Online Courses
As space is limited, all courses require advanced registration. PayPal options are available below or, if you wish to pay by check or cash before the start of the course, please use the Contact Us form on the site and send us your information and the name of the course you wish to take.
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- Fiction - - Nonfiction - - Basic/General - - Poetry - - Memoir -
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A VISIT TO GRAMMAR’S HOUSE
If you avoid grammar because it’s a collection of boring and confusing rules that require memorization, this class is for you. No memorization here. You’ll learn the basic concepts and how to find the answers when you have grammatical questions, and you’ll do so in a fun (as fun as grammar can be), relaxed atmosphere. The emphasis is on clarifying the rules and making them accessible rather than intimidating. Grammar’s House is warm and welcoming and well worth a six-week visit.
WEEKLY TOPICS:
- Week 1: What is a Sentence?
- Week 2: Phrases and Clauses and Rules, Oh My!
- Week 3: Proper Punctuation Perpetuates Perfect Prose
- Week 4: Commas Need Not Cause Comas
- Week 5: Gee Whiz, Ma, Grammar is More than Fun—It’s Funny!
- Week 6: Capital Ideas
DATES: 10/29/23 - 12/3/23
INSTRUCTOR: Michael Giorgio
CLASS LIMIT: 15 students
FEE: $165
GETTING INTO WRITING
This online, e-mail interactive workshop is for the would-be writer trying to find his or her writing voice. Utilizing a combination of themed creative exercises, personal writing opportunities, and peer and instructor critique, participants will receive the benefits of a writing workshop while still getting the topical information the just-starting writer needs most. The class will explore fiction, nonfiction and creative nonfiction, their similarities and their differences, one facet at a time. Using a variety of short creative writing exercises (no more than 1,500 words per session), participants will get the opportunity to flex their creative muscles in all types of prose writing and find out just what interests them most.
WEEKLY TOPICS:
- Week 1: What is Writing?
- Week 2: What is Tone?
- Week 3: What is Structure?
- Week 4: What are Nonfiction and Creative Nonfiction?
- Week 5: What are Creative Nonfiction and Fiction?
- Week 6: What is Professionalism?
DATES: 10/29/23 - 12/3/23
INSTRUCTOR: Michael Giorgio
CLASS LIMIT: 15 students
FEE: $165
WRITING PROMPT WORKSHOP
Get ready to get your creativity in gear and the words overflowing your page! This six week workshop is designed to help you jump head-first into the world of fiction writing. The prompts offered each week will provide you with launch pads for short fiction, poetry, songs, plays, or even a novel! The prompts will challenge your imagination and get those creative juices flowing. Each week features a different type of prompt to help you find inspiration in ways you may not have thought of. One week might be an opening line, while another may focus on a photograph, or a song, or a situation, or a quote, or, well, anything and everything is fair game. Every session, the prompts are different, so it’s a whole new world of inspiration, so no two workshops are ever the same, but all are designed to get you writing.
DATES: 10/29/23 - 12/3/23
INSTRUCTOR: Michael Giorgio
CLASS LIMIT: 15 students
FEE: $165
BEGINNING FICTION
Fiction, both the short story and the novel, is comprised of these building blocks: your original idea, the characters, the dialogue, the setting, the opening lines, the ending, and the words you use to describe everything in the middle. In this class, you will learn how to stack these building blocks into a short story, or improve on a short story you have already written.
WEEKLY TOPICS:
- Week 1: Deciding what to write about
- Week 2: Creating Characters
- Week 3: Writing Dialogue
- Week 4: Setting and Description
- Week 5: Opening Lines
- Week 6: The Ending, or explaining how your character has changed
DATES: 10/29/23 - 12/3/23
INSTRUCTOR: Michael Giorgio
CLASS LIMIT: 15 students
FEE: $165
WAKE UP THE WRITER WITHIN
Explore or rediscover your love of writing! Whether you’re just beginning to dream about getting out those old journals again or are considering submitting your work for publication, join a group of supportive peers to spend time writing together, trying out new ideas, and getting feedback about your fiction, nonfiction, or poetry.
This class, appropriate for the beginner as well as the experienced writer, will offer a nurturing environment in which to receive instructor and peer feedback on new writing or redrafts of previous work. Each class will include information about our topic, try-its, and resources. During our time together you will enhance your creativity, maximize writing opportunities, and develop your own unique voice.
WEEKLY TOPICS:
- Week 1: Stretching, Mindfulness, and a little coffee
- Week 2: Exploration, Investigation, and the power of noticing
- Week 3: Throat Clearing, Beginnings, and considering the middle
- Week 4: Details, my dear. And what rock to find them under.
- Week 5: Memory? Where can I find that? And best ways to use memory in poetry, fiction, and even when telling the truth!
