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- Please read our workshop policies before registering.
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January Workshops
Folktales and Your Own Story
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INSTRUCTOR: Shannon Winton TIME: Wednesday, January 8, 6-9 pm CST/CDT PRICE: Early bird price: $45 for members, $60 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Thursday, January 2. After Thursday, January 2: $55 for members, $70 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. LOCATION: Writespace, 1907 Sabine Street, #125, Houston, TX 77007 (map). LEVEL: All levels CAP: 15 For thousands of years people have told stories, and a classic is a classic for a reason! Join us for this workshop by author and editor Shannon Winton for a look at how using folktales can bring life to your novel. Across the world, cultures have developed themes that resonate with readers. Building upon folktales can piggyback on the success of proven stories and story structures to make your manuscript more likely to succeed. From Gilgamesh to The Odyssy, from The Four Immortals to Ananse the Trickster, let's explore ancient wisdom to enliven our stories today. Shannon Winton is a whodunit mastermind who also loves zombies and old-world monsters who has been a professional editor for over a decade and teaches workshops for the Editorial Freelancers Association to help new editors learn their trade. Shannon has a penchant for educating her authors, and likes to provide feedback that helps her authors grow and understand their genre expectations. When she’s not editing, Shannon writes under a pen name and uses the things that go bump in the night to take the piss out of the patriarchy. |
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SEO for Writers
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INSTRUCTOR: Sarah Conrad
TIME: Saturday, January 11, 1-4 pm CST/CDT PRICE: Early bird price: $45 for members, $60 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Sunday, January 5. After Sunday, January 5: $55 for members, $70 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. LOCATION: Writespace, 1907 Sabine Street, #125, Houston, TX 77007 (map). LEVEL: All levels CAP: 15 Having trouble driving traffic to your personal website or your social media accounts? Search engine optimization (SEO) can help! Explore the exciting world of SEO with Marketing Copywriter Sarah Conrad. With 6+ years of experience creating marketing copy for websites, social media, emails and more, she'll walk you through the basics of SEO writing and provide actionable insights you can implement to help your work get found. Because, after all, your writing deserves to be read! |
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Becoming Yourself: Poetry as the Voice of the Individual
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INSTRUCTOR: Katherine McDaniel
TIME: Saturday, January 11, 4:30-7:30 pm CST/CDT PRICE: Early bird price: $45 for members, $60 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Sunday, January 5. After Sunday, January 5: $55 for members, $70 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. LOCATION: Writespace, 1907 Sabine Street, #125, Houston, TX 77007 (map). LEVEL: All levels CAP: 15 Do you struggle to find a unique voice in your poetry? Do you find it hard to focus or make choices that are authentic and interesting to others? Are you shy when it comes to expressing your interior world and experience? In this workshop, we will explore the sense of self and identity as a springboard for writing poetry using a combination of writing prompts and physical exercises, alternating between centering and exploration as we seek to find an anchor that permits us to express who we are and become who we want to be. You will leave with some playful tools that help you get “out of your way” and “out of your head,” as well as strategies to improve your confidence and cultivate different ways to tell your story. |
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Blackout Poetry with Brooke Summers-Perry
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Brooke Summers-Perry Presents: Blackout Poetry in the Writespace Studio
TIME: Sunday, January 12, 1:00 p.m - 3:30 p.m. CST PRICE: $35.00 LOCATION: Writespace, 1907 Sabine Street, #125, Houston, TX 77007 (map) LEVEL: All levels CAP: 15 Blackout Poetry Practice Group · Find and maintain creative flow · Make meaningful connections · Engage in self-care and purposeful play Harvest insights and curiosities through the practice of contemplative blackout poetry. Utilizing a variety of prompts and media, this monthly practice group will invite you to find and stay in creative flow. This practice and community will help you more quickly recognize and release creative blocks and barriers, while honoring your unique challenges, path, and practices. |
Photo by Brooke Summers-Perry
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Form or Function? Exploring Schemes of Poetics
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INSTRUCTOR: Cindy Childress
