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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.

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April 2023

How to Write Non-Human Characters

Characters are the lifeblood of any work of fiction, but only in speculative fiction are they not always human. This workshop will explore what it takes to develop complex, interesting characters within a speculative context. How can a character from another world still be relatable to readers? How does the world they come from tie into character creation? What makes an alien truly alien? In this workshop, we'll explore all these questions and more through discussion, examples, and imaginative writing…

April 1 @ 10:00 am EDT - 12:30 pm EDT

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Writing Fanfiction

In recent years, fanfiction--that is, unofficial stories about the characters and worlds from popular media--has exploded into the mainstream. More and more professional writers are now coming out as fanfic writers too, many published novels have their origins as fanfiction works, and some have even argued that certain literary classics, such as Paradise Lost, are really fanfiction at heart. The boom in popularity reveals what fiction writers have known for a long time: fanfiction is an immense source of inspiration…

April 1 @ 1:00 pm EDT - 3:30 pm EDT

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Songwriting 2: Into the Groove 

\When a song lyric hits you, it can take you back in time. In that mystical blend of melody and carefully crafted imagery, we can, for a time, be transported somewhere else. In Songwriting 2, we’ll bridge the gap between the tune and the lilt of the line, while finding our own, unique narrative voices. We will write 4 original songs during the class and workshop  them during weeks 3-6. Students will be invited to perform their work at a…

Mondays, April 3 - April 24 @ 7:00 pm EDT - 9:30 pm EDT

4 sessions
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Writers Coffee Break

Join us for our monthly 1st Friday Writers Coffee Breaks at Cafe Stella in Ghent. At these informal get-togethers, area writers and Muse teachers, students, and friends enjoy conversation and camaraderie over a (perhaps much needed) coffee break. Each month will be hosted by different Muse teachers, who will be available to answer questions from current and prospective students about their classes, The Muse, and writing in general in addition to just hanging out over a cup of coffee or…

April 7 @ 10:00 am EDT - 12:00 pm EDT

Empire Records at The Naro Expanded Cinema

Rex Manning Day is upon us once again! Come ring in this charming fictitious holiday with us as Empire Records comes to the Naro big screen on Friday, April 7. We’ll have plenty of boozy beverages available, with proceeds benefiting The Muse Writers Center. As always, all alcohol sales are CASH only--please hit the ATM beforehand. We’ll also have plenty of THC goodies, theater snacks, and trivia prizes! Our buddy Greg Steele is cooking up a sweet poster for the…

April 7 @ 8:30 pm EDT - 11:30 pm EDT

Submit Your Work to Magazines, Journals, and Publishers

You’ve crafted your writing; now it’s time to get it published! From formatting to researching markets, tracking your submissions to keeping a positive attitude, we'll dive deep into the basics of submissions to the vast world of literary journals and magazines. Don’t let the fear of rejection--or an unfamiliarity with the process--get in your way. We’ll explore a few tips and tricks to help your writing get placed sooner than later. Plus, we'll explore the many reasons why most work…

April 8 @ 10:00 am EDT - 12:30 pm EDT

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Turn Your Fragments into Stories

“I can always think of great situations, but how do I turn them into a story?” We all have a collection of ideas and even notes toward a story that somehow never come to fruition. We recognize compelling moments when we see them: a homeless person treated callously by a passerby; a child lost on a crowded street and reaching out to the wrong stranger; a spaceship landing in a suburban neighborhood which can only be seen by one family.…

April 8 @ 1:00 pm EDT - 3:30 pm EDT

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Writing the Body: a Workshop for Health/Medical Workers and Caregivers (April)

Doctors, nurses, health, or hospice workers--as well as many other professionals and caregivers--are always called to heightened service in their line of work, especially in the current climate of global pandemic. Because so much of what we are asked to deal with is out of the bounds of human control, the challenge to be authentic is intense. Serving others involves not only great physical labor, but also emotional and intellectual labor. At the end of the day, after we have…

April 8 @ 1:00 pm EDT - 3:30 pm EDT

Gathering Magic: A Fantasy Writers Group

"They can keep their heaven. When I die, I'd sooner go to Middle-earth." -- George R.R. Martin Do you agree? If so, come join us for our monthly fantasy writers gathering! Some writing, come critique, some craft talk, some camaraderie... This is a chance to get together with not just other writers but with fantasy writers --those of us who revel in wardrobe doors and rabbit holes, who would rather work on inventing a language than learning French, who long…

Saturdays, April 8 - September 9 @ 1:00 pm EDT - 3:00 pm EDT

6 sessions

Punctuation and Grammar Revealed

In this interactive seminar, we'll start by writing your grammar and punctuation questions on the whiteboard, and then explore them together using simple exercises, examples, and tips. In the last half of our session, we'll take a look at samples from your own writing and find ways to make your prose shine more brightly, unencumbered by common grammar and punctuation errors--or misconceptions--that blur the meaning of your story. (Who, whom) do you think should take this workshop? During a dinner…

April 8 @ 1:00 pm EDT - 3:30 pm EDT

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Advice from an Agent on Your Path to Publication

You've written your book, and it’s ready to send into the world. But how? In this seminar, we’ll look at everything from crafting a grabbing elevator pitch and where and how to find an agent to what to do and say while pitching and what agents actually do after you’ve signed. Join literary agent Jessica Errera and explore everything that follows typing “The End” on the last page of your manuscript.

April 15 @ 10:00 am EDT - 12:30 pm EDT

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Practical Starship Design

Whether your characters are sunjamming the solar wind or sleeping for centuries between the stars, how you present their spacecraft lends authenticity to your fictional world. In this Writers Knowledge seminar, we will explore the real-life physics of interstellar travel—-the hazards, the distances, and some of the solutions proposed to overcome them. We will survey a wide variety of starship designs proposed for extrasolar missions, from nuclear-pulse and beamed-energy propulsion to fusion ramjets, quantum thrusters and interstellar sails. We will…

April 15 @ 10:00 am EDT - 12:30 pm EDT

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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.