- Week 6: Drafts, Edits, Publication, and maybe some romance
DATES: 10/29/23 - 12/3/23
INSTRUCTOR: Joanne Nelson
CLASS LIMIT: 15 students
FEE: $165
STARTING – AND FINISHING! – THE NOVEL
The idea of writing a book is huge. Large. Scary. And even pretentious. But you know what? If you want to write a novel, you should write a novel. If there is a story burning in your mind, you should cool the burn down by getting it onto paper. Write it. In this class, we will start with page one. By the end of the class, you will have words on paper and you will be on your way. These six weeks will also give you the fiction basics necessary for producing quality fiction. We’ll discuss characterization, dialogue, point of view, writer’s block, marketing, the whole nine yards. But the most important thing…You’ll be on your way.
WEEKLY TOPICS:
- Week 1: Most Common Questions & Getting Started
- Week 2: Point of View
- Week 3: Characterization
- Week 4: Mid-Novel Slump
- Week 5: Dialogue
- Week 6: Marketing
DATES: 10/29/23 - 12/3/23
INSTRUCTOR: Kathie Giorgio
CLASS LIMIT: 15 students
FEE: $165
FICTION & CREATIVE NONFICTION WRITING WORKSHOP
This popular ten week class is for the fiction and creative nonfiction writer who is ready to work on short stories or novels with the goal of publication. This specialized chat format will give you the closest possible thing to a “live” writers’ workshop, with the convenience of the online class. Each week, two students will submit up to 3000 words of a fiction or creative nonfiction project. This could be a short story, a chapter from a novel, a short creative nonfiction piece or chapter from a book-length memoir. Projects will be emailed to the instructor and to all of the students in the class. Each student is expected to send an email critique back to the authors. The instructor will send each author a line-by-line edit and a thematic critique. Then, on Monday nights, the instructor and students will meet in the AllWriters' Chatroom. You will be given instructions on how to access this chatroom before the class begins. In these Monday night sessions, the submitting students will get to watch as their fiction projects are discussed by the class and the instructor. Each discussion will last for twenty-five minutes, and then the student will have five minutes to respond. This is a great way to get feedback on your work and to prepare it for submission.
Dates and Times Current: 5/22/23 - 9/18/23 (no class on 6/19, 7/17, 7/24, 8/28, 9/4 or 9/11), 7:00 – 8:00 P.M. Central Time
Dates and Times Upcoming: 10/2/23 - 12/4/23, 7:00 – 8:00 P.M. Central Time
INSTRUCTOR: Kathie Giorgio
CLASS LIMIT: 8 students
FEE: $165
THURSDAY NIGHT BOOK-WRITING WORKSHOP
Are you working your way through a novel or book-length memoir and wish you had a workshop where all of your chapters would be read in a timely basis? This ten week book-writing workshop is developed specifically for the novelist or memoirist. Class size is limited to allow every student to receive critique time each week. Up to 3750 words can be handed in on a weekly basis, and the pages will be distributed ahead of time so that all of the material is already read prior to each class. No time will be spent reading material aloud…all time will be spent on critiquing the chapter. This intense ten-week workshop will allow you to consistently move forward on your novel, providing you with support, honest and helpful critique, and a positive community. Students will also receive a line-by-line edit and a thematic critique of their work from the instructor. Students meet each week in the AllWriters' chatroom, to achieve the closest to a face to face workshop you can get on the internet. You will be given directions to the chatroom before class begins.
PREREQUISITE: If you are currently an AllWriters' student, please speak to your instructor to determine your readiness for this course. If you are not an AllWriters' student, but will be joining us for the first time with this workshop, please send an example of your work to the AllWriters' director, Kathie Giorgio, at Kathie11@aol.com.
Dates and Times Current: 8/10/23 - 10/19/23, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Central Time
Dates and Times Upcoming: 11/2/23 - 1/11/24 (no class 11/23), 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Central Time
INSTRUCTOR: Carrie Newberry
CLASS LIMIT: 6 students
FEE: $165
SOLVING THE MYSTERY
One of the biggest mysteries in mystery writing is figuring out exactly what makes the story a mystery. Is it a whodunit? A whydunit? A what-happens-after-the-deed-is-done? A mystery can be all of these and more. In this course, you’ll learn not only what it takes to create a mystery, but how to make it more mysterious. Why is MOM (Motive, Opportunity, and Means) so near and dear to the mystery writer’s heart? What comes first—plot, characters, or setting? Who is the best character to tell your story? How do you fool the reader and still play fair? Using a combination of examples and creative exercises, you’ll unravel the secrets and work your way through completing a mystery short story.
WEEKLY TOPICS:
- Week 1: What is a Mystery?
- Week 2: Not all MOMs are Created Equal: The Importance of Character, Plot, and Setting
- Week 3: Doing the Deed: Mysterious Beginnings
- Week 4: Burying the Evidence: The Middle of the Story
- Week 5: Shocking Revelations: Completing the Mystery
- Week 6: Post Mortem: Bringing it All Together
DATES: 10/29/23 - 12/3/23
INSTRUCTOR: Michael Giorgio
CLASS LIMIT: 15 students
FEE: $165
HOW TO WRITE SHORT
Flash fiction is the pure adrenalin of the fiction world. This story is sleek, strong, and packs a wallop in anything less than 1000 words. How do you pack meaning into such a tiny space? How do you make it have impact and resonance? Flash fiction is a large part of today’s fiction market, and in this class, we’ll break it down and see just how it works.
