Online Short Story Writing Courses

Develop your craft and tell the stories you're burning to tell, in our online short story writing courses.

You’ll get personal weekly instructor feedback on your work, ongoing collaboration with other writers, and a supportive course structure that will help you set and meet your writing goals.

Learn from published short story writers who have spent decades perfecting their craft and are dedicated to supporting you and your work.

Our online short story classes are filling fast. Find yours today!

online short story writing courses

Upcoming Online Short Story Writing Courses




March Courses

Poetic Prose: The Prose Poem

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March 20 | 10 Weeks | $645

Only 1 seat left!

Explore the border between prose poetry and flash fiction. For writers of fiction, poetry, essay and memoir.

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Get Your Book Noticed: Writing Loglines That Sell

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March 22 | 1-Day Webinar | $115

Your logline helps you query agents, market your book, and figure out the story itself. Hone your logline and set your book up for success in this Zoom workshop.

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April Courses

Let It Rip: The Art of Writing Fiery Prose

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April 3 | 6 Weeks | $445

You'll write prose that gets folks so hot and bothered they won't be able to put it down, even if it isn't about sex.

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Write Your Picture Book!

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April 10 | 6 Weeks | $445

Picture books have changed greatly over the last few decades, and the market is wide open for fresh ideas. Join us in this six-week intensive where we’ll take that idea of yours and turn it into a manuscript!

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From the Source: Journaling for Self-Knowledge and Creativity

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April 24 | 6 weeks | $445 | NEW!

Journal to discover yourself, find a wellspring of creativity, and produce publication-ready pieces.

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May Courses

In Brief: Explorations in Short Story Forms

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May 8 | 8 Weeks | $545 | NEW!

Explore the intricate world of short prose forms. Experiment with story forms from one-syllable micros to full-length short stories, and complete six new story drafts.

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It Starts with Play: Get (Back) into Writing

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May 22 | 6 Weeks | $445 | NEW!

Harness the joy of creativity in this inspiration-focused class, where we'll uncover new ideas for writing projects and draft loads of new material. 

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The Watching Eye/Thinking Mind: Writing Flash Fiction

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May 22 | 10 Weeks | $645

In this ten-week workshop with poet and novelist Barbara Henning, write tiny fictions while experimenting with first and third person points of view and analyzing how point of view affects the craft of fiction writing. Barbara will provide practical instruction and assignments, suggestions for revision, and lectures and and articles.

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June Courses

The Elements of Fiction

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June 19 | 8 Weeks | $545

Good fiction writing can feel like juggling as you balance all the different elements of storytelling. By the end of this course, you'll be an expert juggler.

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Finding Inspiration in Dreams

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June 26 | 6 Weeks | $445

Our dreams are fertile fields of inspiration, meaning, and creativity. Learn how to use your dreams as doorways to future writing.

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Observing What’s Vivid in Prose and Poetry

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June 26 | 4 Weeks | $345

Learn how to spotlight beauty through fresh, vivid, and surprising language, in this four week mindfulness writing course.

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Story Lab: The Story-Subplot Connection

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June 26 | 6 Weeks | $445

Subplots are key to maintaining narrative pace and tension in a story. Drive your story forward with this deep dive into the elements of good storytelling.

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July Courses

The Cabin In The (Virtual) Woods: Writing Horror Comedy

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July 10 | 4 Weeks | $345

The line between horror and comedy is a lot thinner than you think. In this class, make your readers laugh in one sentence and cower in the next.

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August Courses

Rapid Story Development: A Master Plan for Building Stories That Work

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August 14 | 10 Weeks | $645

In this 10 week story writing class, Jeff Lyons pairs the Enneagram with story development techniques to revolutionize your writing practice.

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September Courses

A Writerly Life: Develop a Writing Routine that Works for You

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September 4 | 5 Weeks | $395

What does a writer's life look like? Build a productive writing habit in this course for writers of all backgrounds.

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October Courses

Plumbing the Past: Turning Life Experience into Poetry, Flash and Creative Non-Fiction

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October 2 | 4 Weeks | $345

Dig deep into personal ritual while studying narrative poets, short fiction and non-fiction authors, and food writers.