TIME: Tuesday, January 14, 6-9 pm CST/CDT PRICE: Early bird price: $45 for members, $60 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Wednesday, January 8. After Wednesday, January 8: $55 for members, $70 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. LOCATION: Online Zoom LEVEL: All levels CAP: 15 Poetry can be seen as the limitless use of words to express oneself, but if so then why are there so many historical forms that have remained popular for centuries? Join poet Cindy Childress in this Writespace workshop to explore sonnets, haikus, concrete poetry and more in an effort to find the best ways to express your inner self through poetry! Are you planning on reading your poetry or using the white space of the page to play with the reader's eye? Do you have a cultural connection that you would like to explore or a historical figure you would like to emulate? We have answers! Dr. Cindy Childress supports entrepreneurs to write books that make money and make an impact. Her clients achieve bestseller status, give TEDx Talks, win book awards, sign book deals, and more. Highlights of her results in the past seven years:
She was awarded a gold American Business Award for Company of the Year: Media & Entertainment in 2022. The year before she won two gold awards with the International Business Awards 2021: Company of the Year in Business or Professional Services and Company of the Year in Media & Entertainment. She co-authored The Logical Law of Attraction with Helen Racz and was quoted in U.S. News and World Report, plus featured in Thrive Global, amongst many other publications. Cindy holds a Ph. D. in English from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. In addition to bespoke ghostwriting services, she leads online writing and editing classes and author coaching programs. She’s also a foster mom with Rescued Pets Movement and a faculty member with Writespace Houston in Texas. |
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Beginner Class - Genre Fiction
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INSTRUCTORS: Shannon Winton and A.P. Hawkins
TIME: Four Saturdays, Jan. 18 & 25 and Feb. 15 & 22, 4:30–7:30 p.m CDT PRICE: Early bird price: $210 for members, $240 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Wednesday, November 6. After Wednesday November 6: $240 for members, $270 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. LOCATION: 1907 Sabine St., #125, Houston, TX 77007 LEVEL: All levels CAP: 15 Are you curious about writing genre fiction, but don’t know where to start? Have you been wanting to take a class but haven’t found any that focus on genre fiction specifically? Look no further! In this four-week intensive course, Tomeworks editors and genre fiction experts Shannon Winton and A.P. Hawkins will cover the basics of story structure, character arcs, themes, and more, all specifically tailored to aspiring genre fiction authors. You will learn how to find your audience, manage genre expectations, and critique genre fiction like a pro! Learn from award-winning short stories by masters of genre before starting your own genre fiction journey by writing a unique piece for group critique by the class. Leave with a strong foundation in what it takes to write genre fiction. Shannon Winton is a whodunit mastermind who also loves zombies and old-world monsters who has been a professional editor for over a decade and teaches workshops for the Editorial Freelancers Association to help new editors learn their trade. Shannon has a penchant for educating authors, and likes to provide feedback that helps her authors grow and understand their genre expectations. A.P. Hawkins is a biologist turned speculative fiction author based in Houston, Texas. Her short fiction has appeared in various fiction magazines and anthologies. When she’s not writing, A.P. enjoys gaming, crafting, and spending time outdoors. You can follow her on social media (@ahawkwrites) or check out her website (aphawkinsauthor.com) for updates. |
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Read Like a Writer: James Baldwin "Sonny's Blues"
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INSTRUCTOR: Patrick Stockwell
TIME: Sunday, January 19, 4:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. CST PRICE: Early bird price: $45 for members, $60 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Monday, January 13. After Monday, January 13: $55 for members, $70 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here LOCATION: Online via Zoom LEVEL: All levels CAP: 15 Read Like a Writer is a new series presented by Writespace Writing Center that will engage with cultural literary themes of the world by travelling across the globe through the eyes of well-renown authors. Led by author Patrick Stockwell, students will gain insight into how a writer can read with intent to further their own craft and discover methods for bringing their own life experience to readers. Learning to see a story as being built out of layered components can be difficult for many writers, regardless of skill level or how many hours they’ve spent at the writing desk. It takes focus, practice, and sometimes a sort of literary “trail guide,” to begin to see how it all comes together to make a satisfying reading experience. In this monthly series, through close readings of short fiction and class discussion we’ll explore the ways authors use their creative and technical skill to create meaningful characters that capture both their culture and their place in history. Every writer builds their stories from a unique set of materials while using the same tools to bring them to life. Let Patrick guide you through each piece of fiction to show you how to “see” past a surface reading of the work and truly understand how so many pieces fit together. "Sonny's Blues" is a 1957 short story written by James Baldwin originally published in Partisan Review. The story contains the recollections of a black algebra teacher in 1950s Harlem as he reacts to his brother Sonny's drug addiction, arrest, and recovery. Patrick Stockwell is a native of Houston, Texas living and working in the Texas Hill Country. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing-Fiction from New Mexico State University. His novella, The Light Here Changes Everything, winner of the 2018 Clay Reynolds Novella Prize, was recently published by Texas Review Press. |
