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February 2020
Navigating the Query Trenches: Pitches, Pitfalls, and PitMad
Instructor: Emily Thiede $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Saturday, 2/15/20 | 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm There’s a reason many writers describe querying as “going into the trenches,” but like any battle, it’s easier to survive the fight if you start with the right tools in your armory. In this course, we’ll explore resources for building (and narrowing down) a list of agents to query, and the pros-and-cons of non-traditional paths like twitter pitch contests, mentorship competitions, and writing conferences.…
Find out more »Beyond the Banana Peel: A Workshop on Writing Humor (This workshop is full!)
Instructors: Lisa Ellison and Debby Prum $80 Members | $87 Nonmembers Saturday, 2/22/20 | 10:00 am - 3:00 pm NOTE: Maximum number of students - 8 Quote: “If heaven exists, to know there’s laughs, that would be a great thing.” Robin Williams During this four-hour workshop, we will discuss the elements of humor, use improv exercises and film clips to demonstrate those elements and then give participants opportunities to write short humorous pieces. NOTE: Lunch break from 12:00-1:00 PM. Participants…
Find out more »April 2020
Screenwriting 101 (Online course. Cancelled!)
Instructor: Michael Cordell $189 Members | $210 Nonmembers Mondays and Wednesdays, 4/15/20 – 6/8/20 | 6:30 pm – 7:45 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…
Find out more »Title Wave (Cancelled!)
Instructor: Joan Mazza $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Saturday, 4/25/20 | 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm A strong title immediately places your work above the work of others. The best agents and editors know that compelling titles are assets to literary successes. Effective titles set the stage for the reader to anticipate interest. In this seminar, we'll explore strategies for choosing titles that attract interest in your writing, no matter the genre. Participants are encouraged to bring a list of…
Find out more »May 2020
Self-Publishing 101 (Cancelled!)
Instructor: Doug Lawson $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Saturday, 5/2/20 | 1:00 pm – 4:30 pm While traditional publishers are reducing advances, royalties, and asking authors to handle more and more marketing for their books, there's a renaissance happening in the self-publishing world today. New and established writers are bringing their works directly to readers, without stigma, and many are making some decent money as a result. This seminar will focus on what you, as a writer, may need to…
Find out more »August 2020
Touring Today’s Publishing Options (Online class)
Instructor: Chris Register $75 Members | $82 Nonmembers Monday - Friday, 8/10/20 - 8/14/20 | 9:30 am – 11:00 am One-week class Getting published has never been easy, but once upon a time the protocol was at least straightforward: writers would focus mainly on searching (and searching, and searching) for a literary agent willing to introduce their manuscript into an otherwise impenetrable industry. Of course, times have changed. While the traditional approach continues to work for many authors, an ever-expanding…
Find out more »October 2020
The Buoyancy of Hope: A Workshop Fostering Resilience in Your Creative Life (Online seminar) – CANCELED!
Facilitator: Deborah Prum $40 Members | $45 Nonmembers* Session One, Wednesday, 10/21/20 | 10:00 am – 11:30 am Session Two, Wednesday, 10/28/20 | 10:00 am – 11:30 am NOTE: 8 participant maximum *WriterHouse is able to offer this class at a significant discount because the instructor has very generously agreed to donate part of her fee. Last February, we wondered how long our lives would be affected by the pandemic. Most of us thought in terms of days and weeks,…
Find out more »November 2020
Chopped: The Writing Class (Online class, This class is full!)
Instructor: Jody Hobbs Hesler $115 Members | $128 Nonmembers Thursdays, 9/17/20 - 11/5/20 | 1:00 pm - 2:30 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" might include objects, people, moods, genres, etc. During our writing time, each writer will not only include all four items, but must "transform" them so that they work together organically. Students may write fiction, nonfiction, or…
Find out more »Surviving The Query Trenches: “Pitching, Pitfalls, and PitMad, Oh My!” (Online seminar) – Cancelled!
Instructor: Emily Thiede $60 Members | $65 Nonmembers Session One, Saturday, 11/7/20 | 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Session Two, Sunday, 11/8/20 | 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm There’s a reason many writers describe querying as “going into the trenches,” but like any battle, it’s easier to survive the fight if you start with the right tools in your armory. In this course, we’ll explore resources for building (and narrowing down) a list of agents to query, and the pros-and-cons…
Find out more »March 2021
Multi-genre course: The Language of Environment (Online course) – This class is full!
