Writing Workshops

Structure Workshop for Fiction Writers
Discover what's driving your plot, develop your story's three acts, and learn how to create exciting openings, middles, and conclusions.  Next, tap into the universal language of myths with Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey. Finally, discover how to structure a story at the sentence-level.
Fee: $70  Reg Fee: $6  Total: $76
Senior Adult Fee: $40  Reg Fee: $6  Total: $46
ANE 267 L   Sat   10am-12pm   June 2-16   J Castillo   Valley Mall 3

Online Writing Courses

Online Nonfiction Writing Workshop
Here's the launch pad for your book! You've got a great idea for a nonfiction book now you're ready to flesh out your idea and make sure it's properly positioned in the commercial marketplace. This interactive Blackboard workshop gives you the flexibility to develop your book project around your busy schedule. In this hands-on workshop, you'll have an opportunity to structure your book, build a marketing plan, craft the main parts of your proposal, and get feedback on your writing. Whether your project belongs in how-to, self-help, memoirs, or any other commercial nonfiction category, we'll equip you with the knowledge to find the right publisher, land a contract, and make your book a success!  Please contact the instructor Julie Castillo, jmwriterslife@aol.com if you have questions concerning this class.
Fee: $96  Senior Adult Fee: $56
ANE 261 L   June 4 - July 27   J Castillo

Online Course! Fiction Writing
This interactive online course gives you the flexibility to develop the craft of fiction around your busy schedule. Learn all the elements of great fiction: from character, motivation, and conflict to structure, setting and scene-writing. Practice your hand at crafting dialogue, writing gorgeous sentences, showing instead of telling, and revising your work to commercial writing standards.  Work through each week's subject modules at your own pace. Post your work on discussion boards for feedback from fellow students. We will also discuss the business of writing with a step-by-step guide to getting published! This course is taught by a professional writer, editor, and writing consultant with 15 years, experience in the publishing industry. Please contact instructor Julie Castillo, jmwriterslife@aol.com if you have questions concerning this class.
Fee: $96  Senior Adult Fee: $56
ANE 099 L   June 4 - July 27   J Castillo

Previously offered courses

Fiction Writing Workshop
So you've always dreamed of writing a novel? Or have you already published a few pieces and you're looking to take your writing further? In this hands-on workshop, you'll learn all the elements of great fiction: from character, motivation, and conflict to structure, setting and scene-writing. Practice your hand at crafting dialogue, writing gorgeous sentences, showing instead of telling, and revising your work to commercial writing standards. We'll also discuss the business of writing with a step-by-step guide to getting published! This course is taught by a professional writer, editor, and writing consultant with 15 years' experience in the publishing industry.
Fee: $86 Senior Adult Fee: $51

How to Publish Your Book
Whether you've got the first spark of an idea or a finished manuscript, in this workshop you'll gain the tools you need to publish your book. Discover how to groom your book to fit an established market. Learn how to find the right publisher (traditional, POD, E-publisher, yourself), write an attention-grabbing query letter, outline or synopsis, and manage the submission process. Find out what to expect, and what to look out for when it's contract-signing time. Learn how to promote yourself once your book is out. Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, if your goal is to get published, this workshop is for you!
Fee: $26

Discover Yourself As a Fiction Writer
You've always wanted to try it - but you're afraid you aren't any good. The thought of letting someone else read your work makes your toenails curl. Every time you sit down to create your masterpiece, you get writer's block. This class is for that budding novelist inside you who just needs a chance to get started. Find your voice, your category, your talent. Learn how to hone your craft, outfox writer's block, and be creative on your own terms. Walk out of this class with the confidence and direction you need to dive into your first story!
Fee: $26

Getting Started in Writing
There's a book inside you - you may have known that for years. But how do you take it from the initial spark of an idea to a finished manuscript? Then, once it's finished, how do you get it into the hands of a publisher? This class explores the creative processes, working methods, and business aspects of being a writer. It's designed to get you started on your first project, whether you write fiction or nonfiction.
Fee: $26

Character Writing for Fiction Writers
Want to bring your stories to life with unforgettable fictional characters? In this three-session workshop, you'll create and develop richly detailed characters with the necessary elements to go the distance. Create "starter" characters from your own well-stocked storehouse of personal experiences, news stories, images, artifacts, and music. Next, give your characters a vivid inner life by borrowing character development tools from psychology such as the Johari Window, the Myers-Briggs personality matrix, VAKT Learning Styles, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, and more. Finally, develop your character's back story, that gold mine of detailed information you can tap into whenever inspiration runs dry. Discover your characters - family history, sociocultural background, and much more. You'll leave this class ready to write! (This class is comprised of the three classes previously offered as Creating Characters I, II, and III.)
Fee: $81  Senior Adult Fee: $41

Online Fiction Factory for Teens
Learn to write stories ONLINE! This eight-week class gives you the nuts and bolts of great fiction in a class that fits your busy schedule. We'll have weekly exercises, discussions, and assignments plus THREE FACE-TO-FACE MEETINGS held in the HCC Valley Mall Training Center, Room 2. Meeting I: Tues., Feb. 28 from 7pm-8:30pm, Meeting II: Tues., Mar. 20 from 7pm-8:30pm, Meeting III: Tues., Apr. 17 from 7pm-8:30pm. For part of each week's assignments, you'll work on an original short story to share with classmates during our final meeting session. Topics include: character, conflict, setting, structure, dialogue, and secrets to writing gorgeous sentences plus tips on getting published! Please contact the instructor Julie Castillo, jmwriterslife@aol.com if you have questions concerning this course.
Fee: $122

For more information, contact Anne Myers at 240-500-2582, or e-mail acmyers@hagerstowncc.edu.