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Unscheduled Courses

These online writing classes don’t currently have a next session on our calendar, but will soon. If you see a course you’re interested in, use the “I’m Interested” button to let us know, and we’ll follow up with you when the course is on our calendar next.

Want to reach us or our instructors with questions about our online writing courses? Contact us at writers@writers.com, or visit the contact form.

(Live Workshop) Get Clear on Your Story and Voice

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Single-Day Webinar | $115

What is your story about? What is your voice? Whether you write poetry, fiction, or nonfiction, hone your writing in this 3 hour workshop.

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(Live Workshop) The Art of Love Stories: A Flash Fiction Workshop

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Single-Day Webinar | $115

How do you distill love into 1,500 words or less? Zining Mok explains in this love stories flash fiction workshop.

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(Live Workshop) Writing Beginnings and Endings

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Single-Day Webinar | $115

How do you write a story that's compelling to start and satisfying to finish? Sarah Aronson explains in this comprehensive one-day workshop.

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*Private Class | Embodied Writing: Improve Your Writing with Full-Body Creativity

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January 1 | 6 to 10 Weeks | $545 | NEW!

Have a grand time with specific physical exercises that honor your health, generate imaginative ideas, explore deeply and make your creative writing entertaining.

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*Private Class | Embodied Writing: Somatic Practices to Improve Your Work

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January 1 | 6 to 10 Weeks | $545

Have a grand time with specific physical exercises that honor your health, generate imaginative ideas, explore deeply and make your creative writing entertaining.

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*Private Class | Introduction to Writing Genre Fiction

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January 1 | 10 to 14 Weeks | $745

Take the whirlwind tour! Learn the conventions of eight major fiction genres, try them out, and figure out your niche.

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*Private Class | The Micro-obstacles/Flow Technique

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January 1 | 3 to 7 Weeks | $395

Create new work with fresh language, universal themes, sustained mystery and memorable characters. Stimulate your imagination.

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*Private Class | Using Bullet Journaling to Achieve Writing Goals

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January 1 | 3 to 7 weeks | $345

Looking to keep your writing goals organized? Make it happen in our bullet journaling course. Learn the art of the BuJo with Rudri Patel!

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*Private Class | Writing the Short Story

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January 1 | 10 to 14 Weeks | $745

Create new work with fresh language, universal themes, sustained mystery and memorable characters. Stimulate your imagination.

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Advanced Fiction Workshop with Emily Adrian

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8 Weeks | $545 | NEW!

Build a feedback group and sharpen your novel or short stories for publication in this workshop-oriented fiction class. 

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Beyond Formula: Writing Love Scenes With Spirit, Passion, Grit And Character Truth

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5 Weeks | $395

Write about love beyond trite sentiment and shallow fictions. Work down to the real thing: deep, powerful, destructive, exalted, fundamental.

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Boost Your Imagination and Reap the Literary Rewards

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4 Weeks | $345

It happens to all of us: life gets in the way and our creativity falters. Get back on track with this four-week creativity boosting class!

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Both Fish and Fowl: The Prose Poem

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8 Weeks | $545

A successful prose poem reads like a magic trick. Learn how to wield the powers of poetry in the context of prose in this comprehensive prose poetry course.

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But What Is Your Story Really About? Finding the Core of Your Short Memoir, Story, or Personal Essay

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4 Weeks | $345

Take a four-week writing adventure deep into the core of your story, to find the true theme of your personal essay, short story, or short memoir.

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Character is the Key: Unlock Your Best Stories

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Single-Day Webinar | $115 | NEW!

If you want to tell a good story, you need to write good characters. Learn how to unlock your best stories in this one-day character development workshop. 

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Claiming Our Stories: Autobiography, Memoir & Autobiographical Fiction

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10 Weeks | $645

Turn your experience into fiction, autobiography, or creative memoir. Bring forward stories with a powerful truth at their core. Instructor Anya Achtenberg.

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Comics for People Who Can’t Draw!

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6 Weeks | $445 | NEW!

Can't draw? No problem! In this workshop, learn how to tell complete stories in publication-ready comics, no matter your artistic background. 

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Crafting a Story or Novel Chapter Using Forward-Moving Tension

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5 Weeks | $395

How do writers tell stories with tension, action, and emotion? Learn how to write forward-moving tension in this 5 week fiction course.