WEEKLY TOPICS:
- Week 1: What is flash fiction? And what makes a story?
- Week 2: Characterization and point of view
- Week 3: Dialogue and Setting
- Week 4: Putting it all together!
DATES: 10/15/23 - 11/5/23
INSTRUCTOR: Kathie Giorgio
CLASS LMIT: 15 students
FEE: $140
THURSDAY NIGHT ONLINE/ON SITE YOUNG WRITERS WORKSHOP
The popular AllWriters’ open workshop – for young writers! Have a worldwide experience no matter where you are! Students in our studio join teens from around the world in our Zoom classroom to create an international community sharing their work and gaining perspectives from youth writers all over.
This ten-week workshop is a carbon copy of the long-lasting Wednesday Afternoon and Evening Writing Workshops and the Monday Night Workshop, with one notable exception – we’re welcoming middle and high school students into our international creative community! This class encourages young writers (grades 6 – 12) of all abilities and genres, but two things are required: a genuine interest in writing and a desire to write professionally and for publication. Poets, novelists, short fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers are all welcome! If you put words on paper, this is where you should be. Each week, students present their works-in-progress to the other students and the instructor in the workshop for positive and constructive feedback. Encouragement and a sense of community abound in these workshops. Students will also receive a line-by-line edit and a thematic critique of their work from the instructor.
Dates and Times Current: 8/3/23 - 10/5/23, 7:05 p.m. – 9:05 p.m.
Dates and Times Upcoming: 10/19/23 - 1/4/24 (no class 11/23), 7:05 p.m. – 9:05 p.m.
INSTRUCTOR: Michael Giorgio
CLASS LIMIT: 15 students
REQUIREMENT: Students must be in at least 6th grade
FEE: $75
ONCE-A-MONTH WRITE-A-BOOK WORKSHOP
In this year-long book-focused workshop, you will aim to produce 20 pages every month. 20 pages is realistic, not overwhelming, and not diminutive. It’s a solid piece of work. Also each month, you will attend the workshop at the AllWriters’ studio or via Zoom and you will have your work critiqued by the group and by the instructor. When you leave the workshop for the day, it will be with a renewed sense of purpose, confidence, and determination. By the end of the year, not only will your novel still be alive and growing, but it will have reached a stunning 240 pages. You will be firmly on your way to success, with no turning back allowed.
Make this year about you and what you want to accomplish in the writing field. This class is for all those who want to write a book, whether it’s fiction or nonfiction, a novel, a collection, a book-length memoir. The class will be limited in size to 8 people. Every time you attend, you will hand in your next set of 20 pages, and then go home to work on some more!
Please note: For on-site attendance, a Covid vaccination is required. If not vaccinated or not local, you may attend on Zoom.
INSTRUCTOR GROUP ONE (Online + On Site): Kathie Giorgio
INSTRUCTOR GROUP TWO (Online + On Site): Kathie Giorgio
INSTRUCTOR GROUP THREE (Online Only): Carrie Newberry
CLASS LIMIT: 8 students
FEE: $630
TIME GROUP ONE: FROM 10:00 A.M. TO 1:00 P.M.
TIME GROUP TWO: FROM 10:00 A.M. TO 1:00 P.M.
TIME GROUP THREE: FROM 9:00 A.M. TO 12:00 P.M.
GROUP ONE DATES: 5/13/23, 6/10/23, 7/8/23, 8/12/23, (NO MEETING IN SEPTEMBER), 10/14/23, 11/11/23, 12/9/23, 1/13/24, 2/10/24, 3/9/24, 4/13/24, 5/11/24
GROUP TWO DATES: 12/16/22, 1/20/23, 2/17/23, 3/15/23, 4/20/23, 5/18/23, 6/15/23, (NO MEETING IN JULY), 8/17/23, 9/21/23, 10/19/23, 11/16/23, 12/21/23
GROUP THREE DATES: 8/27/22, 9/24/22, 10/22/22, 11/26/22, 12/17/22 (ADJUSTED FOR CHRISTMAS), 1/28/23, 2/25/23, 3/25/23, 4/22/23, 5/27/23, 6/24/23, 7/22/23
Order Once-a-Month-Write-a-Book Workshop Group One:
Order Once-a-Month-Write-a-Book Workshop Group Two:
Order Once-a-Month-Write-a-Book Workshop Group Three:
- Nonfiction -
- Return to Top -
A VISIT TO GRAMMAR’S HOUSE
If you avoid grammar because it’s a collection of boring and confusing rules that require memorization, this class is for you. No memorization here. You’ll learn the basic concepts and how to find the answers when you have grammatical questions, and you’ll do so in a fun (as fun as grammar can be), relaxed atmosphere. The emphasis is on clarifying the rules and making them accessible rather than intimidating. Grammar’s House is warm and welcoming and well worth a six-week visit.
