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM *Payment plans of $412 per quarter (3 quarters) will be available to students accepted into this program. Overview: For most novelists, the ultimate goal is to get published. Before that, however, comes much revision, along with some frustration and confusion at a seemingly impenetrable system of submission, waiting, and hoping. Writing, Revising, Pitching is a class for people who have…
Find out more »Open Writing Hours Today!
WriterHouse will be offering the volunteer operated Open Writing Hours today. Come in and enjoy a nice quiet place to write, meet with your writer friends, and have a cup of coffee on the house. Want to see more open hours? We do too! Become a volunteer for WriterHouse today to help us promote the creation and appreciation of the literary arts in your community.
Find out more »Open Writing Hours Today!
WriterHouse will be offering the volunteer operated Open Writing Hours today. Come in and enjoy a nice quiet place to write, meet with your writer friends, and have a cup of coffee on the house. Want to see more open hours? We do too! Become a volunteer for WriterHouse today to help us promote the creation and appreciation of the literary arts in your community.
Find out more »Memoir in a Year Part II: Drafting and Revising Your Book-Length Memoir (This class is full!)
Instructor: Lisa Ellison$1399* Members | $1399* NonmembersSelect Thursdays 1/24/19 – 12/5/19 | 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM*Payment plans of $335 per quarter will be available to students accepted into this program.**For a complete list of class dates, please see the Memoir in a Year Part II Syllabus. Have a powerful life story you absolutely must tell? Looking for support as you harness the power of that narrative? Memoir in a Year Part II: Drafting and Revising Your Book-Length Memoir is…
Find out more »Make-up Session
Instructor: Jody Hesler This is a one-time make-up session for select students.
Find out more »Tupelo Teen Writing Center
To foster, discover, and develop emerging writers, and connect them as a part of the larger writing community, facilitate their ability to take advantage of our local literary resources, and develop resources where they are needed. To announce to and through the support of our youth that writing is as important as sports fields, theaters, art galleries and centers, and skating rinks… To learn more, please see the Tupelo Teen Writing Center
Find out more »Open Writing Hours Today!
WriterHouse will be offering the volunteer operated Open Writing Hours today. Come in and enjoy a nice quiet place to write, meet with your writer friends, and have a cup of coffee on the house. Want to see more open hours? We do too! Become a volunteer for WriterHouse today to help us promote the creation and appreciation of the literary arts in your community.
Find out more »Dabblers Group
This is a closed writing group organized by member Carol Cutler that meets in the Salon.
Find out more »Daytime Advanced Poetry: Deep Revision
Instructor: Mirabella Mitchell $189 Members | $210 Nonmembers Tuesdays, 3/26/19 - 5/14/19 | 9:30 AM - 12:00 PM Poet Traci Brimhall says, “Revision teaches me how to push beyond the choices that come easily. . . . Process saves me from the poverty of my intentions.” For some poets, revision can feel like the literary equivalent of preparing your taxes-- but it doesn’t have to be that way! In many ways, revision can be the most exciting part of the…
Find out more »Evening Creative Nonfiction
Instructor: Jay Kauffmann $189 Members | $210 Nonmembers Tuesdays, 3/26/19 - 5/14/19 | 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM This workshop will explore the essential elements of creative nonfiction, such as sensory imagery, metaphoric language, distinctive voice, dramatic arc, and focused theme. Participants will discuss essays and memoir pieces submitted to the group. In addition, there will be readings and in-class exercises that address pertinent craft issues. There will also be opportunities to consider non-craft issues associated with this genre, such…
Find out more »Mystery Writing
Instructor: Meredith Cole $189 Members | $210 Nonmembers Tuesdays, 3/26/19 - 5/14/19 | 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM What makes a book a page-turner? And how do you keep suspense building and propel your story to an exciting climax? In this class, we’ll explore different mystery genres, from traditional to cozy to thriller, and work on crafting a story that both entertains and satisfies your readers. You’ll learn how to construct a plot, plant clues, and develop fascinating characters. Through…
Find out more »Evening Poetry: Poetry and the Natural World
Instructor: Laura Long $189 Members | $210 Nonmembers Tuesdays, 3/26/19 - 5/14/19 | 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM This class explores a range of ways poetry evokes and imagines the natural world. We discuss examples and generate new work at each meeting, and we workshop. We also notice how the process of writing deepens our perceptions of the natural world. Participants keep a journal of observations throughout the course. You do not need to consider yourself a poet to take…
Find out more »Short Stories: Sweet Spots, Blind Spots, and Sore Spots
