CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOPS
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- Writespace has in person and online workshops available. See individual workshop listings for details.
- Join as a member for just $60/year for discounts, free events, and other perks.
- Tickets must be purchased online via Eventbrite.
- Please read our workshop policies before registering.
- Can't attend without a scholarship? Apply here.
- Need tech support for your class? Check out our Tech Support page. If your question isn't answered, contact us.
JUNE 2023 WORKSHOPS
Hybrid Memoir
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INSTRUCTOR: Jessica Cole
TIME: Saturday, June 3, 1:00–4:00 p.m. CST/CDT PRICE: Early bird price: $45 for members, $60 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Sunday, May 28. After Sunday, May 28: $55 for members, $70 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. LOCATION: Online via Zoom LEVEL: All Levels CAP: 15 Memoir’s popularity is not going anywhere, and hybrid memoir has emerged as the memoir form of the moment. An organic way to let memory tell a story, hybrids trust readers to make connections for themselves and take what resonates for them. Rather than telling a story from a lofty vantage point — after all or most of the lessons have been learned by the writer — the reader is more invested, able to make a bigger contribution to meaning-making. Hybrid memoir breaks with traditional narrative arcs, resulting in greater impact and more flexibility. Hybrids allow for multiple approaches and forms without pressure on the writer to come to (often pat) conclusions. In this class, we will write and stitch text together. Feel free to bring in other pieces (for instance, short prompted writing from an AWA workshop you’ve taken with Jessica before!). |
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Writing As a Transitional Tool
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INSTRUCTOR: Marlena “Zen Ase” Johns
TIME: Sunday, June 4, 3:00–6:00 p.m. CST/CDT PRICE: Early bird price: $45 for members, $60 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Monday, May 29. After Monday, May 29: $55 for members, $70 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. LOCATION: Writespace, 1717 Michigan St, Houston, TX 77006 (map) LEVEL: All Levels CAP: 15 Transitions. We’re either in one, just leaving one, or have one looming on the horizon. A transition can be divorce, the death of a loved one, moving, retirement, changing careers, entering school or the workforce again, or your kids leaving home. So many questions, feelings, doubts, limiting beliefs, and obstacles come up while we are preparing for a transition, in the midst of one, or immediately following the most recent. Transitions are unavoidable, but we can use writing as a tool to design our lives. Through various prompts and models, writing can help us clarify, explore, problem solve, and embrace the stages involved in transitions: letting go, the in-between, and embracing that new life. In this workshop we will learn writing self-care and stress relief tools that lead to a deeper understanding of ourselves. Together, we will tap into the way writing brings joy and wonder into an otherwise scary and unsettling time. |
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Read Your Way to Writing Well: Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus
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INSTRUCTOR: Angélique Jamail
TIME: Four Tuesdays, June 6, 13, 20, 27, 6:00–9:00 p.m. CST/CDT PRICE: Early bird price: $150 for members, $180 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Wednesday, May 31. After Wednesday, May 31: $180 for members, $210 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. LOCATION: Online via Zoom LEVEL: All Levels CAP: 15 Erin Morgenstern’s highly acclaimed debut novel The Night Circus rocked the literary world with its lush writing, clever structure, magnetic characters, and gripping story. In this four-week course, we will explore some of the reasons why Morgenstern’s novel is so well written and use it as a mentor text to generate some innovative writing of our own. Expect to discuss various elements of the text and to write original creative work, using Morgenstern’s techniques for inspiration. Attendees will have the opportunity to share their writing for supportive feedback during each class session. Homework involves reading The Night Circus over the course of the month and working on your own manuscript. This course is open to all levels of writing and literary analysis. Students should read the first 3 chapters of the novel before the first class. |
Stock Amazon Photo
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Writing Unreliable Narrators - BEING RESCHEDULED
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INSTRUCTOR: Thomas H. McNeely