WEEKLY TOPICS:
- Week 1: What is a Sentence?
- Week 2: Phrases and Clauses and Rules, Oh My!
- Week 3: Proper Punctuation Perpetuates Perfect Prose
- Week 4: Commas Need Not Cause Comas
- Week 5: Gee Whiz, Ma, Grammar is More than Fun—It’s Funny!
- Week 6: Capital Ideas
DATES: 10/29/23 - 12/3/23
INSTRUCTOR: Michael Giorgio
CLASS LIMIT: 15 students
FEE: $165
GETTING INTO WRITING
This online, e-mail interactive workshop is for the would-be writer trying to find his or her writing voice. Utilizing a combination of themed creative exercises, personal writing opportunities, and peer and instructor critique, participants will receive the benefits of a writing workshop while still getting the topical information the just-starting writer needs most. The class will explore fiction, nonfiction and creative nonfiction, their similarities and their differences, one facet at a time. Using a variety of short creative writing exercises (no more than 1,500 words per session), participants will get the opportunity to flex their creative muscles in all types of prose writing and find out just what interests them most.
WEEKLY TOPICS:
- Week 1: What is Writing?
- Week 2: What is Tone?
- Week 3: What is Structure?
- Week 4: What are Nonfiction and Creative Nonfiction?
- Week 5: What are Creative Nonfiction and Fiction?
- Week 6: What is Professionalism?
DATES: 10/29/23 - 12/3/23
INSTRUCTOR: Michael Giorgio
CLASS LIMIT: 15 students
FEE: $165
WAKE UP THE WRITER WITHIN
Explore or rediscover your love of writing! Whether you’re just beginning to dream about getting out those old journals again or are considering submitting your work for publication, join a group of supportive peers to spend time writing together, trying out new ideas, and getting feedback about your fiction, nonfiction, or poetry.
This class, appropriate for the beginner as well as the experienced writer, will offer a nurturing environment in which to receive instructor and peer feedback on new writing or redrafts of previous work. Each class will include information about our topic, try-its, and resources. During our time together you will enhance your creativity, maximize writing opportunities, and develop your own unique voice.
WEEKLY TOPICS:
- Week 1: Stretching, Mindfulness, and a little coffee
- Week 2: Exploration, Investigation, and the power of noticing
- Week 3: Throat Clearing, Beginnings, and considering the middle
- Week 4: Details, my dear. And what rock to find them under.
- Week 5: Memory? Where can I find that? And best ways to use memory in poetry, fiction, and even when telling the truth!
- Week 6: Drafts, Edits, Publication, and maybe some romance
DATES: 10/29/23 - 12/3/23
INSTRUCTOR: Joanne Nelson
CLASS LIMIT: 15 students
FEE: $165
FICTION & CREATIVE NONFICTION WRITING WORKSHOP
This popular ten week class is for the fiction and creative nonfiction writer who is ready to work on short stories or novels with the goal of publication. This specialized chat format will give you the closest possible thing to a “live” writers’ workshop, with the convenience of the online class. Each week, two students will submit up to 3000 words of a fiction or creative nonfiction project. This could be a short story, a chapter from a novel, a short creative nonfiction piece or chapter from a book-length memoir. Projects will be emailed to the instructor and to all of the students in the class. Each student is expected to send an email critique back to the authors. The instructor will send each author a line-by-line edit and a thematic critique. Then, on Monday nights, the instructor and students will meet in the AllWriters' Chatroom. You will be given instructions on how to access this chatroom before the class begins. In these Monday night sessions, the submitting students will get to watch as their fiction projects are discussed by the class and the instructor. Each discussion will last for twenty-five minutes, and then the student will have five minutes to respond. This is a great way to get feedback on your work and to prepare it for submission.
Dates and Times Current: 5/22/23 - 9/18/23 (no class on 6/19, 7/17, 7/24, 8/28, 9/4 or 9/11), 7:00 – 8:00 P.M. Central Time
Dates and Times Upcoming: 10/2/23 - 12/4/23, 7:00 – 8:00 P.M. Central Time
INSTRUCTOR: Kathie Giorgio
CLASS LIMIT: 8 students
FEE: $165
THURSDAY NIGHT BOOK-WRITING WORKSHOP
Are you working your way through a novel or book-length memoir and wish you had a workshop where all of your chapters would be read in a timely basis? This ten week book-writing workshop is developed specifically for the novelist or memoirist. Class size is limited to allow every student to receive critique time each week. Up to 3750 words can be handed in on a weekly basis, and the pages will be distributed ahead of time so that all of the material is already read prior to each class. No time will be spent reading material aloud…all time will be spent on critiquing the chapter. This intense ten-week workshop will allow you to consistently move forward on your novel, providing you with support, honest and helpful critique, and a positive community. Students will also receive a line-by-line edit and a thematic critique of their work from the instructor. Students meet each week in the AllWriters' chatroom, to achieve the closest to a face to face workshop you can get on the internet. You will be given directions to the chatroom before class begins.
