October 2019
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 »Putting Your Poor People in Peril! (Creating Realistic Characters Then Throwing Them to the Wolves)
Instructor: Elizabeth Massie $50 Members | $55 Nonmembers Saturday, 10/19/19 | 10:00 am - 12:00 pm Characters are the experiencers of a story. Without characters who act, speak, and think, there is no story. Without characters there is no problem to solve, difficulty to overcome, or adventure to have. This two-hour workshop will offer activities to get writers into the hearts, minds, and souls of their characters and then introduce characters into frightening situations to determine how they will react…or…
Find out more »Author Event with Clifford Garstang
Join author Clifford Garstang on Saturday, October 19, 2019 at 12:30 PM as he discusses his writing career and his latest book, THE SHAMAN OF TURTLE VALLEY, a novel about place, family secrets, and ghosts, published this spring by Braddock Avenue Books. WriterHouse will provide refreshments. Clifford Garstang is the author of a novel, THE SHAMAN OF TURTLE VALLEY, a novel in stories, WHAT THE ZHANG BOYS KNOW, winner of the Library of Virginia Award for Fiction, and a story…
Find out more »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 »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 Mondays, 9/9/19 - 5/21/20** | 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM *Payment plans of $335 per quarter will be available to students accepted into this program. NOTE: THE APPLICATION DEADLINE FOR THIS PROGRAM HAS PASSED. 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…
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 »Daytime Generative Writing Class (This class is full!)
Instructor: Sharon Harrigan $189 Members | $210 Nonmembers Wednesdays, 9/18/19 – 11/6/19 | 9:30 am -12:00 pm No time for homework? No problem. We’ll do all the writing and critique work in class, so you don’t have to do it at home. Each session will begin with a short meditation to clear our heads. Then the instructor will lead participants through a series of prompts that build on each other and move toward the goal of completing a cohesive story,…
Find out more »Evening Poetry (This class is full!)
Instructor: Douglas Nordfors $189 Members | $210 Nonmembers Wednesdays, 9/18/19 – 11/6/19 | 6:30 pm -9:00 pm This course will follow the traditional, tried-and-true workshop model. Participants will bring in a poem each class to be critiqued by fellow students and the instructor. For anyone who appreciates outside prompts, an optional assignment will be given each week. The aim will be to create a rigorous, but stress free, atmosphere suitable for veteran as well as novice poets. Any style of…
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 (Intermediate/Advanced Writers) – Ongoing Class
Instructor: Christina Ward-Niven $189 Members | $210 Nonmembers Thursdays, 9/19/19 – 11/7/19 | 1:00 pm -3:30 pm In this workshop, we will read one story by a published author each week and discuss what makes it tick. How exactly does the story work (or not)? We'll dig into a wide range of craft topics, as they come up—point of view, characterization, pacing, suspense, mystery, etc. Next we'll turn the same lens to our own work, reading and responding to two…
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Off-Season NaNoWriMo Meeting
This is a closed meeting of NaNoWriMo organizers facilitated by Jennifer Ehlers.
