WriterHouse - Classes

Writing, Revising, Pitching (Randall Klein)

Start
January 08, 2025
End
September 17, 2025
Schedule
9 sessions
Location
Zoom — link to be shared by instructor

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Overview:

Wednesdays, 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM, By application only. Applications are closed.

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 written a substantive portion of a novel and seek to develop it in workshop, blended with a detailed look at how books are pitched and marketed. This class is designed for writers who already have something on the page, as writers will be asked to start with a project of at least 50,000 words.

Over the course of a leisurely nine months, writers will take their novel and receive detailed workshopping, receiving guidance from the instructor and the class as they continue toward the goal of getting the work ready for submission or publication. Each student will also receive guidance and feedback on writing a query / pitch letter for the work, and each class will involve some time of the instructor answering any publishing-related questions and discussing best practices for the process of finding / selecting an agent, crafting a query letter, etc. Work in any adult fiction genre is accepted, and writers of all levels are welcome to apply.

Details:

This class is designed to help novelists take a novel-in-process and workshop it to a complete draft, or to take a full draft and workshop it to a more polished revision. Through workshopping and discussion, it will also help writers to approach the process with stronger analytical tools, helping to make both the writing and revision process less frustrating and more productive. The class will meet roughly once a month, beginning in January of 2025 through September 2025 via Zoom.

Prospective attendees will apply with a writing sample of up to 7500 words of a work-in-progress. Class size will be limited to ensure that all writers have the time to develop their own work while also giving detailed reads to fellow writers. Each writer will have one class devoted to workshopping their writing and query / pitch letter, as well as availability for one-on-one feedback and discussion with the instructor.

The instructor will also select a recently published debut novel and one class will be dedicated entirely to discussing this book, breaking down the choices the author has made and how writers can apply these techniques in their own writing. Also, how do publishers market these books, and were they successful, and how can this influence how a writer pens a submission letter, or pitches his or her own work? These issues and others will be discussed by the class to give writers a foundation on how to build a novel, how to revise it, and once it’s ready, how to get others interested in it.

The first class session will be for meeting the class, scheduling, and a “Bookclub” discussion. The instructor will provide the title of the book in advance so writers are prepared for the discussion. The work will begin in earnest at the 2nd class. So, there are 9 meetings, but 8 of them will be for classwork. Class will meet online via Zoom on Wednesdays from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. for 9 sessions on the following dates:

Class 1: January 8, 2025 (Scheduling and Bookclub class. The purpose here is to get everyone used to the structure of a workshop without the pressure of evaluating the manuscript of a student).
Class 2: February 12
Class 3: March 12
Class 4: April 9 / April 16 (TBD)
Class 5: May 14
Class 6: June 11
Class 7: July 16
Class 8: August 20
Class 9: September 17

Application Requirements:

Application Deadline has been extended to November 29, 2024. Prerequisite: Substantial progress of at least 50,000 words on the first draft of a novel must be achieved by all students. Applications are closed at this time.

Please submit up to 7500 words of a work-in-progress. It may be from any adult fiction genre (mystery, romance, literary, science-fiction, etc.). Writing samples must be emailed to programs@writerhouse.org. Please note, this program is for novelists who are prepared to make a strong commitment to their work; students will be expected to participate in the entire program. A $100 nonrefundable deposit is due at the time of application. Deposits will be applied to the cost of tuition for students who are accepted to this program.

This class is limited to a maximum of eight writers. If there is enough demand a second section may be added, and writers accepted will be given a choice of schedules. Acceptance letters will be emailed to writers by December 6, 2024. Upon acceptance, the balance of the tuition will be due within a week. Payment plans will be available for students who are accepted in this program. The first payment will be due no later than December 11, 2024.

About the Instructor:

Randall Klein worked in publishing for a decade, starting at the literary agency Trident Media Group, then as an editor, first within the Random House Publishing Group, then for Diversion Books, where he acquired and edited over one hundred books across all genres. He is also the author of the novel Little Disasters, published in May of 2018 by Viking Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House. He has been teaching at Writer House for over six years.

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Writing the Hardest Part: How Writers Bring Difficult Experience to the Page (Erin James)

Start
January 13, 2025
End
March 03, 2025
Schedule
8 sessions
Location
WriterHouse
Spaces left
10

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Description:

Mondays, 9:30 AM to 1100 AM

“Let’s face it. We’re undone by each other. And if we’re not, we’re missing something.” Judith Butler, Precarious Life

Much has been written about the self-care that writers must practice if engaged in the art of transforming our most painful and difficult moments into story. This class will leave that up to our therapists, and focus instead on the justifications for doing so, and how to care for those on the receiving end of our stories.