PREREQUISITE: If you are currently an AllWriters' student, please speak to your instructor to determine your readiness for this course. If you are not an AllWriters' student, but will be joining us for the first time with this workshop, please send an example of your work to the AllWriters' director, Kathie Giorgio, at Kathie11@aol.com.
Dates and Times Current: 8/10/23 - 10/19/23, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Central Time
Dates and Times Upcoming: 11/2/23 - 1/11/24 (no class 11/23), 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Central Time
INSTRUCTOR: Carrie Newberry
CLASS LIMIT: 6 students
FEE: $165
SIX WAYS OF LOOKING AT AN ESSAY
In his essay “Toward a Definition of Creative Nonfiction,” essayist and author Bret Lott explains that creative nonfiction can include everything “from the letter to the list, from the biography to the memoir, from the journal to the obituary” before concluding that, “…creative nonfiction, like fiction, like poetry, is simply and completely a way of seeing—the rewards we will reap will be great: we will understand. To understand, and nothing more, and that is everything.” Oftentimes, when people think of the personal essay – also known as creative nonfiction – they think of memoir. But not every essay draws on memory. In this class we will examine and write six different types of personal essays. Students will be asked to observe nature, to interview, research and/or observe someone who fascinates them, to weave personal stories together, and to write with the lovely language of a poet.
WEEKLY TOPICS:
- Week 1: Narrative Essay
- Week 2: Meditation Essay
- Week 3: Nature Essay
- Week 4: Portrait Essay
- Week 5: Braided Essay
- Week 6: Lyric Essay
DATES: 10/29/23 - 12/3/23
INSTRUCTOR: Carolyn Walker
CLASS LIMIT: 15 students
FEE: $215
WRITING THE PERSONAL ESSAY
For writers who want to get down and personal on the page, the six-week Personal Essay class is a perfect fit. In this popular class, students will learn how to put setting, character, dialogue, reflection, and similar craft ingredients into essays between 500 and 1000 words long. Students will learn to transform personal experience into prose worthy of wide readership.
WEEKLY TOPICS:
- Week 1: Lecture and writing will include a look at the “narrating I” as well as a discussion about the definition of personal essay, and its role in the genre of Creative Nonfiction.
- Week 2: People, people, people – what’s an essayist to do with them?
- Week 3: Say what? Students will examine the role of dialogue in essay writing, as well as take a peek into place.
- Week 4: Word choice.
- Week 5: Aw, do I have to? No life or person is solely happy and good.
- Week 6: Revision! Revision! Revision!
DATES: 10/29/23 - 12/3/23
INSTRUCTOR: Carolyn Walker
CLASS LIMIT: 15 students
FEE: $165
TOWARD A LONGER ESSAY
Many people find that short essays just aren’t for them. They have lots to say and want to hold forth over a span of 10 – 20 pages. Or, maybe they have written short essays that they feel need expansion and depth, but they don’t know how to achieve this. This class will offer writers an opportunity for growth, in the literal sense. Over a period of six weeks, writers will receive feedback on 3 essays of up to 20 pages each. Lectures will focus on lengthening through digression, deepening the characters of essays through dialogue and action, and penetrating the linear narrative for depth.
WEEKLY TOPICS:
- Week 1: Spotting Digression Opportunities
- Week 2: spent writing toward first essay deadline
- Week 3: Putting People On Your Page
- Week 4: spent writing toward second essay deadline
- Week 5: Hindsight and Revision
- Week 6: spent writing toward third essay deadline
DATES: 10/29/23 - 12/3/23
INSTRUCTOR: Carolyn Walker
CLASS LIMIT: 10 students
FEE: $215
THURSDAY NIGHT ONLINE/ON SITE YOUNG WRITERS WORKSHOP
The popular AllWriters’ open workshop – for young writers! Have a worldwide experience no matter where you are! Students in our studio join teens from around the world in our Zoom classroom to create an international community sharing their work and gaining perspectives from youth writers all over.
This ten-week workshop is a carbon copy of the long-lasting Wednesday Afternoon and Evening Writing Workshops and the Monday Night Workshop, with one notable exception – we’re welcoming middle and high school students into our international creative community! This class encourages young writers (grades 6 – 12) of all abilities and genres, but two things are required: a genuine interest in writing and a desire to write professionally and for publication. Poets, novelists, short fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers are all welcome! If you put words on paper, this is where you should be. Each week, students present their works-in-progress to the other students and the instructor in the workshop for positive and constructive feedback. Encouragement and a sense of community abound in these workshops. Students will also receive a line-by-line edit and a thematic critique of their work from the instructor.
Dates and Times Current: 8/3/23 - 10/5/23, 7:05 p.m. – 9:05 p.m.
Dates and Times Upcoming: 10/19/23 - 1/4/24 (no class 11/23), 7:05 p.m. – 9:05 p.m.