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Creating Narrative in Comics

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8 Weeks | $545 | NEW!

Art and storytelling have a rich relationship to one another. Explore that relationship in this class on writing narrative comics. Open to all artistic skill levels!

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De Novo: How to Build Your Own Fantasy or Sci-Fi World

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6 Weeks | $445

Create captivating worlds in this comprehensive worldbuilding course. You'll come away with fantastic settings that make your stories mesmerizing, believable, and real.

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Deepening and Organizing Our Stories: Memoir/Creative Nonfiction and Autobiographical Fiction

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10 Weeks | $645

For writers of memoir, creative nonfiction and fiction, with some experience. Particularly helpful to writers in the midst of a longer work.

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Drafty in Here: Write Your Novella in Ten Weeks

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10 Weeks | $645

Write the entire first draft of a novella-length story, with plenty of feedback from stage to stage, and finish with a plan for revising toward a publishable manuscript.

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Embodied Writing: Improve Your Writing with Full-Body Creativity

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6 Weeks | $445

Have a grand time with specific physical exercises that honor your health, generate imaginative ideas, explore deeply and make your creative writing entertaining.

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Embodied Writing: Somatic Practices to Improve Your Work

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6 Weeks | $445

Have a grand time with specific physical exercises that honor your health, generate imaginative ideas, explore deeply and make your creative writing entertaining.

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Even Smaller: Adventures in Short-form Writing

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4 Weeks | $345

Course full. Contact us to join waitlist.

Less is more in this bite-sized writing class, where you'll learn how to tell complete stories under the tightest word counts.

 

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Find Your Brave: Publishing As An Act Of Courage

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4 Weeks | $345

In this fun, transformative four-week program, get tips and techniques to bring out your courage to publish a story in print or online.

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Finding the Real Story: Essential Elements of Story in Fiction and Memoir

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10 Weeks | $645

Address the larger issues of writing story through a look at the essential elements of narrative in fiction and memoir.

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Finish Your Manuscript: Next-Level Picture Book Mentorship

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6 Weeks | $445

During this six week program, you will work closely one-on-one with Kelly to finalize, refine, and polish your picture book into a manuscript ready to submit for publication or representation.

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Flash Fiction: Writing the Short-Short Story

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10 Weeks | $645

Course full. Contact us to join waitlist.

Write 1–3-page flash fiction in this online course with Barbara Henning, drawing on classic, poetic & experimental elements. Read the form’s masters.

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From Memory: Writing Fiction or Memoir from Lived Experience

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4 Weeks | $345 | NEW!

In this class, you'll use a nearly infinite resource—your own memory—to craft compelling fiction or nonfiction stories.

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Get It Done: Create the Scaffolding to Start (and Finish) a Writing Project

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2 Single-Day Webinars | $195 | NEW!

Get your butt in the chair, your mind roaming freely, and your creative juices flowing in this motivational, all-genres writing class.

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Growing Smaller: The Art of Micro- and Short Fiction

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4 Weeks | $345

Course full. Contact us to join waitlist.

Less is more. Learn the ropes of flash and micro-fiction in this 4-week course and hone the art of the short-short story.

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How to Write Character-Driven Stories

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6 Weeks | $445

Characters don't just drive the story, they are the story. Learn how to craft character-centered fiction and give life to the people on your page.

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How to Write Great Stories

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6 Weeks | $445

Learn how to combine character, setting, plot, and other elements of fiction to write powerful, compelling stories.

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Humor Is The New Black!

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4 Weeks | $345

Ready to add a splash of fun to your writing life? Join us for a four-week humor writing class. We’ll read. We’ll laugh. We’ll write. We’ll experiment.

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I’ve Drunk Your Poisoned Nectar: Writing with the Goddess

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8 Weeks | $545

Dig deep into the rich mythology of South Asian goddesses to find new inspiration for your work in this generative, open-genre writing class.

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In Bloom: Nature Writing Workshop

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6 Weeks | $445

Only 3 seats left!

Want to write about nature like Robert Frost, Henry David Thoreau, or Annie Dillard? Join us for this six-week nature writing course.

