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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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Search our classes by genre, level, and time of day below.

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March 2023

Visual Journaling: Exploring the Imagination

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this seminar will help writers tap into a different type of creativity. We will take a quick break from structured writing and combine words with visual elements, also looking at other artists’ journals. This semester, we will try simple art techniques to explore our stream of consciousness and talk about how this can be incorporated in our writing practice.

March 25 @ 10:00 am EDT - 12:30 pm EDT

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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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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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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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Explore Calligraphy: The Art of Elegant Handwriting

Explore calligraphy, the art of elegant handwriting. Students will be introduced to italic letterforms using square-nibbed felt tip pens as writing tools. This seminar will provide a foundation for developing your own personal style of italic handwriting. A materials list and suggested places to purchase materials will be provided by the teacher.

April 15 @ 1:00 pm EDT - 3:30 pm EDT

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Poetry of Rap

Is Rap poetry? Well yes / I confess / with no jest / the answer is yes / but I digress! Explore the poetry of rap music in examples from legendary rappers like Mos Def, Lupe Fiasco, Andre 3000, and Eminem. Examine the use of poetic devices such as meter, metaphor, and in particular, rhyme. Students will use color-coded “rhyme maps” of rap lyrics to learn the major rhyme styles: end rhyme, slant rhyme, internal rhyme, and the very intricate…

April 16 @ 1:00 pm EDT - 3:30 pm EDT

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Zentangled Mandalas Class

Mandalas have been used throughout history as a tool for self-reflection, creativity, connection, meditation and self-exploration. In this class we will learn to set intentions, play with design and color, we will learn how to be expressive and tap into our own sub-conscious for peace and grounding. It can assist the writer before ever putting pen to page! Come and spend a few hours learning the art of the Mandala with the Zentangle process (a mindful drawing technique). You will…

April 22 @ 1:00 pm EDT - 3:30 pm EDT

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Me, Myself, and I: Writing First Person POV

Let’s face it. Writing from the first person is a heck of a lot of fun. Akin to the dramatic monologue, to stand-up comedy, to one-person shows (monodramas), it can lead writers into markets they might not have considered. The ”I” sees all. Learning to write from this point of view is not just a matter of using a given pronoun. In this seminar, you will learn how to: choose your revelatory character; manipulate the distances the “I” creates between…

April 22 @ 1:00 pm EDT - 3:30 pm EDT

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Writing for Children

This seminar is for writers who want an introduction to writing for children. The class will begin with an overview of recently published children’s books, including picture books, early readers, chapter books, middle grade books, and graphic novels for children. Drawing on her experience as an agented and traditionally-published children’s book author, the instructor will offer advice on the choices that should be made on form, genre, age category, and point-of-view when writing for children. Students will respond to prompts…

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