Instructor: Erika Howsare $189 Members | $210 Nonmembers Mondays and Wednesdays, 1/11/21 – 3/3/21 | 4:00 pm – 5:15 pm “Nature writing” might make you think of Thoreau or John Muir, but it’s obvious that the world has moved beyond the state of idyllic wilderness. We need writing that tries to reckon with our current conditions—finding words for the grief, rage, and yet joy and connection that we feel in the midst of the Anthropocene. This will be a multi-genre…
Find out more »Chopped: The Writing Class (Online course)
Instructor: Jody Hobbs Hesler $115 Members | $128 Nonmembers Thursdays, 1/14/21 – 3/4/21 | 1:00 pm – 2:30 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" might include objects, people, moods, genres, etc. During our writing time, each writer will not only include all four items, but must "transform" them so that they work together organically. Students may write fiction, nonfiction, or…
Find out more »Unacceptable: Privilege, Deceit & the Making of the College Admissions Scandal
WriterHouse is partnering with The Center and The Virginia Festival of the Book to present a discussion with the authors of "Unacceptable." Click HERE for more information and to register for this Zoom event.
Find out more »Law and Authors: Jacqueline Lipton in Conversation with Jane Friedman
In partnership with The Virginia Festival of the Book, WriterHouse presents: 2:00 PM ET, Sunday, March 14 Law and Authors: Jacqueline Lipton in Conversation with Jane Friedman Jacqueline Lipton, law professor, consultant, and literary agent, discusses her accessible, reader-friendly handbook for authors, agents, and editors in navigating the legal landscape of the contemporary publishing industry, in conversation with publishing expert Jane Friedman. In "Law and Authors: A Legal Handbook for Writers," Lipton addresses issues of copyright, explaining fair use…
Find out more »The Craft of Prose (multi-genre) – This class has been canceled
Instructor: Chris Register $75 Members | $82 Nonmembers Monday - Friday, 3/22/21 – 3/26/21 | 9:30 am – 11:00 am The Craft of Prose is a week-long mini course based in the notion that good writing should be an end unto itself. Together, we will: • examine the elements of sentence, paragraph, and chapter construction; • survey advice from masters of the trade; • explore ways to enhance storytelling and persuasiveness through concise syntax, and; • address any specific challenges…
Find out more »April 2021
Go On, Get Out There! Getting Your Work Noticed
Instructor: Liza Nash Taylor $30 Members | $35 Nonmembers Saturday, April 10, 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. Liza will share her own experience and methods for finding publishing and submission opportunities that are a fit for your short stories, novel excerpts, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She’ll also discuss creating an author…
Find out more »May 2021
Tell Your Story: Launch and Sustain Your Creative Writing Project (multi-genre) – Ongoing class
Instructor: Deborah Harris $189 Members | $210 Nonmembers Mondays and Wednesdays, 3/22/21 – 5/12/21 | 1:00 pm – 2:15 pm Do you have a story inside, waiting to be told? Are you struggling to begin? To keep going? To figure out where you'll end up? Welcome to the writing life. Come to this workshop and launch yourself into it. Share your work with supportive, thoughtful classmates. Discuss the fundamentals of writing — narrative, structure, point-of-view, voice — and how they…
Find out more »July 2021
Tell Your Story: Part II (multi-genre, ongoing class)
Instructor: Deborah Harris $150 Members | $165 Nonmembers Mondays and Wednesdays, 5/31/21 – 7/7/21 | 1:00 pm – 2:15 pm Note: New and continuing students welcome! New Start Date: 6/2/2021, the makeup class will be scheduled at the first class meeting Do you have a story inside, waiting to be told? Come to this workshop and get it out into the world. Share your work with supportive fellow writers. Discuss the fundamentals of writing —narrative, structure, point-of-view, voice — and…
Find out more »Reading for Craft: Fiction and Nonfiction (ongoing class)
Instructor: Jody Hobbs Hesler $100 Members | $108 Nonmembers Thursdays, 6/10/21 – 7/15/21 | 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm In this class we’ll read 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 our reading to…
Find out more »Staying the Course (Online class)
Instructor: Jody Hobbs Hesler $260 Members | $289 Nonmembers Every other Saturday for eleven months, 9/19/20 - 7/24/21 | 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm This course is designed for writers charting their way through longer projects, such as novels, memoirs, story collections, etc., but it could also work for writers who are simply working toward a more disciplined writing practice. In this class, we will set broad goals for the year and more specific targets for each next class meeting; discuss…
Find out more »August 2021
Touring Today’s Publishing Options (Online class) – Canceled!
Instructor: Chris Register $75 Members | $82 Nonmembers Monday - Friday, 8/9/21 - 8/13/21 | 9:30 am – 11:00 am One-week class Getting published has never been easy, but once upon a time the protocol was at least straightforward: writers would focus mainly on searching (and searching, and searching) for a literary agent willing to introduce their manuscript into an otherwise impenetrable industry. Of course, times have changed. While the traditional approach continues to work for many authors, an ever-expanding…
Find out more »