Instructor: Betty Joyce Nash $94.50 Members | $105 Nonmembers Wednesdays, 3/27/19 – 4/17/19 | 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm (FOUR-WEEK CLASS) This is an advanced workshop for short story writers. Part new work, part revision, we'll focus on one story, hammering on the “revision as writing” theme. We’ll each submit one story ripe for “re-vision.” (Of course, it’s no crime if you submit two—your call, depending on how much work you’re up for.) We’ll identify these stories’ sweet spots, and we’ll…
Find out more »Cville YA Writers Group
This group is open to any member of WriterHouse. At this meeting, one member will read a short piece for us to critique. We will also discuss an article about writing antagonists. We welcome more voices in our lively discussions about writing as it pertains to the YA audience. Questions? Contact Bonnie Redding at riderwriter5@yahoo.com
Find out more »
Daytime Fiction: Reality-Based Fiction Writing
Instructor: Seth Clabough $189 Members | $210 Nonmembers Fridays, 3/29/19 – 5/17/19 | 9:30 am – 12:00 pm What do established writers say about the importance, practice, challenges, and limits of rooting fiction in actual experiences? In this class, we'll discuss and consider examples and applications by writers such as Kurt Vonnegut, Raymond Carver, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Participants will also have the opportunity to utilize this approach to reconsider their current projects and to develop and workshop their own…
Find out more »Journaling Workshop
Instructor: John Nicolay $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Saturday, 3/30/19 | 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM John Nicolay is a lifelong journal keeper. With the digital technical shift, John found tools to enrich the journal experience. This workshop is designed for those interested in exploring the journal as a writing paradigm and enhancing its presentation, even to printing it. Five journaling paradigms are reviewed. Editing tools for images and text are discussed. His book to accompany this class (although not…
Find out more »April 2019
Open Writing Hours Today!
WriterHouse will be offering the volunteer operated Open Writing Hours today. Come in and enjoy a nice quiet place to write, meet with your writer friends, and have a cup of coffee on the house. Want to see more open hours? We do too! Become a volunteer for WriterHouse today to help us promote the creation and appreciation of the literary arts in your community.
Find out more »First Fridays Art Opening with Liza Wimbish and Alden Myers
Join us for food, wine, and lively conversation as we celebrate the photography of Liza Wimbish and Alden Myers. The exhibition is free and open to the public. Those who are unable to attend the opening can view the exhibit through April 30, during our open writing hours, Monday – Friday 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Find out more »Submitting & Publishing: Parts I and II
Instructor: Liza Taylor $30 Members | $32.50 Nonmembers Saturday, 4/6/19 | 10:30 AM - 2:30 PM These back-to-back mini-seminars may be taken separately or together. Part I - Getting Noticed: Submitting your work (10:30 AM - 12:00 PM) Here at WriterHouse we’re taught to be better writers, but it’s up to us to get our work out there and learn how to be writers in the world. So, you might be wondering, how will I know if I’m ready to try…
Find out more »“Ties That Bind” with Amelia L. Williams
The Ties That Bind is a #NoPipelines Community Collaborative Art and Story project that will go on display in Staunton in May. Join WriterHouse to create a section of the larger whole and learn from Ecoartist and poet Amelia L. Williams how to contribute your voice, and your vision in this work of words and fabric art. Materials: bring at least 6 strips of fabric 4 to 5 feet long or scrap clothing, draperies, bedding, woolens – anything that can…
Find out more »WriterHouse Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror/Speculative Fiction Writers Group
Do rolling green hills inspire you to think of brutal orc armies bearing down on ancient elfin civilizations? Intrepid heroes slashing their way through overgrown jungles in search of the one cure to a deadly pandemic? Forgotten tribes descended from a humanoid ancestor other than our own? Government enclaves for top secret and highly unethical experiments? Mother Nature’s healing touch after the nuclear apocalypse? If so then we would love to hear about it! The WriterHouse Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror/Speculative Fiction Writers Group…
Find out more »Daytime Craft Intensive: Find Your Voice
Instructor: Jody Hesler $94.50 Members | $105 Nonmembers Tuesdays, 4/9/19 - 4/30/19 | 12:30 PM – 3:00 PM (FOUR-WEEK CLASS) Open to fiction and nonfiction writers alike, this course is aimed toward work that’s giving you a runaround. You can’t bring yourself to scrap it, but you can’t quite place what’s driving it, either. Students will submit a ten-page sample from this troubling work ahead of time, and the course will shape itself both around workshopping these excerpts and around…
Find out more »Putting the Pen to the Page: Drafting Your Novel in One Year (This Class is Full!)