Find out more »Staying the Course (Ongoing Class)
Instructor: Jody Hesler $260 Members | $289 Nonmembers Meets monthly on Saturday for eleven months: 9/28/19, 10/26/19, 11/23/19, 12/14/19, 1/25/20, 2/22/20, 3/28/20, 4/25/20, 5/23/20, 6/27/20, 7/25/20 | 1:00 pm – 3:30 pm This is a course for committed writers who want some structure and accountability for reaching their writing goals. Reaching these goals is often more easily said than done. We often lose our way when we have no sounding board, no one to check in with to see if…
Find out more »Getting Into Character
Instructor: Amanda Korman $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Saturday, 10/26/19 | 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm What makes a story “unputdownable”? We know that propulsive plots are one way to keep your readers turning the page. But there are plenty of stories where the captivating factor is instead the intrigue of the characters themselves: the way their minds work, the way their particular sensibilities clash against one another. In this afternoon seminar we will discuss strategies for creating consistent, believable…
Find out more »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 »Villanelle Crash Course
Instructor: Claudia Gary $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Sunday, 10/27/19 | 10:00 am - 1:00 pm Improve your villanelle skills, or write your first one. Guided by an internationally published author of villanelles, sonnets, and other metrical poems, you'll first read classic and contemporary villanelles to see why they work. The class will write a group villanelle, and then, with or without shortcuts, you’ll write one of your own. Next you'll see how your new poem can be improved by…
Find out more »Meter Crash Course
Instructor: Claudia Gary $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Sunday, 10/27/19 | 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm Improve your ear for meter, and fine-tune your understanding of how meter works in poetry. Have you ever wondered how scanning the lines of your first draft can make for a better poem? Do you know why listening for the natural rhythms of speech can strengthen your writing? Guided by an internationally published author of sonnets, villanelles, and other metrical poems, this one-day workshop…
Find out more »Dabblers Group
This is a closed writing group organized by member Carol Cutler that meets in the Salon.
Find out more »November 2019
NaNoWriMo 2019
What is NaNoWriMo? National Novel Writing Month. Established in 1999, this event occurs worldwide during the month of November. Join a local group of determined writers to write 50,000 words during the month of November. That's only 1,666 words a day! If you've always wanted to write that novel, or have participated before and can't wait to do it again, come to some or all of the group write-ins this month. A supportive, creative, and fun atmosphere can go a long…
Find out more »Submission Bootcamp, Part I: Getting Noticed – Submitting Your Work
Instructor: Liza Taylor $30 Members | $32.50 Nonmembers Saturday, 11/2/19 | 10:30 am - 12:00 pm Note: The Submission mini-seminars may be taken separately or together, but you must register for each one individually. 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 submitting? Liza will…
Find out more »Submission Bootcamp, Part II: I’ve Finished Writing My Book, Now What?
Instructor: Liza Taylor $35 Members | $38 Nonmembers Sunday, 11/3/19 | 11:00 am - 1:00 pm Note: The Submission mini-seminars may be taken separately or together, but you must register for each one individually. As they say at the Publisher’s Clearinghouse, “If you don’t enter, you can’t win.” Finding an agent for your manuscript is tough. This seminar will discuss preparing book manuscripts for submission, researching literary agents, writing and formatting a query letter and synopsis, submission strategies, and dealing…
Find out more »Literary Fiction Critique Group
This is a closed group facilitated by Lauren Hebert for writers who seek thoughtful critical feedback on their work and are able to provide the same support for other group members. In addition to reading and commenting on individual submissions, we also engage in craft-related discussions, writing exercises, and free-write sessions.
Find out more »Continuing Novel Work Group
This is a closed writing group organized by member Chris Tucker. Members are graduates of the Putting the Pen to the Page year-long novel class.
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 »Confessions of a Book Reviewer
Instructor: Bill Glose $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Sunday, 11/10/19 | 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm As the Books editor for Virginia Living for the past 16 years, Bill Glose has sifted through hundreds of book marketing campaigns. In this seminar, he will discuss how he chooses which books to review and the mistakes that many beginning authors do that harm their chances. He will also discuss the lifespan of a book and show participants how to make a publicity…
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 »WriterHouse Fall Class Reading and Open House
Join us for food and fun as we celebrate the writing created during the 2019 Fall Term. Fiction, nonfiction, and poetry will be represented. The event is free and open to the public and refreshments will be served. Bring friends!
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December 2019
January 2020
Memoir in a Year Part I: Writing the First Draft of Your Book-Length Memoir
Instructor: Sharon Harrigan $1399* Members | $1399* Nonmembers Select Thursdays, 1/16/20 - 12/10/20** | 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 2020 Memoir in a Year Part I Syllabus Have a powerful life story you absolutely must tell? Looking for support as you harness the power of that narrative? During Memoir in a Year Part I: Writing…
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