INSTRUCTOR: Michael Giorgio
CLASS LIMIT: 10 students
REQUIREMENT: Students must be in at least 6th grade
FEE: $75
ONCE-A-MONTH WRITE-A-BOOK WORKSHOP
In this year-long book-focused workshop, you will aim to produce 20 pages every month. 20 pages is realistic, not overwhelming, and not diminutive. It’s a solid piece of work. Also each month, you will attend the workshop at the AllWriters’ studio or via Zoom and you will have your work critiqued by the group and by the instructor. When you leave the workshop for the day, it will be with a renewed sense of purpose, confidence, and determination. By the end of the year, not only will your novel still be alive and growing, but it will have reached a stunning 240 pages. You will be firmly on your way to success, with no turning back allowed.
Make this year about you and what you want to accomplish in the writing field. This class is for all those who want to write a book, whether it’s fiction or nonfiction, a novel, a collection, a book-length memoir. The class will be limited in size to 8 people. Every time you attend, you will hand in your next set of 20 pages, and then go home to work on some more!
Please note: For on-site attendance, a Covid vaccination is required. If not vaccinated or not local, you may attend on Zoom.
INSTRUCTOR GROUP ONE (Online + On Site): Kathie Giorgio
INSTRUCTOR GROUP TWO (Online + On Site): Kathie Giorgio
INSTRUCTOR GROUP THREE (Online Only): Carrie Newberry
CLASS LIMIT: 8 students
FEE: $630
TIME GROUP ONE: FROM 10:00 A.M. TO 1:00 P.M.
TIME GROUP TWO: FROM 10:00 A.M. TO 1:00 P.M.
TIME GROUP THREE: FROM 9:00 A.M. TO 12:00 P.M.
GROUP ONE DATES: 5/13/23, 6/10/23, 7/8/23, 8/12/23, (NO MEETING IN SEPTEMBER), 10/14/23, 11/11/23, 12/9/23, 1/13/24, 2/10/24, 3/9/24, 4/13/24, 5/11/24
GROUP TWO DATES: 12/16/22, 1/20/23, 2/17/23, 3/15/23, 4/20/23, 5/18/23, 6/15/23, (NO MEETING IN JULY), 8/17/23, 9/21/23, 10/19/23, 11/16/23, 12/21/23
GROUP THREE DATES: 8/27/22, 9/24/22, 10/22/22, 11/26/22, 12/17/22 (ADJUSTED FOR CHRISTMAS), 1/28/23, 2/25/23, 3/25/23, 4/22/23, 5/27/23, 6/24/23, 7/22/23
Order Once-a-Month-Write-a-Book Workshop Group One:
Order Once-a-Month-Write-a-Book Workshop Group Two:
Order Once-a-Month-Write-a-Book Workshop Group Three:
- Basic/General -
- Return to Top -
A VISIT TO GRAMMAR’S HOUSE
If you avoid grammar because it’s a collection of boring and confusing rules that require memorization, this class is for you. No memorization here. You’ll learn the basic concepts and how to find the answers when you have grammatical questions, and you’ll do so in a fun (as fun as grammar can be), relaxed atmosphere. The emphasis is on clarifying the rules and making them accessible rather than intimidating. Grammar’s House is warm and welcoming and well worth a six-week visit.
WEEKLY TOPICS:
- Week 1: What is a Sentence?
- Week 2: Phrases and Clauses and Rules, Oh My!
- Week 3: Proper Punctuation Perpetuates Perfect Prose
- Week 4: Commas Need Not Cause Comas
- Week 5: Gee Whiz, Ma, Grammar is More than Fun—It’s Funny!
- Week 6: Capital Ideas
DATES: 10/29/23 - 12/3/23
INSTRUCTOR: Michael Giorgio
CLASS LIMIT: 15 students
FEE: $165
GETTING INTO WRITING
This online, e-mail interactive workshop is for the would-be writer trying to find his or her writing voice. Utilizing a combination of themed creative exercises, personal writing opportunities, and peer and instructor critique, participants will receive the benefits of a writing workshop while still getting the topical information the just-starting writer needs most. The class will explore fiction, nonfiction and creative nonfiction, their similarities and their differences, one facet at a time. Using a variety of short creative writing exercises (no more than 1,500 words per session), participants will get the opportunity to flex their creative muscles in all types of prose writing and find out just what interests them most.
WEEKLY TOPICS:
- Week 1: What is Writing?
- Week 2: What is Tone?
- Week 3: What is Structure?
- Week 4: What are Nonfiction and Creative Nonfiction?
- Week 5: What are Creative Nonfiction and Fiction?
- Week 6: What is Professionalism?
DATES: 10/29/23 - 12/3/23
INSTRUCTOR: Michael Giorgio
CLASS LIMIT: 15 students
FEE: $165
WRITING PROMPT WORKSHOP
Get ready to get your creativity in gear and the words overflowing your page! This six week workshop is designed to help you jump head-first into the world of fiction writing. The prompts offered each week will provide you with launch pads for short fiction, poetry, songs, plays, or even a novel! The prompts will challenge your imagination and get those creative juices flowing. Each week features a different type of prompt to help you find inspiration in ways you may not have thought of. One week might be an opening line, while another may focus on a photograph, or a song, or a situation, or a quote, or, well, anything and everything is fair game. Every session, the prompts are different, so it’s a whole new world of inspiration, so no two workshops are ever the same, but all are designed to get you writing.