TIME: Saturday, June 10, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. CST/CDT PRICE: Early bird price: $45 for members, $60 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Sunday, June 4. After Sunday, June 4: $55 for members, $70 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. LOCATION: Online via Zoom LEVEL: All Levels CAP: 15 Some of the greatest fictional narrators have been pathological liars, narcissists, confabulators, cads, or just plain nuts. Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye, Humbert Humbert in Lolita, Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment, too many Edgar Allan Poe narrators to name. Why are they so effective in their job as narrators? Why do authors use them and how do they keep them from taking over their stories? How can you use them to make your fiction more moving, powerful, and effective? In this three-hour workshop, we will learn how to create and control a variety of unreliable narrators and discuss how they can be used to work for us and make our fiction better. |
Photo by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash
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A Workshop of Unusual Texts: Generating Ideas from Strange Sources
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INSTRUCTOR: Icess Fernandez Rojas
TIME: Saturday, June 10, 1:00–4:00 p.m. CST/CDT PRICE: Early bird price: $45 for members, $60 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Sunday, June 4. After Sunday, June 4: $55 for members, $70 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. LOCATION: Harris County Cultural Arts Center, 13334 Wallisville Road, Houston, TX 77409 (map) LEVEL: All Levels CAP: 15 Have you ever created a story from a phone book? Or used a dictionary to write an essay? How about a poem from a grocery receipt? Every day, we encounter several kinds of texts that easily lend themselves to creating new and interesting work. Sometimes a piece of paper or a strange book can jump start a new story, poem or essay. But how do you harness that idea into something great? During this generative workshop we will look at several texts (the stranger the better) to create new work. We’ll also read some examples from other writers who have done the same! Participants will get out of their comfort zone to see where the muse takes them. By the end, you’ll leave with a fist full of possibilities and a new eye for inspiration searching. After all, who says that a menu can’t inspire new writing? |
Photo by Abyan Athif on Unsplash
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Happy Hour: Make You and Your Writing a Priority with Motivational Mondays
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INSTRUCTOR: Angélique Jamail
TIME: Eight Mondays, June 12, 19, 26, July 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, 6:30–7:30 p.m. CST/CDT PRICE: Four weeks of Happy Hour: $60 for members, $80 for nonmembers. Eight weeks of Happy Hour: $100 for members, $120 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. LOCATION: Online via Zoom LEVEL: All Levels CAP: 15 You’re already a writer. You’ve got a manuscript of some kind you’re trying to get down on paper, but finding the time to do it in this modern life is a challenge. Or maybe you know you want to write something, but you keep getting stuck. False starts, mushy middles, and fade-outs dominate your manuscript, preventing you from making the progress you want. Do these dilemmas sound familiar? Most of us go through them at some point or another, but maybe we don’t have to. Join master teacher Angélique Jamail for a Creative Writing Happy Hour once a week to trouble-shoot whatever you’re working on and get some writing in. This is not a workshop. It’s not a class. There’s no specific homework. You won’t be given prompts (unless you ask for one) and won’t have to produce anything for formal critique. Just show up with your writing, your questions, and whatever snack or beverage you want for a one-hour Zoom session to start your week off with a creative, nurturing vibe. Each session will adhere to a basic structure:
All skill levels welcome. Writers can sign up for one month or both. |
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Short Story Intensive
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INSTRUCTOR: Patrick Stockwell
TIME: Eight Wednesdays, June 14, 21, 28, July 5, 12, 19, 26, August 2, 6:00–9:00 p.m. CST/CDT PRICE: Early bird price: $240 for members, $270 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Thursday, June 8. After Thursday, June 8: $270 for members, $300 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. LOCATION: Writespace, 1717 Michigan St, Houston, TX 77006 (map) LEVEL: All Levels CAP: 15 How many times have you sat down to commit your great story idea to the page, only to run out of steam once the muse passes you by? Many writers labor under the assumption that great work is born from a flash of inspiration. In truth, creating a successful short story takes time and multiple layers of thoughtful, focused revision. This eight week intensive will combine close readings of short fiction with a regimented weekly drafting schedule. Workshopping both in small groups and as a class, we’ll work together to help each writer accomplish a common goal: a fully developed short story built from real life experience. As part of the fun, the instructor will also participate in the process. |
Photo by Jaredd Craig on Unsplash
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Writing Erotica
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INSTRUCTOR: Cassandra Rose Clarke
