Writing Classes Online: The Writers' Workshop

The Writers' Workshop of Asheville, North Carolina is offering online classes for beginning and experienced writers via Zoom. Each class meets on Saturdays, 10-3 pm. Registration is in advance only, at www.twwoa.org. Classes are $65, or $60 Workshop members. Financial assistance is available for low-income writers in exchange for volunteering. To register, email writersw@gmail.com, or call 828-254-8111.

 Our early memories and family relationships can be lifting-off points for complex, many-layered poems. We'll look closely at poems from well-known poets and consider voice, form, points of view, image, metaphor, and irony. Through writing exercises, you'll generate ideas for your own poems and strategies for developing them.

Harrington's book of poems, Waiting for the Hurricane, won the '17 N.C. Poetry Society award. Her poems have appeared in anthologies including Kent State University Press, New Southerner Anthology, and The Homestead Review.   

The class will learn the essentials of a good story or novel. Character and conflict are key elements that will be discussed, including creating a sense of place, dialogue, and enhancing one's writing style. Students may bring up to five pages to the class for review.

Ackerson has taught fiction writing for over 25 years. As Senior Editor at The Renbourne Editorial Agency, she has edited over 500 novels and memoirs.

In this supportive writing-intensive class, participants will learn how to draw on the "material" of their lives to write and revise memoirs, stories, or plays. Elements covered include time compression and expansion, theme, recognizing your purpose, and developing your piece professionally.

Krawiec is the founder of Jacar Press, and the author of numerous books such as "Breakdown: A Father's Story", "Faith in What?", and "Time Sharing". His work is published in numerous journals including Shenandoah, Florida Review, and N.C. Literary Review. 

 The class will learn all aspects of writing the screenplay, including formatting, characterization, sequence structures, and how to adapt any genre to a screenplay.

Freeman’s credits include the feature films Gem and Mr. Bones, the official selection of major film festivals; and Authoring Action, awarded 2010 Best Documentary in the U.K.  He has taught at UNC-C and Salem College. 

Writers of fiction and non-fiction books and stories will learn how to revise and polish their works before submitting to an agent or publisher. Techniques will be taught on how to grab the reader's interest by eliminating unnecessary details, building tension, and fine-tuning dialogue and descriptions. Participants may bring five pages (double-spaced) to the class for discussion.

Ackerson is Senior Editor at The Renbourne Editorial Agency (www.renbourne.com), and has edited hundreds of novels, memoirs and creative non-fiction stories.  

We had 41 attendees at this meeting! What a great turnout! Our presenter was our good friend Jaimie Engle. Jaimie's presentation was Planning, Writing & Editing a Book that Doesn't Suck, and it was as engaging as it had promised to be! The audience paid rapt attention and asked engaging questions. Jaimie was gracious enough to provide a copy of her presentation, and you can download a PDF copy on the Files page. You can get the entire presentation in one chunk, or broken up into Part 1, Part 2, or Part 3.

Jacquelyn Lynn gave an exceptional talk, Self-Publishing Predictions for the 2020s, at our meeting on January 18, 2020. Although we don't have a copy to post on our website, you can go to her website for more information.