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June 2020
Reading for Craft: Fiction and Nonfiction (Online course)
Instructor: Jody Hesler $189 Members | $210 Nonmembers Thursdays, 4/16/20 – 6/18/20 | 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm (10 week class) In this class we’ll be reading published short stories and essays that employ craft strategies in especially unique or effective ways. We’ll dig deep into each piece to see what makes it work, or what keeps it from working, for each of us. Stronger readers make stronger writers, so we will be able to apply what we learn from…
Find out more »Summer Novel Starter (Online class, Canceled)
Instructor: Randall Klein $330 Members | $365 Nonmembers Mondays, 6/1/20 – 8/31/20 | 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm Thirteen-week class It's summer! You can accomplish a lot or you can accomplish just a little. BUT..if it is on your bucket list to start a first draft of a novel guided by a seasoned veteran of the writing world, why would you say no? This class is designed to help writers start a novel in any genre in a condensed and…
Find out more »Short Story Intensive (Online class)
Instructor: BettyJoyce Nash $94.50 Members | $105 Nonmembers Mondays and Wednesdays, 6/1/20 – 6/24/20 | 6:30 pm – 7:45 pm Four-week class Join me twice-weekly for a virtual fiction workshop where we’ll breathe new life into old stories and/or refine newly finished pieces. This class will suit experienced writers with workshop experience. Students will submit one story each week, to be discussed either Monday or Wednesday. We’ll dive into minutiae: language, sentence structure, and descriptions, as well as “story," and we'll…
Find out more »July 2020
Cooking Your Novel (Online class)
Instructor: Bruce Holsinger $94.50 Members | $105 Nonmembers Saturdays, 6/13/20, 6/20/20, 6/27/20, and 7/11/20 | 10:00 am – 12:00 pm Four-week class This series of four two-hour workshops, intended for writers who have made significant progress on a first novel, will help you begin shaping (or reshaping) your book into a manuscript responsive to the conventions and expectations of the contemporary fiction market. What makes for a compelling premise, concept, or “hook” that will attract the attention of agents and editors? How do novelists move…
Find out more »August 2020
Kitchen Sink Fiction (Online class)
Instructor: Kristie Smeltzer $189 Members | $210 Nonmembers Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6/16/20 – 8/6/20 | 6:30 pm – 7:45 pm Eight-week class Ever wanted a class that gives you a smidge of this, a dash of that? This fiction class will do that very thing, with discussions about a variety of writerly subjects, such as the following: Creating compelling antagonists Connecting that great book idea you have and its main plot points into a cohesive narrative Querying agents Refining your writing…
Find out more »September 2020
Daytime Combo: Fiction and Creative Nonfiction (Online class, CANCELED!)
Instructor: Christina Ward-Niven $189 Members | $210 Nonmembers Wednesdays, 9/16/20 – 11/18/20 | 1:00 pm -3:00 pm In this Zoom workshop, we will read one story or essay by a published author each week and discuss what makes it tick. How exactly does the piece 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…
Find out more »October 2020
Putting the Pen to the Page: What is involved in this year-long novel class? (Free online seminar)
Instructor: Kristen-Paige Madonia FREE SEMINAR! Saturday, 10/10/20 | 11:00 am – 12:00 pm 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 their way through the generative process of drafting their novel manuscript. Curious about the class? Join us for a FREE seminar and learn about the course…
Find out more »November 2020
Writing, Revising, Pitching: Getting Your Novel Out of the Drawer and Off to Market (Will meet online)
Instructor: Randall Klein$1299* Members | $1299* NonmembersSelect Wednesdays 1/15/20 – 11/4/20 | 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM*Payment plans of $309 per quarter will be available to students accepted into this program. NOTE: Due to the coronavirus pandemic, effective 4/15/20 the class will meet via Zoom. 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,…
Find out more »January 2021
Fiction from Soup to Nuts – CANCELLED
Instructor: Kristie Smeltzer $189 Members | $210 Nonmembers Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1/12/21 – 3/4/21 | 6:00 pm - 7:15 pm Like a seven-course meal, this class offers a little bit of everything. Class discussions on a variety of writing topics—such as effective beginnings, smooth transitions between scenes/chapters, and how to write better sentences—will sate your appetite. The best part is that what you're craving will help shape the menu: the class offers participants the opportunity to share topics of interest to…
Find out more »Novel Incubator (Online class, This class is full!)
