Does Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky fascinate you with its nonsense language? Do you find yourself repeating words and phrases you’ve heard throughout your day, just for the musical sound of it? Have you ever whiled away the afternoon picking interesting words out of the classifieds? You, my friend, are reveling in the joys of found poetry. We will explore the art and origins of found poetry from the Dada movement and Oulipan’s, to collage poetry and abecedarian forms. We will find out…

We all have stories to tell, whether we’ve never written anything before, or we’re dusting off the old writing muscles and getting back in the game. This class is a foundational course to get started or begin writing fiction again. We will learn and explore all of the essential fundamentals of the craft of fiction writing. We will discover and begin to understand how to write an active scene, define a character, and move your story from A to B,…

The Advanced Poetry Workshop is open to students who have completed previous workshop-level classes at The Muse or those who have extensive workshop or graduate-level experience. This class focuses on writing, criticism, and the exploration of contemporary poetic discourse. Students at this level are writing poetry with an increased focus on creating an individual voice and emotional richness. Students will be expected to submit regularly and provide thoughtful feedback to classmates. 

Returning students and new members with poetry writing experience will actively write and revise original poems, focusing on elements of craft and analyzing select poems by our best poets that effectively model those elements. All group members will have the opportunity to submit material for the workshop. Your instructor will make every effort to tailor the submission schedule to your individual goals.

The Fiction Workshop continues with returning members and new members with fiction writing workshop experience. Members of the group will actively write and workshop original work while taking a deeper look at the essential craft elements of fiction writing. Each class will include a short craft lecture covering topics such as POV, writing scenes, dialogue, plotting, POV, and more. Students will continue to learn how to give and take constructive critique and master writing active prose. All members of the…

The Fiction Studio continues with returning members, and new members with professional fiction workshop experience. We 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. New members must receive pre-approval to register from…

This general creative writing class is an invitation to hone your unique writing voice in a creative and open atmosphere. You will have the unique opportunity to explore what you enjoy, be it fiction, creative nonfiction, and/or poetry. This multi-genre workshop is an excellent first writing class as well as a place for seasoned writers to explore different forms and techniques or work in whichever style of writing seems most appropriate for each inspiration. We’ll move through creative exercises, prompts,…

This workshop will focus on the all-important revision process in screenwriting, with members sharing the successes and difficulties encountered in the scripting process for feature-length, short, or TV scripts. You will have at least three opportunities to turn in pages of a screenplay for group review, workshop, and discussion—all in an atmosphere of mutual exploration and understanding. This class is open to continuing members as well as advanced screenwriting students.

During our six weeks together, we'll explore how our memories can live on the page as stories of transformation. Through exercises, studies in craft, and close study of short selections from six very different memoirs, you will learn the tools to shape your story and move your readers. We'll discuss motivation, description, point of view, dialogue, and story energy. We'll look at ways to begin complex stories and ways to provide meaningful endings--even for those stories you may still be…