Rooted in Maggie Nelson’s theory of art as “a place where all elements—even extremities—of what it feels like to be human can be heard and find place,” we will explore the techniques used by various nonfiction writers to handle difficult content, and build a craft archive of trauma.

We will explore the creative struggles of other writers and draw inspiration from what helped them put words to their experience. We will hold space for our own anxieties about writing the hardest part and engage in craft exercises meant to help us do so with care for and awareness of the self and the other. Writing will be generative, sharing will be optional, and a variety of prompts will be offered each week. Participants will leave with a framework for bringing their difficult experiences to the page.

*Those who have taken this course before are welcome, as some readings and materials will be different.

About the Instructor:

Erin has taught English and Creative Writing for over a decade and received her MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University in 2024.

In addition to working with students at WriterHouse for the past ten years, she has been a judge for the Writer‘s Eye Creative Writing Contest hosted by the University of Virginia’s Fralin Museum of Art. She has also been a student and teacher-counselor at UVA’s Young Writers Workshop. She has attended two week-long workshops for Teachers as Writers at Bard College’s Institute for Writing and Thinking in 2014 and 2016 and received an author fellowship to attend the Martha’s Vineyard Institute for Creative Writing in 2021. Before she began teaching, she studied Journalism and English at New York University and received her undergraduate degree in English from the University of Virginia. In addition to writing, Erin loves reading, hiking, practicing and teaching yoga, cooking, being outside, traveling, and spending time with her sons Noah and Jacob, and friends.

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Screenwriting (Michael Cordell)

Start
January 13, 2025
End
March 03, 2025
Schedule
8 sessions
Location
WriterHouse
Spaces left
10

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Description:

Mondays, 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM

Learn the fundamentals of screenwriting to increase the odds of getting your script read. This class covers key elements of screenwriting, including story structure, character development, dialogue, and exposition. We’ll talk about how Hollywood thinks (to the extent that anyone knows how Hollywood thinks), and the class will also be encouraged to submit a story outline or the first ten pages of a screenplay for class critique. The main focus is writing the commercial screenplay, but the elements discussed will be relevant to most good storytelling.

About the Instructor:

Michael Cordell has been writing screenplays for over twenty years. He has sold three screenplays to Hollywood studios, one of which was produced into a feature film starring Harvey Keitel. He is also a novelist, whose first novel, Contempt, was an Amazon Top Ten legal thriller, and his second novel, Our Trespasses, was a winner of the Silver Falchion award for best supernatural thriller.

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All in One: A creative writing class for moms* (Helen Chandler)

Start
January 14, 2025
End
March 04, 2025
Schedule
8 sessions
Location
Zoom — link to be shared by instructor
Spaces left
4

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Description:

Tuesdays, 12 PM to 1:30 PM

This class is aimed at writers across all genres and in all stages of motherhood. Whether you are in the thick of raising small children or yours have flown the nest, you have probably felt, at some point, a tension between your two identities: writer and mother. Maybe you’re feeling depleted by the demands of caregiving and can’t make time for creativity. Or perhaps you’re feeling inspired by the highs and lows of motherhood and would like to explore that through writing.

Each week for eight weeks, we will meet for 90 minutes – we’ll discuss a short piece of writing, sometimes touching on themes of motherhood and caregiving, and sometimes not, after which I'll offer generative writing prompts. In the second half of the course, writers will have an opportunity to workshop a story, essay, or other piece of their choice with the group. By the end of the course, you will have generated many new ideas and be on your way toward a finished draft of a longer piece. With luck, you'll also find that you feel part of a supportive and warm community of other mother artists.

In order to make this class as accessible to parents as possible, it will take place online over Zoom. However, if you are based in or near Charlottesville and would like to meet in person to discuss your writing, I will be available outside of class time upon request.

*All who identify as mothers are welcome.

About the Instructor:

Helen Chandler is a writer from Ireland living in Charlottesville. She holds an MFA from the University of Virginia, where she taught fiction for two years and edited Meridian magazine. She is the author of the monthly newsletter Old Diaries, and her stories, essays, reviews and interviews have appeared in The Dublin Review, The Stinging Fly, LitHub, Tammy, Passages North, and Meridian. She is at work on a nonfiction book about aunts.

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Tell Your Story: A Creative Writing Workshop (Deborah Harris)

Start
January 14, 2025
End
March 04, 2025
Schedule
8 sessions
Location
Zoom — link to be shared by instructor
Spaces left
4

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Description:

Tuesdays, 5 PM to 7 PM

Whether you’re just beginning a memoir or deep into your novel, this class will help you generate new work while practicing the fundamentals of creative writing that draw readers deeply into your story.