TIME: Saturday, June 24, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. CST/CDT PRICE: Early bird price: $45 for members, $60 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Sunday, June 18. After Sunday, June 18: $55 for members, $70 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. LOCATION: Online via Zoom LEVEL: All Levels CAP: 15 With the rise of e-readers, interest in erotica has exploded: readers can indulge their deepest desires without worrying that the saucy cover will give everything away. And many writers are eager for the chance to try their hand at getting salacious under a pen name. This workshop will serve as a safe space for the curious to get as salacious as they want—without ignoring their writing craft. We’ll examine how sexually explicit material can serve as a mode of character development and how sexually driven plot lines allow us to push boundaries and explore societal taboos. We’ll also look at how to write that sexually explicit material itself—and how to find the balance between the poetic and the pornographic. Please note that this workshop is rated NC-17. Participants can expect to read, hear, and (if they wish) use sexually explicit language, and we will be discussing sexually explicit scenarios. Out loud. |
Photo by Dainis Graveris on Unsplash
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The Mosaic Essay: From Fragments to the Larger Picture
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INSTRUCTOR: Rebecca Spears
TIME: Saturday and Sunday, June 24 and 25, 1:00–4:00 p.m. CST/CDT PRICE: Early bird price: $85 for members, $100 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Sunday, June 18. After Sunday, June 18: $100 for members, $115 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. LOCATION: Online via Zoom LEVEL: All Levels CAP: 15 Mosaic artists assemble, from tiles in geometric shapes or irregular fragments, a larger composition. The mosaics are often stunning, especially if viewed both up close and at a distance. Just look at the public art of Antonio Gaudi or Emma Bigg. Observing the artist’s use of imagery, light and dark hues, and shiny or matte materials, we will feel a range of emotions, as we connect to the artwork. With the mosaic essay, writers assemble their own tiles and fragments of experience, memories, stories, dreams, lessons learned, found objects, unforgettable conversations, and even happenstance to create a larger picture for their readers. What is different about the mosaic essay, and part of the satisfaction in the writing, is to assemble selected segments without the traditional chronology and transitions. Instead, the essay is put together to let readers make their own connections, draw their own conclusions. In this two-day workshop, you will learn more about the mosaic essay, be introduced to workable practices, and then draft one longer essay or two short pieces. Come ready to explore the montage that is the mosaic essay. |
Photo by Giulia May on Unsplash
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Pace Yourself (Independent Study Online)
READ ME:
- Please note that Pace Yourself workshops are entirely independent. The instructor will not be reviewing work or giving feedback.
- A Discord community will be available for those who have taken the workshop and wish to interact with other writers.
- Please contact us with any questions at write@writespacehouston.org
Haven't had the time or the right schedule to take a Writespace workshop but still want to delve into the craft of writing?
We've got you covered!
Writespace is building a library of independent study workshops through Wet Ink, an online learning platform designed for writers and writing classes. Whether you have a few hours on a weeknight or only an hour at lunch, these workshops are designed for those of us who just can't get to a three-hour class on Saturday or attend the six-week workshop on Tuesday nights but still want to hone their writing craft. Pace Yourself classes will give writers instruction while also providing an opportunity to interact with guided prompts in order to help build a solid body of work.
When you purchase a Pace Yourself workshop, you will receive an invitation to Wet Ink to access the workshop. You are free to complete the content and exercises entirely at your own pace. There's no class time and no deadlines. It's only you and the work of writing!
We've got you covered!
Writespace is building a library of independent study workshops through Wet Ink, an online learning platform designed for writers and writing classes. Whether you have a few hours on a weeknight or only an hour at lunch, these workshops are designed for those of us who just can't get to a three-hour class on Saturday or attend the six-week workshop on Tuesday nights but still want to hone their writing craft. Pace Yourself classes will give writers instruction while also providing an opportunity to interact with guided prompts in order to help build a solid body of work.
When you purchase a Pace Yourself workshop, you will receive an invitation to Wet Ink to access the workshop. You are free to complete the content and exercises entirely at your own pace. There's no class time and no deadlines. It's only you and the work of writing!