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In Your Own Words: Transforming Life Into Memoir and Fiction

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8 Weeks | $545

Learn how to draw inspiration and material from your life experiences or those of people you know, or want to know, to craft compelling, publishable memoirs, personal essays, autobiographical novels and short stories, and/or narrative poetry.

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Intro to Fiction Writing

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8 Weeks | $545

What makes a good fiction story? Learn how to write compelling stories in this eight-week intro to fiction course, with Donna Levin.

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Introduction to Writing Genre Fiction

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10 Weeks | $645

Take the whirlwind tour! Learn the conventions of eight major fiction genres, try them out, and figure out your niche.

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Make Your Prose Sing

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Single-Day Webinar | $115

Enrich your prose with techniques from poetry. Bring paper and pens; leave with a better ear and lots of ideas about how to make your prose sing.

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Manuscript Review for Children’s Writers: Summer Edition

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5 Weeks | $395

Instructor Sarah Aronson welcomes all writers who are working on manuscripts for kids and teens. This advanced workshop will focus entirely on the participants' own work in progress.

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Manuscript Workshop: Writing For Young Readers

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8 Weeks | $545

Author Denise Santomauro leads this intermediate/advanced workshop on writing for children. It offers support, structure and detailed feedback on manuscripts.

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Mastering the Elements of Fiction

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10 Weeks | $645

In this course, you’ll work with the basic elements of fiction--the fundamentals that drive the story and determine the quality of the work.

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Overcome Writing Anxiety: Boost Your Storytelling Confidence in Four Short Weeks!

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4 Weeks | $345

"Who are you to want to write?" Someone great, that's who! Politely ask Mr. or Ms. Fear to step aside while you sign up for this fun, freeing and functional adventure.

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Roads Into Writing: Opening New Terrain In Your Work

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6 Weeks | $445

Write like mad, read brilliant books & deepen your craft while exploring new paths to inspiration. With novelist and poet Anya Achtenberg, .

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Scene Study: Strengthen Your Writing with Compelling Scenes

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5 Weeks | $395

Great stories are constructed with great scenes. Immerse your reader in your stories by learning the ropes of scene development.

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Speculative Fiction: Sci-fi, Fantasy, & More

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4 Weeks | $345 | NEW!

Speculative fiction isn't (only) warp drives and magic wands; it's anything that examines human lives and relationships through alternate realities. In this course, learn how to wield the fantastic in your fiction.

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Story Lab: Story Structure 101

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5 Weeks | $395 | NEW!

Structure is essential to great storytelling. Learn how to roadmap any story in this comprehensive story structure class.

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Suspense Sells! Power Up Your Writing With Conflict, Tension and Emotion

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4 Weeks | $345

Inject suspense into your stories to keep readers turning pages. For writers of all kinds of fiction: thrillers, mysteries, romance, humor, literary and memoir. A four week class with Giulietta Nardone.

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Techwashed!: Writing with AI, Data, and Surveillance

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2 Saturday Workshops | $205

Raise a mirror against society's relationship to technology in this two part workshop series where we will learn how to write about tech.

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Teen Writers’ Workshop: Discover the Writer You Want to Be

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2 Single-Day Webinars | $195 | NEW!

Give your teens the power of writing and community in this two part workshop, where teen writers will learn the skills to become professional authors.

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Ten Steps to Creating Interesting, In-Depth Characters

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Single-Day Webinar | $115

How do you write about people convincingly? Empower your character development in this workshop filled with exercises and character discussion.

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The Chronology of Mind: From Journal to Poem or Prose

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10 Weeks | $645

Gather material through writing and experimenting with journaling, researching and taking notes to develop into poems or prose works.

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The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy

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10 Weeks | $645

Create fantastical worlds with mythical beings in this comprehensive introduction to fantasy and science fiction.

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The Five Ws (and One H) of Drafting Middle Grade and Young Adult Novels

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8 Weeks | $545

Asking yourself these six questions will give you the scaffolding for your next young adult or middle grade novel.

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The Micro-obstacles/Flow Technique

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3 Weeks | $295

Create new work with fresh language, universal themes, sustained mystery and memorable characters. Stimulate your imagination.

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The Sixth Sense: Writing Horror with a Message

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4 Weeks | $345

Looking to write the substance of nightmares? Learn the ropes of horror writing in this spine-chilling fiction course.

