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“Two years ago, I attempted my first NaNoWriMo. With no previous writing experience, I pounded out a 60k word rough (very rough!) draft. A few months later I signed up for a class at WriterHouse. I learned so much, so quickly. Over the following months I took more classes and and refined my manuscript. A year later I submitted it to PitchWars, a highly competitive, international competition. Out of nearly 3000 applicants, 160 were chosen (including me!) to work one-on-one with a published author followed by a showcase with literary agents. I know the only reason I was able to go from a newbie writer to having interest from top literary agents in 18 months was because of the lessons I learned at WriterHouse. So thank you, WriterHouse! “–Emily Thiede, WriterHouse student and member
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FEATURED EVENTS
March 2019
First Fridays Art Opening, “Reflecting” with Lee Christmas Halstead
Join us for food, wine, and lively conversation as we celebrate the artwork of Lee Christmas Halstead. Her exhibition, "Reflecting," is free and open to the public. Lee Christmas Halstead’s waterscapes are a study in light, color, and reflections on the Chesapeake Bay and beyond. Her paintings combine a love of nature, being outdoors, life on a sailboat, and Plein Air painting. The luminous effects of natural light and atmosphere characterize “Plein Air” paintings. Season, weather, and time of day become…
Find out more »Deftly Delivering Dynamic Dialogue (Only 1 spot left!)
Instructor: Doug Lawson $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Saturday, 3/2/19 | 1:00 PM - 4:30 PM How your characters speak (or don’t speak) is a key way your readers will get to know them. Are they eloquent? Overly articulate? Academic? Or are they subtle, scheming, a quiet keeper of dark secrets? The way they talk will help reveal them—if you’re thoughtful about it. In this seminar we will focus on key ways of thinking about dialogue patterns, some core techniques…
Find out more »Winter Class Reading and Open House
Join us for food and fun as we celebrate the writing created during the 2019 Winter 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 »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
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 »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 »WRITERHOUSE NEWS
A Valentine for WriterHouse
Member Blog Entry by Cora Schenberg Today, February 14, I’m sending a Valentine to WriterHouse. For those who hate sappy Valentines, have no fear: Writers know there’s nothing sappy about writing. It’s a messy, risky practice. I’m at work on a memoir that...
When Publishers Fail to Market Your Book
This post appeared in the August 1, 2018 edition of the WriterHouse Newsletter. Jane is teaching Getting Your Book Published: A Year-Long Master Class during the fall 2018 term. As may have heard, not all books are adequately marketed by publishers, who may rely...
The Power of Digression
Lately, I’ve been editing my own work, trying to put together a collection of short stories I’ve worked on for three years. Revision, for me, involves a lot of cutting. I value clarity to a fault in my early drafts; later I aim to lose the excessive unnecessary...