JULY 2023 WORKSHOPS
Riverteeth and Heartwood: Finding the Right Images for Your Personal Essay
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INSTRUCTOR: Rebecca Spears
TIME: Saturday, July 15, 1:00–4:00 p.m. CST PRICE: Early bird price: $45 for members, $60 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Monday, July 9. After Monday, July 9: $55 for members, $70 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. LOCATION: Online via Zoom LEVEL: All Levels CAP: 15 Every tree has its heartwood, a core of supporting wood. On its exterior, each tree reveals hardened knots, formed as the tree trunk grows and swallows small branches. These gnarls grow stronger as every new layer of trunk is added. Eventually, they are as hard as ironwood. When trees that line a river or lake begin to die, their woody mass, including the heartwood, falls away, and only these gnarls remain. Water washes and polishes the burls so that they come to resemble teeth, riverteeth. Essayist David James Duncan has suggested that our significant memories are like these riverteeth. That is, while our years and experience accumulate, what remains in our memories are “shocks” of joy or grief, empathy, honesty, terror, deep longing —years after other memories have dropped away. In this workshop, you will spend some time along the edges of your experiences to examine theriverteeth, exploring the images and remembering the sometimes unexpected particulars. Youwill have a chance to work with one or several of these moments, and examine its relationship to your heartwood—core elements of your personality and perspectives. Come join with fellow writers as we hew into new materials via the riverteeth. With new images and details in mind, you will begin organizing and drafting a personal essay that will polish those riverteeth into gems, to reflect your heartwood. |
Photo by Wilhelm Gunkel on Unsplash
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Command the Room
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INSTRUCTOR: Marlena “Zen Ase” Johns
TIME: Sunday, July 16, 3:00–6:00 p.m. PRICE: Early bird price: $45 for members, $60 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Tuesday, July 11. After Tuesday, July 11: $55 for members, $70 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. LOCATION: Writespace, 1717 Michigan St, Houston, TX 77006 (map) LEVEL: All Levels CAP: 15 Unlike many others, this workshop covers skills that can enhance both creative and professional endeavors. As writers we want to hone our skills, but we sometimes forget that open mics, book readings, interviews or even meeting with potential agents or editors at conferences can be influenced and improved by taking our copy and our presence to the next level. Through interactive activities, before and after models, role play, and engaging discussions, you will discover the key elements of commanding a room with confidence and charisma. You will learn how to engage your audience, and leave a lasting impression. Whether you are a seasoned writer/presenter or just starting out, this workshop will equip you with the tools and techniques you need to elevate your influence and power in any setting. |
Photo by Kane Reinholdtsen on Unsplash
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Renew Your Love for Writing: Writing About Place
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INSTRUCTOR: Kendra Preston Leonard, Ph.D.
TIME: Saturday, July 22, 9:30 a.m - 12:30 p.m. PRICE: Early bird price: $45 for members, $60 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Monday, July 17. After Monday, July 17: $55 for members, $70 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. LOCATION: Online via Zoom LEVEL: All Levels CAP: 15 Have you ever wanted to write about the stories from your hometown or another specific place you’ve been to or lived in? The history of that Art Deco building and the people who lived in it, or maybe how your city coped during World War I? Maybe you want to dig into local history to add detail to a story you’ve already begun, or want to make sure your characters are using the right kinds of slang. In this workshop, we’ll investigate tools and techniques for writing about local history, whether from a non-fiction, fiction, or poetic point of view. You’ll learn how to use free online resources to find information from newspapers, census records, and other documents, as well as small museums, local historical societies, and other places. We’ll talk about creating characters that are in keeping with their localities, including how they speak, interact with others, and participate in local customs. This workshop is open to all writers, writing about any place. |
Photo by Kevin Hernandez on Unsplash
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Writing Faith and Doubt
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INSTRUCTOR: Catherine Vance
