Creative Writing Classes & Seminars
Looking for a place to express your inner writer? In each of our three yearly sessions (winter/spring, summer, and fall), we offer creative writing classes on weekday evenings, weekday mornings, and the daytime on weekends. Classes range from those geared for novice writers or those with some writing experience who are looking for a structured environment in which to bloom to those geared for intermediate, advanced, or professional writers.
We offer classes for adults as well as pre-teen and teen writers. Genres and topics offered include a variety of creative writing classes in poetry, fiction, flash fiction, memoir and creative nonfiction, screenwriting, playwriting, storytelling, comic books and graphic novels, songwriting, food writing, science fiction, fantasy, children’s book writing, journaling, and multi-genre writing, as well as seminars in writers craft, research, and professional development.
Class size is usually capped at 8 or 9 students—classes with different maximum sizes are indicated in the class listing. We teach short seminars that meet once all the way to longer workshops that meet up to eight times.
Search our classes by genre, level, and time of day below.
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May 2020
Mental Health Awareness Month Poetry Reading
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and now more than ever it is crucial to come together as a community to spread awareness of mental health issues and to share in the healing power of the literary arts. On Friday 6:30 pm, May 29, The Muse Writers Center will be hosting a poetry reading to recognize Mental Health Awareness Month via Zoom. This will be a free event open to all. In addition to the poets reading, groups and organizations…
May 29 @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Military Memories And Memoir – Free Online Writing Workshop !
***This class is currently full. If you would like to be placed on the waitlist, please sign up using the registration link below. The reading and discussion following the class is open to all and will not be limited in size. Military life holds unique and powerful experiences, ripe for shaping into compelling narratives. In writing their stories, service members, veterans and their loved ones bear witness to moments of honor and heartbreak, loneliness and loss, camaraderie and sacrifice. Writing…
May 30 @ 10:00 am - 12:30 pm
Sleuthing and Detective Work (Now Online)
Please note: This class will now have online meetings. Your teacher will contact you with information on how to join the online classroom. To participate, students must have a stable internet connection with a computer or device with a webcam and microphone. “It is my business to know what other people do not know.” (Sherlock Holmes) Tales of crime, detectives, and mysteries often take central stage in our stories. In this Research for Writers Seminar led by a noted police…
May 30 @ 10:00 am - 12:30 pm
Write Outside (Now Online)
Please note: This class will now have online meetings. Your teacher will contact you with information on how to join the online classroom. To participate, students must have a stable internet connection with a computer or device with a webcam and microphone. Mind is linked to body, come join us for a prompt based writing class outside! Even during this time of social distancing, we can come together online to write and meditate in the sun. See you there!
Saturdays, May 16 - May 30 @ 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm
The Method Writer: Stealing Techniques From the Actors’ Toolbox (Now Online)
Writers share a lot with our artistic cousin, the actor: we strive to bring characters to life and transport our audiences with good stories. Unlike painters, who have paint, brushes, and canvas to aid in bringing their art into existence, or musicians who have their instruments, the actor and the writer have only themselves. They don’t play the instruments; they ARE the instruments. We will explore philosophies and exercises put forth by some of the most highly esteemed theatre professionals:…
May 30 @ 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm
The Honor Was Mine Reading and Discussion – Live Online!
Join us right here, virtually! Reading from her award-winning book, The Honor Was Mine: A Look Inside the Struggles of Military Veterans, Elizabeth Heaney shares the stories she encountered while counseling combat veterans and their loved ones. From a young combat veteran hiding in his closet on bad days to a commander’s spouse who speaks of attending ninety-three memorial services, the stories bring us face-to-face with unheard-of struggles and fears. As a counselor on numerous military bases, Heaney discovers that…
May 30 @ 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Visual Journaling Workshop: Exploring the Imagination (Now Online)
Please note: This class will now have online meetings. Your teacher will contact you with information on how to join the online classroom. To participate, students must have a stable internet connection with a computer or device with a webcam and microphone. Also Please Note: To get you the materials, registration for this class will be cut off at noon on Saturday, May 16. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this seminar will help writers tap into…
Sundays, May 17 - May 31 @ 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm
June 2020
The Fiction Studio: Monday Evenings
Returning writers and new members with advanced fiction workshop experience will actively write and revise original short stories and chapters of novels as well as consider various aspects of the creative and professional life of the fiction writer. All members of the group will have the opportunity to submit material for the workshop, with at least two to three opportunities to be critiqued during the session. Please note: This class is an online class. To participate, students must have a…
Mondays, June 1 - September 7 @ 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm
Unlock your Creative Voice with Guided Imagery and Music (Now Online)
Please note: This class will now have online meetings. Your teacher will contact you with information on how to join the online classroom. To participate, students must have a stable internet connection with a computer or device with a webcam and microphone. The Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music (GIM), developed by Dr. Helen Bonny in the 1960s, allows you to access your dream state and let go of barriers such as stress and fear so you can tap…
June 6 @ 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm
20/30 Writers Club
A creative writing workshop and support group aimed at young adults who want to build camaraderie and connections within the thriving writing community in Norfolk. NOW ONLINE! Come join us for friendly chats and motivation! Join our Facebook Group for more info and keep up to date.
Sundays, May 3 - August 2 @ 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm
The Fiction Studio: Tuesday Evenings
Returning writers and new members with advanced fiction workshop experience will actively write and revise original short stories and chapters of novels as well as consider various aspects of the creative and professional life of the fiction writer. All members of the group will have the opportunity to submit material for the workshop, with at least two to three opportunities to be critiqued during the session. Please note: This class is an online class. To participate, students must have a…
Tuesdays, June 9 - August 18 @ 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm
The Fiction Studio: Wednesday Mornings
Returning writers and new members with advanced fiction workshop experience will actively write and revise original short stories and chapters of novels as well as consider various aspects of the creative and professional life of the fiction writer. All members of the group will have the opportunity to submit material for the workshop, with at least two to three opportunities to be critiqued during the session. Please note: This class is an online class. To participate, students must have a…
Wednesdays, June 10 - August 19 @ 10:00 am - 12:30 pm
Accessibility for Those with Disabilities
The Muse Writers Center strives to be a fully accessible facility. Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns or would like to request an accommodation.