Each week, we’ll exercise our writing muscles with the help of a generative prompt. We’ll talk about published work we’ve read, considering story, character development, structure, and style. Finally, we’ll respond to shared student work in a generous and supportive spirit.

About the Instructor:

Deborah’s work has appeared in Dissent Magazine, The Southampton Review, and Five on the Fifth. She earned her MALS in literature from Wesleyan University and MFA in fiction writing from Sarah Lawrence College. She teaches here at WriterHouse, and at Hudson River Community Education, in New York.

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Evening Poetry (John Most)

Start
January 14, 2025
End
March 04, 2025
Schedule
8 sessions
Location
WriterHouse
Spaces left
0

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Description:

Tuesdays, 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM

In this class, which is open to all poets, we will spend most of our time writing and workshopping new poems. In addition to writing new poems, we will look at what different poets do in addition to writing the poem, whether it is writing about poetry, taking notes, thinking, researching, or reading.

About the Instructor:

John Most earned his PhD in media philosophy from the European Graduate School. His work has appeared in Jacket, Lungfull!, The Continental Review, Coconut, and Big Bridge. He is the author of Persephone, Atelier, and Field.

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Chopped (Jody Hobbs Hesler)

Start
January 15, 2025
End
February 26, 2025
Schedule
7 sessions
Location
Zoom — link to be shared by instructor
Spaces left
8

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Description:

Wednesdays, 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Inspired by the TV cooking game show Chopped, this generative writing class will present students with a new "basket" of four "ingredients" each week. "Ingredients" will be drawn from these categories: situations, objects or places, restrictions (on form or style), and people or moods. During our writing time, each writer will not only include all four items, but must "transform" them so that they work together organically. Writers will share from what they've written with the group, and feedback will focus on how each writer has transformed the week's "ingredients." For the final class, students will present a revision of one of the exercises. Unlike the TV show, no one will be eliminated from the class! The hope is that facing these new challenges each week will invigorate our writing and open us to new creative directions, and that this approach to feedback will also open new ways for us to evaluate our work.

About the Instructor:

Jody Hobbs Hesler is the author of the novel Without You Here (Flexible Press) and the story collection What Makes You Think You’re Supposed to Feel Better (Cornerstone Press). Her other writing includes short fiction, feature articles, essays, and book reviews, which can be found in a range of journals including The Millions, Atticus Review, Arts & Letters, CRAFT, Pithead Chapel, Gargoyle, Raleigh Review, The Georgia Review, [PANK], Valparaiso Fiction Review, Virginia Wine & Country Life, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA in fiction from Lesley University. Learn more about her writing at jodyhobbshesler.

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Sharpen Your Skills: Fiction/Nonfiction (Sharon Harrigan)

Start
January 16, 2025
End
March 06, 2025
Schedule
8 sessions
Location
WriterHouse
Spaces left
6

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Description:

Thursdays, 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM

Looking for some new tools in your writer toolbox? Or maybe you have all the tools, but need to sharpen them (as we all do). Whether you write short stories, novels, personal essays, or memoir, this class will give you practical information you can use right away to improve your skills as a writer and enrich your experience as a reader.

Each week we will focus on one element of craft: character, point of view, plot/narrative, dialogue, voice, setting, or sensory detail. We will discuss a short craft essay on that element as well as short examples (both fiction and creative nonfiction) supplied by the instructor. Students will be invited to do writing exercises at home, based on each particular craft element, and share them the following week. This will be a low-homework-load class. The excerpts will represent a variety of styles, and some of them will be funny!

Readings supplied by instructor (you will get a packet at the first class): Short excerpts from two fiction and two nonfiction works, as well as short craft essays.

About the Instructor:

Sharon Harrigan is the author of the debut novel Half, which was published in summer 2020, and the memoir Playing with Dynamite, published in 2017. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from Pacific University and has published more than 50 personal essays, short stories, and reviews in such venues as Virginia Quarterly Review, New York Times (Modern Love), and Narrative. A starred Booklist review called Half “suspenseful, lyrical, and consuming,” and Publishers’ Weekly called the novel “riveting and inventive.”

Sharon’s current and former students have published their work in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Huffington Post, The Rumpus, NPR, Gravel, The Guardian, Gettysburg Review, Bay Journal, The Sow’s Ear Poetry Review, Living Lutheran Magazine, Mothers Always Write, Fluvanna Review, Charlottesville Family, The Ethos Collection, and , among others.