TIME: Two Sundays, July 23, 30, 3:00–6:00 p.m. CST PRICE: Early bird price: $85 for members, $100 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Tuesday, July 18. After Tuesday, July 18: $100 for members, $115 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here.LOCATION: Writespace, 1717 Michigan St, Houston, TX 77006 (map) LEVEL: All Levels CAP: 15 To paraphrase Oprah, “What is one thing you know for sure?” And on the other hand, what keeps you up at night, wondering what to believe or what is true? We all have struggles with faith and doubt. Answers and insights can come from our religious or spiritual traditions. They can come from literature and poetry too, or from our own thoughts and intuition. Maybe that’s the hardest thing of all, to have a knowingness that originates from within. This course welcomes perspectives from all over the map. We will be writing our spiritual inquiry, our exploration, our desire to clarify just what makes up our North Star, and/or our journey toward peace with the unknown. Join us for some existential meaning-making and journaling. Participants are asked to bring a small piece of text to share (again, it can be from the Bible or the Qur’an, from a favorite novel, poem or song…maybe it’s a quote from your mom) that either serves as a compass or is burning a question in your brain. We will look at some short passages from spiritual thinkers, respond to some prompts, talk about possible projects, and hopefully connect on the path and help light the way for one another. Catherine Vance has taught for Writespace since 2019. She is a trained interfaith chaplain who is completing her ministry studies at Iliff School of Theology in Denver. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Washington University in St. Louis and her first novel, The Mountains Under Her Feet, has just been released. |
Photo by Billy Pasco on Unsplash
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Read Like a Writer
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INSTRUCTOR: Patrick Stockwell
TIME: Saturday, July 29, 10:00 a.m – 12:00 p.m. CST PRICE: Early bird price: $45 for members, $60 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Monday, July 24. After Monday, July 24: $55 for members, $70 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. LOCATION: Writespace, 1717 Michigan St, Houston, TX 77006 (map) LEVEL: All Levels CAP: 15 In order to write well, it is important for a writer to understand why the best examples of the form are so successful. What is it that keeps the reader connected to the characters? What makes the world of the story feel so richly inhabited? Out of what materials is this beautiful piece of writing made? How do we learn to “see” the architecture of a story so that we can learn to emulate it in our own work? In this one day class, prize-winning author Patrick Stockwell will lead a focused examination of of a chapter of Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse. Topic TBD. Students will receive a PDF copy of the story upon registration and will need to read closely before class meets so that we can get right to our analysis. |
Photo by Ishaq Robin on Unsplash
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Pressing into the Dark: Writing Poetry that Heals
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INSTRUCTOR: Sarah Gajkowski-Hill
TIME: Saturday, July 29, 1:00–4:00 p.m. CST PRICE: Early bird price: $45 for members, $60 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Monday, July 24. After Monday, July 24: $55 for members, $70 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. LOCATION: Writespace, 1717 Michigan St, Houston, TX 77006 (map) LEVEL: All Levels CAP: 15 It is more important than ever, post-pandemic and in a sometimes bleak and tragic world, to write in order to heal ourselves – of anxieties, of illness, of pain. Only by confronting our darkest moments can we come out the other side. Sarah Gajkowski-Hill will lead a workshop that unabashedly confronts the darkness in our own lives and moves us through suffering, resulting in beautiful, honest poetry. We will look at some of history’s most unflinching dark works of literature and use the established stages of grief as a compass. Together, we will read, write, share, and triumph over darkness. Sarah is the author of The Job Poems, based on the Biblical Job. She is also anthologized in Connoisseurs of Suffering: Poetry on the Journey to Meaning. |
Photo by Cherry Laithang on Unsplash
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Introduction to Creative Writing
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INSTRUCTOR: Cassandra Rose Clarke
PRICE: Members $115; Nonmembers $140 LOCATION: Online via Wet Ink LEVEL: Beginners This workshop will take writers through a crash course in the three main genres of creative writing. In Fiction, you'll cover the basics of fiction (setting, character, and plot) as well the process of actually writing a story. In Creative Nonfiction, you'll look at journaling as inspiration and discuss the ins and outs of telling (mostly) true stories. And finally, in Poetry, you'll look at poetry as play, as well as spend a bit of time talking about rhyme, meter, and other poetic devices. Each genre is divided into lessons which include fundamentals, readings, and exercises to give you a solid foundation of creative writing essentials. |
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Fiction
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INSTRUCTOR: Cassandra Rose Clarke
PRICE: Members $115; Nonmembers $140 LOCATION: Online via Wet Ink LEVEL: Beginners Ready to dive into fiction? This workshop will take you through the elements of writing fiction from character to setting to structure to the ins and outs of publishing your masterpiece. Each element of fiction is divided into lessons which include fundamentals, readings, and exercises to give you a solid foundation in writing fiction. |
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