April Online Class: Those First Few Lines - A Workshop on Openings
Instructor: Timons Esaias
Read all the details and register at this link:
Those First Few Lines - A Workshop on Openings w/Timons Esaias - 4/1/2025
Course Details
You already know how a story starts, you've seen hundreds of them. Still, it can be intimidating, so we'll review four key methods. We'll actually try them out on your current project, so you'll leave with more possibilities than you can use.
The four methods we'll use are Begin at the End, Drop the Reader in the Middle, The Dramatic Line, and Nailing Down the Premise. Some field recons will be suggested, and personal feedback will be provided.
All genres of fiction, from Literary to Horror, are welcome. Except stories about the sport of competitive anemone painting. Nobody needs that.
June Online Class: Those Last Few Paragraphs - A Workshop on Endings
Instructor: Timons Esaias
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Those Last Few Paragraphs - A Workshop on Endings w/Timons Esaias - 6/3/2025
Course Details
The First Truth of Endings is that in rough draft they never work. So now what do you do? And what if you can't even figure out how to get there??? Timons will address this difficult part of storytelling. We'll deploy arcs, the MICE Quotient, genre expectations, emblems and emotional payoffs.
Some field recons will be suggested, and personal feedback will be provided.
Oh, and please come with several of your favorite book/story endings to share. Your favorite endings are a key to your own aesthetic, so we'll pay attention to what they tell us.
Participants should be prepared to write sketch versions of various things during the presentation.
July Online Class: From Page to Screen: Crafting Visual Stories
Instructor: Diana Botsford
Read all the details and register at this link:
From Page to Screen: Crafting Visual Stories w/Diana Botsford - 7/8/2025
Course Details
This intensive 4-week screenwriting course is designed for writers transitioning from prose to screenplays. It focuses on crafting compelling action descriptions, mastering pacing, and developing strong characters within the unique constraints of the screenplay format. Participants will learn to create vivid, cinematic scenes through carefully chosen words and will develop the first act of their screenplay. The course combines on-demand lectures, asynchronous writing exercises, and weekly workshops to provide a comprehensive learning experience.
September Online Class: The Way of All Flash
Instructor: Timons Esaias
Find all the details here:
The Way of All Flash with Timons Esaias - 9/2/2025
Course Details:
Flash fiction is a writer's playground, and a useful training ground. You can experiment with a style, while committing to only a page or two. You can learn, through concentrated effort, what is, and what isn't, story. And as you practice, there are markets waiting for the product. This workshop will define several types of flash fiction and how they are structured, and let you try your hand. More importantly, it will teach you how to define other types, and turn the definitions into action plans. Students will be encouraged to focus on facing their weaknesses: by inventing stories that will exercise those specific, flabby writing muscles. And the instructor will give private critiques of at least three flash pieces.