Our Teachers
The Muse's instructors are all working writers and published authors who have taught courses at colleges, universities, and other community organizations. Read our teachers’ biographies and see what classes they are currently teaching.
John DeDakis
Journalist and novelist John DeDakis is a former Senior Copy Editor on CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer." DeDakis (pronounced deh-DAY-kiss) is the author of five mystery-suspense novels featuring AP White House correspondent Lark Chadwick. His fourth novel, Bullet in the Chamber, is the winner of Reviewers Choice, Foreword INDIES, and Feathered Quill book awards in 2017. In his fifth novel, Fake, Lark battles "fake news" in the #MeToo era where facts are suspect and reporters are targets. In 2020, "Fake" received Honorable Mention for the Reviewers Choice Award and was a Finalist for the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award. He is currently at work on his 6th novel, and a memoir. DeDakis is a writing coach, manuscript editor, and writing workshop leader. During his award-winning 45-year career in journalism (25 years at CNN), DeDakis has been a White House Correspondent and interviewed such luminaries as Alfred Hitchcock, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan. DeDakis lives in Baltimore, has taught journalism at the University of Maryland-College Park, and regularly teaches novel writing at The Writer’s Center in Bethesda, Maryland and at the Loft literary center in Minneapolis. He is also the host of the live-stream video podcast One-to-One with John DeDakis on Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
Current Classes Taught
- 1-Day Creative Writing "Camp" for Adults (Mon. July 24)
- (Summer 2023)
- How to Write a Novel
- (Summer 2023)
- Writing as a Way to Heal from Grief
- (Summer 2023)
Previous Classes Taught
- Becoming a Master Writer
- (Summer 2021)
- Buffing & Polishing: The Art of Rewriting
- (Summer 2020)
- Buffing and Polishing: The Art of the Rewrite
- (Summer 2022)
- Characterization Through Dialogue
- (Summer 2021)
- Facing Your Fears
- (Winter/Spring 2021)
- Facing Your Writing Fears
- (Fall 2022)
- From Novice to Novelist (Now Online)
- (Winter/Spring 2020)
- How to Write a Key Scene
- (Winter/Spring 2022)
- How to Write a Key Scene (Now Online)
- (Winter/Spring 2020)
- How to Write a Novel
- (Summer 2022)
- How to Write a Novel (and Get it Published)
- (Fall 2021)
- How to Write in the Voice of Other Genders
- (Winter/Spring 2023)
- How to Write in the Voice of the Opposite Sex
- (Winter/Spring 2021)
- Writing as a Way to Heal from Grief
- (Summer 2020)
- Writing as a Way to Heal from Grief
- (Winter/Spring 2022)
- Writing as a Way to Heal from Grief
- (Winter/Spring 2023)
- Writing to Heal
- (Summer 2021)