DATES: 10/29/23 - 12/3/23
INSTRUCTOR: Michael Giorgio
CLASS LIMIT: 15 students
FEE: $165
MARKETING 101: THE LONG AND THE SHORT OF IT
Learning to submit fiction for publication is a necessity in a writer’s career. What’s the sense of writing if no one is reading your work? Yet many writers are scared to take that step which might (and probably will) lead to rejection. Knowledge builds strength and confidence and so here is where you learn the proper way to submit your short stories and your novels…all the way to acceptance and publication! We will learn the long and the short of it…How to market poetry, the short story, the creative nonfiction piece and the essay, the novel and the book-length memoir. We will learn how to write cover letters, query letters, and synopses, and we will learn how to research appropriate markets, including magazines, agents and editors.
WEEKLY TOPICS:
- Week 1: Writing Short: the cover letter and manuscript format.
- Week 2: Writing Short: Marketing and magazine research.
- Week 3: Writing Long: Writing the query letter.
- Week 4: Writing Long: Writing the synopsis and the search for an agent/editor.
DATES: 10/15/23 - 11/5/23
INSTRUCTOR: Kathie Giorgio
CLASS LIMIT: 15 students
FEE: $140
MAKING SOCIAL MEDIA WORK FOR YOU
In this course, you will learn about the most commonly used social media platforms and will create a personalized social media marketing strategy for yourself. We will discuss Internet safety, advanced settings, how to determine which platforms you should be on, what kind of posts to create, how to build a following, and more.
WEEKLY TOPICS:
- Week 1: Learn about different social media venues, how to identify which are the best venues for your needs, and the basics of social media safety and etiquette.
- Week 2: Create a personalized plan including short, mid, and long-term social media goals that incorporates both original content and related materials. Learn how to put the “social” in social media to work for you.
- Week 3: Learn size guidelines and recommendations to create the most effective social media content in multiple venues. Create your banner(s) and other branding content for your own accounts.
- Week 4: Using the personalized plan you created in Week 2 and the content you created in Week 3, begin developing your social media presences while learning the advanced features of three different venues of your choice. Choices include Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and/or a blog – Part One.
- Week 5: Using the personalized plan you created in Week 2 and the content you created in Week 3, begin developing your social media presences while learning the advanced features of three different venues of your choice. Choices include Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and/or a blog – Part Two.
- Week 6: Learn how blogging, discussion forums, and newsletters can support both your social media and your career goals. Develop a plan for long-term content management. This week includes an introduction to HootSuite, a content management tool.
DATES: 10/29/23 - 12/3/23
INSTRUCTOR: Larina Warnock
CLASS LIMIT: 15 students
FEE: $165
WRITING FOR MAGAZINES
Writing for magazines can be one of the most gratifying forms of writing there is. For those who are inclined, magazine writing embraces the joys of research, people meeting, self-exploration, and craft. Opportunities for topics and publication are limited only by the writer’s imagination. Printed at varying paces, depending on the magazine, they showcase news, features, interviews, profiles, personal experience, topical articles, and everything in between. And they run the gamut from history to fishing to dogs to senior citizens to sewing to women’s lifestyle to boating to children’s hobbies, and beyond. This six week course will take you through the points necessary to get your talents into those magazine pages!
WEEKLY TOPICS:
- Week 1: Who, what, where, when, and why?
- Week 2: Generating ideas.
- Week 3: Get ready to talk!
- Week 4: Who are you writing for and getting it right.
- Week 5: What to do when you’re writing about you.
- Week 6: Approaching editors.
DATES: 10/29/23 - 12/3/23
INSTRUCTOR: Carolyn Walker
CLASS LIMIT: 15 students
FEE: $165
HAVE TIME TO WRITE A TEN-MINUTE PLAY!
Or at the very least, you have time to write ONE 10-Minute play. The short time limit is already in place, so once you decide what you want the audience to know, your characters can do the work for you.
Check contest listings online – there are plenty for the 10-Minute Play. More and more local companies are offering an evening of 10-Minute Plays to give audiences a variety in one sitting, multiple writers an opportunity to share their work onstage, and a small collection of actors to tackle several or more different roles in one night. It’s a win-win situation, especially for writers; it’s possible to have a whole file full of completed work, and each on a different topic or theme, and drama and/or comedy. Besides, writing the 10-Minute Play is FUN! This course will utilize writing prompts and both published and unpublished ten-minute play examples.
WEEKLY TOPICS:
- Week 1: Standing Next to the Exit with Characters in Conflict
- Week 2: Creating Delightful Dialogue and Comic Elements
- Week 3: When Push Comes to Help Shove – Crossing the Finish Line with Your Ending, Using Format, a Touch of Theatrics
- Week 4: Completion! Submit your Ten-Minute Play
DATES: 10/15/23 - 11/5/23
INSTRUCTOR: Michael Giorgio
CLASS LIMIT: 15 students
FEE: $140
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INTRODUCTION TO POETRY WRITING
Want to write poetry? Here's how you do it!