Instructor: Kristen-Paige Madonia $1,399* Members | $1,399* Nonmembers Select Tuesdays, 9/11/18 - 5/21/19** | 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM *Payment plans of $335 per quarter will be available to students accepted into this program. Overview: Putting the Pen to the Page is an opportunity for writers to study the craft of creative writing, share and workshop portions of their novel manuscript, provide and receive constructive criticism, and work with a published author at an MFA-level of instruction as they write…
Find out more »Advanced Fiction Workshop: Focus on Craft
Instructor: Christina Ward-Niven $189 Members | $210 Nonmembers Thursdays, 4/11/19 – 5/30/19 | 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm In this workshop, we will talk about how fiction works. Why do we love the stories we love? What tools did the author employ to affect us as readers? Each week, we'll begin by discussing a story by a published author, looking at traditional craft elements (such as setting, detail, characterization, and dialogue) as well as other less concrete, but equally important…
Find out more »Writing the Tough Stuff
Instructor: Jennifer Niesslein $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Saturday, 4/13/19 | 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM When you experience a life-changing event, how do you even begin to write about it? And how do you make your work stand out from other work that tackles the same kind of event—say, for example, the death of a loved one, painful break-up, or a debilitating illness? In this seminar, we’ll talk about different strategies to break into the tough stuff, as well…
Find out more »Finding Your Rhythm
Instructor: James Cole $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Saturday, 4/27/19 | 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM Learn to elevate your poetry by diving into the world of rhyme and rhythm. In this seminar, we'll cover various techniques to improve experimental poetry through rhyme, alliteration, assonance, and more! Liven up your verse with writing exercises and a brief performance workshop that will teach you how to find the musicality in your writing. James Cole is a graduate of The College of William…
Find out more »May 2019
The Ins and Outs of Humor Writing – What’s funny and why
Instructor: Tony Vanderwarker $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Part I, Saturday, May 11, 2019, 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM Part II, Sunday, May 12, 2019, 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM This two-part seminar occurs on consecutive days, to allow time to digest the information from the first day and apply it toward writing or revising a piece for the second day. In the opening session, Tony will discuss the elements of humor in writing, using examples from Mel Brooks, David Sedaris and…
Find out more »Spring Class Reading and Open House
Join us for food and fun as we celebrate the writing created during the 2019 Spring Term. Fiction, nonfiction, and poetry will be represented. The event is free and open to the public and refreshments will be served. Bring friends!
Find out more »June 2019
Science Fiction & Fantasy Group Reading and Open House
Join us for food and fun as we celebrate the varied writing from our speculative fiction group. The event is free and open to the public and refreshments will be served. Bring friends!
Find out more »July 2019
Write On! Session I: 6th – 8th Grade Writing Workshop
Instructor: Erin James Cost: $210 on or before 3/25/19, $225 on or before 4/26/19, $240 after 4/26/19 Monday – Friday July 8, 2019 - July 12, 2019 | 1:00 PM-5:00 PM During this week, young writers will explore the craft and fun of creative writing through a variety of prompts, journaling, music, brainstorming, people-watching, and visits to nearby inspiring locations. Modes of expression and experimentation will include poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and more! Throughout the week, we will learn about and participate…
Find out more »Write On! Session I: 9th – 12th Grade Writing Workshop
Instructor: Abigail Baum Cost: $210 on or before 3/25/19, $225 on or before 4/26/19, $240 after 4/26/19 Monday – Friday July 8, 2019 - July 12, 2019 | 1:00 PM-5:00 PM In a world that is increasingly colored by diversions and distractions, how do we, as artists, learn to leverage inspiration? This five-day intensive study will be situated in the study of that seemingly elusive muse: inspiration. The course will seek to locate a beginning point for each member, appropriate…
Find out more »Write On! Session II: 9th – 12th Grade Writing Workshop
Instructor: Kirsten Miles Cost: $210 on or before 3/25/19, $225 on or before 4/26/19, $240 after 4/26/19 Monday – Friday July 22, 2019 - July 26, 2019 | 1:00 PM-5:00 PM Develop your writing skills and gain exposure to diverse and contemporary authors with a tailored reading list. Your week will include a handmade journal, and a hands-on tour of rare and famous books in the UVA special collection library for inspiration, putting literary treasures in your hands. We'll have…
Find out more »