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Guide to Being an Indie Author (Warren Rochelle)

When
February 08, 2025
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Location
WriterHouse
Spaces left
8

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Description:

So, you are thinking of going indie? Wondering what that means? What you could be getting into? The goal is to explore the pluses and minuses of publishing with an indie press, and how these affect such aspects of writing and publishing as editing, marketing, choosing a press and why, among other things. Students will discuss their expectations and ambitions and share experiences. I will share my own experiences, or how I finally gave up my dream of a national book tour and what kind of tour took its place. Students will have the opportunity to discuss their projects and get feedback on whether the indie route could be a more viable path for them to take versus a more traditional approach.

About the Instructor:

Warren Rochelle lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, and has just retired from teaching English at the University of Mary Washington. His short fiction and poetry have been published in such journals and anthologies as Icarus, North Carolina Literary Review, Forbidden Lines, Aboriginal Science Fiction, Collective Fallout, Queer Fish 2, Empty Oaks, Quantum Fairy Tales, Migration, The Silver Gryphon, Jaelle Her Book, Colonnades, and Graffiti, as well as the Asheville Poetry Review, GW Magazine, Crucible, The Charlotte Poetry Review, and Romance and Beyond. He had also published a critical work on Ursula K. LeGuin and academic criticism of speculative fiction in various journals.

His short story, “The Golden Boy,” was a finalist for the 2004 Spectrum Award for Short Fiction. His short story “Mirrors,” was published in Under A Green Rose, a queering romance anthology, from Cuil Press. “The Latest Thing,” a flash fiction story, was published in the Queer Sci Fi anthology, Innovation in 2020.

Rochelle is also the author of four novels: The Wild Boy (2001), Harvest of Changelings (2007), and The Called (2010), all published by Golden Gryphon Press, and The Werewolf and His Boy, published by Samhain Publishing in September 2016. The Werewolf and His Boy was re-released from JMS Books in August 2020. The Wicked Stepbrother and Other Stories was published by JMS Books in late September 2020.

He is presently working on a novella continuing one of the stories in his collection. He wanted to know what happened next.

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Short and Sweet: Structure in Short Nonfiction (Tod Olson)

When
February 22, 2025
10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Location
Zoom — link will be shared by instructor
Spaces left
11

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Description:

Everyone has a great personal story to tell, but how do you tell it well? What’s the heart of the story? What makes a good lead? A good ending? What’s the through-line? We’ll discuss some general principles, then take apart a couple of short narrative essays (yes, a little bit of pre-reading) to see how they work. Bring your own work in progress—a short essay, a chapter of a memoir, or just the germ of an idea. During the second half of class we’ll apply what we’ve talked about to your work.

Instructor Bio:

Tod Olson is author of award-winning narrative nonfiction for middle-grade and young adult readers, including Into the Clouds: The Race to Climb the World’s Most Dangerous Mountain, the narrative nonfiction series LOST, and the historical fiction series How to Get Rich. He has traveled the country to report on the school shooting at Columbine, the murder of Matthew Shepard, drunk driving accidents, homeless kids, and other only slightly more uplifting topics. He has 30 years of experience as an editor and book developer for the education and school/library markets, and as a writer for Scholastic’s classroom magazines. He holds an MFA from Vermont College of the Fine Arts.

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The Art of Losing: Poems on Love and Loss (Margaret Mackinnon)

When
March 01, 2025
1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Location
WriterHouse
Spaces left
9

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Description:

In her famous villanelle, “One Art,” Elizabeth Bishop describes a series of losses, from “door keys” and “the hour badly spent” to houses, cities, and even a significant loved one who is now gone. Her piece is an eloquent example of how poetry can be a means of exploring the intertwined experiences of love and loss. Poetry is one way we can speak about the ongoing presence of what is now absent. In this one-day seminar, we will look at how poems can reflect love and loss, whether that is the loss of a person, a place, or another part of our lives. We will be discussing contemporary examples of this theme, including Donald Justice’s “Men at Forty,” which looks back at a man’s lost younger years, and W.S. Merwin’s “For A Coming Extinction,” a poem that laments the potential future loss of an entire species. We will spend some of our time together reading and discussing the work of other writers, and we will also look at poems shared by members of the class.

About the Instructor:

Margaret Mackinnon is the author of two collections of poetry, The Invented Child (Silverfish Review Press 2013), winner of the 2014 Literary Award in Poetry from the Library of Virginia, and Afternoon in Cartago (Ashland Poetry Press 2022), winner of the Richard Snyder Memorial Publication Prize. Her work has appeared in The Hampden-Sydney Poetry Review, Image, Poetry, Blackbird, and other journals. She attended Vassar College and the University of North Carolina, and she received her MFA in poetry from the University of Florida. She lives with her family in Richmond.

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