WEEKLY TOPICS:
- Week 1: Story, Structure, Music, and Imagination: Reading Others’ Work & Shaping Our Own
- Week 2: Where Do Poems Come From?: Drawing on Experience, Surrealism, and Writing Prompts
- Week 3: You Wrote That?: Writing What You Feel, Not What You Should Feel, or Writing Poetry You Wouldn’t Want Your Mother to Read
- Week 4: Inspiration vs. Perspiration: What’s It Take to Be a Writer, Anyway?
- Week 5: Revision: How Do You Know When a Poem’s Ready?
- Week 6: Sending Your Poems Out Into the World: Accepting Rejection and Living with Success
DATES: 10/29/23 - 12/3/23
INSTRUCTOR: Shaindel Beers
CLASS LIMIT: 15 students
FEE: $165
CONTINUING INSTRUCTION IN POETRY
This six week course is for poets who are interested in sending work out for publication to literary journals. Do you have poems that might be ready, but you want a second set of eyes and some advice before sending them out? Instructor Shaindel Beers will go over 3 poems per week and give editorial and publication suggestions.
DATES: 10/29/23 - 12/3/23
INSTRUCTOR: Shaindel Beers
CLASS LIMIT: 8 students
FEE: $165
WAKE UP THE WRITER WITHIN
Explore or rediscover your love of writing! Whether you’re just beginning to dream about getting out those old journals again or are considering submitting your work for publication, join a group of supportive peers to spend time writing together, trying out new ideas, and getting feedback about your fiction, nonfiction, or poetry.
This class, appropriate for the beginner as well as the experienced writer, will offer a nurturing environment in which to receive instructor and peer feedback on new writing or redrafts of previous work. Each class will include information about our topic, try-its, and resources. During our time together you will enhance your creativity, maximize writing opportunities, and develop your own unique voice.
WEEKLY TOPICS:
- Week 1: Stretching, Mindfulness, and a little coffee
- Week 2: Exploration, Investigation, and the power of noticing
- Week 3: Throat Clearing, Beginnings, and considering the middle
- Week 4: Details, my dear. And what rock to find them under.
- Week 5: Memory? Where can I find that? And best ways to use memory in poetry, fiction, and even when telling the truth!
- Week 6: Drafts, Edits, Publication, and maybe some romance
DATES: 10/29/23 - 12/3/23
INSTRUCTOR: Joanne Nelson
CLASS LIMIT: 15 students
FEE: $165
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WRITING THE PERSONAL ESSAY
For writers who want to get down and personal on the page, the six-week Personal Essay class is a perfect fit. In this popular class, students will learn how to put setting, character, dialogue, reflection, and similar craft ingredients into essays between 500 and 1000 words long. Students will learn to transform personal experience into prose worthy of wide readership.
WEEKLY TOPICS:
- Week 1: Lecture and writing will include a look at the “narrating I” as well as a discussion about the definition of personal essay, and its role in the genre of Creative Nonfiction.
- Week 2: People, people, people – what’s an essayist to do with them?
- Week 3: Say what? Students will examine the role of dialogue in essay writing, as well as take a peek into place.
- Week 4: Word choice.
- Week 5: Aw, do I have to? No life or person is solely happy and good.
- Week 6: Revision! Revision! Revision!
DATES: 10/29/23 - 12/3/23
INSTRUCTOR: Carolyn Walker
CLASS LIMIT: 15 students
FEE: $165
TOWARD A LONGER ESSAY
Many people find that short essays just aren’t for them. They have lots to say and want to hold forth over a span of 10 – 20 pages. Or, maybe they have written short essays that they feel need expansion and depth, but they don’t know how to achieve this. This class will offer writers an opportunity for growth, in the literal sense. Over a period of six weeks, writers will receive feedback on 3 essays of up to 20 pages each. Lectures will focus on lengthening through digression, deepening the characters of essays through dialogue and action, and penetrating the linear narrative for depth.
WEEKLY TOPICS:
- Week 1: Spotting Digression Opportunities
- Week 2: spent writing toward first essay deadline
- Week 3: Putting People On Your Page
- Week 4: spent writing toward second essay deadline
- Week 5: Hindsight and Revision
- Week 6: spent writing toward third essay deadline
DATES: 10/29/23 - 12/3/23
INSTRUCTOR: Carolyn Walker
CLASS LIMIT: 10 students
FEE: $215
MAXIMIZING YOUR MEMORIES
In this twelve week memoir class, students will be allowed to submit up to 7,000 words, once every two weeks, of a book-length memoir or work of creative nonfiction that they want reviewed, or that they are in the process of writing. There will be no lectures, but there will be time to discuss issues and feedback with the instructor.
Dates and Times Current: 8/19/23 - 11/11/23 (no class 9/2)
Dates and Times Upcoming: 11/25/23 - 2/10/24
INSTRUCTOR: Carolyn Walker
CLASS LIMIT: 10 students
FEE: $235
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