Instructor: Randall Klein $330 Members | $365 Nonmembers Mondays, 9/14/20 – 1/18/21 | 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm NOTE: This class requires instructor permission Maybe you’ve been meaning to start a novel for ages and you need the extra nudge to finally take the plunge. Or, maybe you’ve started a novel and it’s getting away from you, and you need some guidance on how to grab the reins and steer it back on course. Maybe you have a short story…
Find out more »Engaging Beginnings, Middles, and Endings When Writing for Children & Teens (Online seminar)
Instructor: Kathryn Erskine $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Session One: Sunday, 1/24/21 | 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Session Two: Sunday, 1/31/21 | 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Whether you’re writing a picture book, chapter book or novel for young readers, what are the elements you need for a great beginning? How much is enough to introduce the story and what is too much information? How do you manage the murky, meandering middle without getting sidetracked by beautifully written scenes…
Find out more »February 2021
Snowed Under a Blizzard of Unfinished Stories? (Online seminar)
Instructor: BettyJoyce Nash $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Weekend One: Saturday & Sunday, 2/20/21 & 2/21/21 | 10:00 am – 11:15 am Weekend Two: Saturday & Sunday, 2/27/21 & 2/28/21 | 10:00 am – 11:15 am How many days does a blizzard last? That's an unanswerable question, but this short story "blizzard" will span four days. Bring your blanket, bring your hot chocolate and bring a short story you want to polish for publication. We’ll examine point of view, character development, and story arc, but we’ll…
Find out more »March 2021
Advanced Fiction (Online course) – This class is full!
Instructor: Sharon Harrigan $189 Members | $210 Nonmembers Mondays and Wednesdays, 1/11/21 – 3/3/21 | 9:30 am – 10:45 am Requirements: Students are asked to purchase Thrill Me: Essays on Fiction by Benjamin Percy. In this class, we will spend Mondays studying techniques that will make your fiction more engaging, gripping, and vivid. We will discuss selections from Thrill Me: Essays on Fiction by Benjamin Percy, as well as short stories and novel excerpts from Bret Anthony Johnston, Rebecca Makkai, and others. On…
Find out more »Writing The Pandemic Through SciFi: Plague Tales (Online seminar)- CANCELLED!
Instructor: Warren Rochelle $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Session One: Saturday, March 6, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm Session Two: Sunday, March 7, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm Imaginative responses to the pandemic are beginning to appear. But plague literature, plague fiction, has been around for a long time. Boccacio writes about the Black Death in The Decameron in 1349-1353. In 1722, Daniel Defoe published A Journal of the Plague Year, "the account of one man's experience of the year 1665, when the bubonic…
Find out more »Writing, Revising, Pitching: What is involved in this year-long novel class? (Free online seminar)
Instructor: Randall Klein FREE SEMINAR! Wednesday, 3/24/21 | 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm Writing, Revising, Pitching is an opportunity for writers to push through to completion or to revise and polish their novel with a supportive group of peers and an experienced instructor. Over the course of nine months, each writer will have two opportunities to workshop their full manuscript. In addition, the instructor will share his experience in the publishing industry to help writers take the next steps toward getting…
Find out more »April 2021
Hearing Voices: Narration and Dialogue in Fiction – Ongoing seminar
Instructor: Andrew Martin $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Session One: Saturday, March 27, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm Session Two: Saturday, April 3, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm Voice, in both narration and dialogue, is one of the most important elements of fiction, but also one of the most difficult to get right. How do we channel the voices we hear in our heads, and out in the world, into writing that is both artful and realistic? How do we…
Find out more »Middle Grade, Young Adult, Adult: What’s the best fit for your SciFi/Fantasy novel idea?
Instructor: Emily Thiede $40 Members | $45 Nonmembers Saturday, April 24, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm Can you curse in YA? How long are MG novels? Are dragons "in" or "out?" If my main character is 17 years old, can my book still be for adults? What does "crossover" mean? In recent years, the publishing world has drawn some clear lines (and some less clear lines) between age-categories, so how can writers decide where their book idea might belong? In…
Find out more »May 2021
Putting the Pen to the Page: Drafting Your Novel in One Year (Online class) – This class is full
Instructor: Kristen-Paige Madonia $1,399* Members | $1,399* Nonmembers Select Tuesdays, 1/5/21 - 8/31/21** | 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM *Payment plans 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 their way through the…
Find out more »Writing, Revising, Pitching: Getting Your Novel Out of the Drawer and Off to Market (Online class) – This class is full
Instructor: Randall Klein$1349* Members | $1349* NonmembersSelect Wednesdays 4/28/21 – 1/12/22 | 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM*Payment plans of $322 per quarter will be available to students accepted into this program. NOTE: This class will meet via Zoom. 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…
Find out more »Advanced Fiction: Planning Your Plot Roller Coaster – Ongoing class
Instructor: Kristie Smeltzer $189 Members | $210 Nonmembers Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3/23/21 – 5/13/21 | 6:00 pm – 7:15 pm Prerequisite: Students are required to submit a chapter or story for instructor review prior to acceptance to the class. A hallmark of good fiction is that it keeps readers turning the page, eager to see what happens next. As writers, we know that what needs to look effortless doesn't always come so easily. Creating a compelling plot that manages to…
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