Pic via Wikimedia
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Narrowing your Scope for Memoir & Non-fiction
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INSTRUCTOR: Joyce Boatright
TIME: Thursday, January 23, 6-9 pm CST/CDT PRICE: Early bird price: $45 for members, $60 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Friday, January 17. After Friday, January 17: $55 for members, $70 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. LOCATION: Writespace, 1907 Sabine Street, #125, Houston, TX 77007 (map). LEVEL: All levels CAP: 15 Sprawling epic or niche examination? How big and bold should your book be? Join us in this Writespace workshop to hone in on the essential narrative you want to tell with creative exercises that you can build a manuscript off of! One of the delights of being a writer is finding strength and satisfaction in writing short—that is, in writing mini or flash pieces. And the good news is: writing flash memoir and poetry has made a comeback. In this workshop explore a short form where you write tight, focus on the details that matter, and identify the universal themes of your experience. Joyce Boatright is a writer, teacher, and storyteller with several decades of experience. Published in literary journals and anthologies, she is also the author of Telling Your Story: A Basic Guide to Memoir Writing (available at the Jung Center Bookstore, Houston). She has been teaching and writing memoir since 1991. Joyce is an active member of the writing community, holding memberships In the National Association of Memoir Writers, Story Circle Network, Writers League of Texas, and Writespace Writing Center. Visit her online at JoyceBoatright.com. |
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Authorial Voice: Take a Line for a Walk
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INSTRUCTOR: Aaron Neptune
TIME: Friday, January 24, 6-9 pm CST/CDT PRICE: Early bird price: $45 for members, $60 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Saturday, January 18. After Saturday, January 18: $55 for members, $70 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. LOCATION: Zoom LEVEL: All levels CAP: 15 Developing your voice as an author can be the strongest thing to do to differenciate yourself from the crowd. But how do you find your own? Whoever your favorite author is, they worked tirelessly to develop their individual voice as they honed their craft. Join author Aaron Neptune for this Writespace workshop designed to aid you in discovering your motivation, your influences, and your own internal spark. Teaching authorial voice is one of Neptune's favorite classes! Authorial voice as a theme is both exciting and challenging because it touches on so many elements of writing: style, tone, perspective, and even the author's own worldview. The goal of this online class is to break down the concept of authorial voice in ways that feel accessible and practical, while encouraging you to develop your own unique voice as a writer. Writers of all levels are welcome. Writing should be fun and I hope you will join us to play with voice. Aaron Neptune is an author from Aurora, Colorado and former graduate student in the Creative Writing department at University of Houston. His work shows wit and whimsy in addition to his deep character work and biting satire. |
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How to make Today into the Fantastic
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NSTRUCTOR: Tanya Aydelott
TIME: Sunday, January 26, 1-4 pm CST/CDT PRICE: Early bird price: $45 for members, $60 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Monday, January 20. After Monday, January 20: $55 for members, $70 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. LOCATION: Zoom LEVEL: All levels CAP: 15 How exciting is your day-to-day life? How much MORE exciting is the world you want to create as an author? Join speculative fiction author Tanya Aydelott in this Writespace workshop designed to draw out your life story and transform it into a world of pure imagination! From subtle twists to the world around you to reinventing yourself as a hero or heroine fighting for the fate of the universe, there are many ways to use the everyday to build a fantastic world that will resonate with readers facing the same life problems as you and illuminate contemporary life through the lens of science fiction, romance, fantasy, horror, or mystery. Tanya Aydelott is Pakistani American and spent most of her childhood in the Middle East. Since then, she has followed stories as though they were a ley line: she wrote her first fairy tale in 3rd grade, centered her undergraduate thesis on the uses of fairy tales in poetry, pursued an MA in anthropology and education (tracing stories and storytelling as an academic exercise), and finally decided to make time for her own creative writing. She earned an MFA in writing for children and young adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her short fiction has been published in FORESHADOW: Stories to Celebrate the Magic of Reading and Writing YA, Tales & Feathers Magazine, and Flash Fiction Online. |
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