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The Surprising Sentence: Honing Your Prose Style

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2 Single-Day Webinars | $195 | NEW!

Great sentences stack up into great stories. Learn how to hone your style and voice at the most basic unit of writing, the sentence, in this workshop.

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Turn Up the Heat: How to Write Good Sex

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2 Single-Day Webinars | $195

How do you write sex scenes that are both erotic and realistic? Make your reader's heart race in this webinar on writing good sex.

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Untie the Tropes: Write In-Depth YA Protagonists

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5 Weeks | $395

Do you want to write YA, but you're terrified of teenagers? Learn how to write authentic teen characters without tropes in this generative YA course.

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What to Do When Your Characters Fall in Love: Writing Romance in Any Genre

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5 Weeks | $395

Relationships are an important feature of fiction—and not just romances! If your non-romance work has love involved, learn the ropes in this 5 week course, open to writers of all genres.

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Word Flashes & Eye Snapshots: Sketching Your Life Awake

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8 Weeks | $545

For any writer wanting to root writing in vision and vision in the body: for poetry, fiction, essay, memoir & pleasure.

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Write from the Untamed Mind: Find Your Voice

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6 Weeks | $445

Join Susan in two writing circles each week: intimate spaces for writers to free-write together, saying yes to whatever shows up, followed by group read-arounds. These writing sessions are spontaneous, intimate, freeing, and transformative.

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Write Your Children’s Book!

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8 Weeks | $545

If you’re looking for accountability, support, enthusiasm, feedback, and a chance to make progress on your Children's Book or YA story, then this is the place for you.

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Writing Autobiographical Fiction

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8 Weeks | $545

Learn to depart from "what really happened," and write compelling fiction from your own life experiences.

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Writing Circle Workshop: Writing for Happiness, Healing, and Health (Monday/Friday)

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6 Weeks | $445

Course full. Contact us to join waitlist.

Expressive writing can be a powerful elixir for what ails you. Learn and practice tools for writing expressively, including two virtual writing circles each week, turn raw writing into poetry or prose, and come away with a better understanding of how writing can lead toward wellness.

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Writing Circle Workshop: Writing for Happiness, Healing, and Health (Tuesday/Saturday)

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6 Weeks | $445

Course full. Contact us to join waitlist.

Expressive writing can be a powerful elixir for what ails you. Learn and practice tools for writing expressively, including two virtual writing circles each week, turn raw writing into poetry or prose, and come away with a better understanding of how writing can lead toward wellness.

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Writing Circles: Finding Community, Clarity, Poetry, and Prose

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8 Weeks | $545

Join our writing circle to form a writing community, find clarity in your words, and turn your untamed free-writes into poetry and/or prose.

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Writing for Kids: Entering the World of Children’s Literature

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Single-Day Webinar | $115

Learn the fundamentals of writing for children in this one day workshop, and write the kinds of stories that kids simply can't put down.

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Writing Magical Fiction

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2 Single-Day Webinars | $345 | NEW!

In this workshop series, you won't just write using magic in fiction—you'll harness the magic that only fiction can make.

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Writing Short Stories with the Empathic Approach

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8 weeks | $545

Great fiction brings deeper understanding. Foster a greater sense of connection and supercharge your stories in this empathy-driven fiction class.

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Writing Spontaneously: How to Let Your Stories Surprise You

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Single-Day Webinar | $345

Some of the best stories don't follow a specific plot structure; they develop organically. Learn how to hone spontaneity in your fiction writing and come away surprised by your work.

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Writing the Absurd

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8 Weeks | $545

If you turn on to the absurd in life—to the ironic, edgy, bizarre, and grotesque—this is the course for you. Learn the key techniques of writing absurdist fiction, dark fiction, and satire.

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Writing the Short Story

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10 Weeks | $645

Create new work with fresh language, universal themes, sustained mystery and memorable characters. Stimulate your imagination.

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Writing with Consistency and Courage

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Single-Day Webinar | $115

What makes a successful writer? It's not talent, craft, or even the right connections—it's consistency and courage.

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Writing with Tarot

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8 Weeks | $545

Jump-start your creative juices, and explore a world of divination, symbolism, and imagery right at your fingertips: learn short story and novel writing through Tarot.

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