This Week at The Hudson Valley Writers' Center

Our schedule of winter writing workshops is up on our website and we are taking registrations by phone (914-332-5953), e-mail, fax (914-332-4825), and regular mail (300 Riverside Drive, Sleepy Hollow, NY 10591).

MEMOIR WRITING with Susan Hodara (almost full)
8 Tuesdays, 10:15 am - 12:15 pm
January 19 - March 16 (skips February 16)
Fee: $305; returning Hodara students deduct $15

Are you compelled to write about the transforming events in your life? Do you want to record stories from your past? Are you haunted by vivid memories and drawn to explore the circumstances that surround them? Whether you are in the process of writing a memoir or just getting started, this workshop is a supportive environment where you will read your work aloud each week and receive constructive feedback. It also provides a structure to help you develop and maintain a regular writing practice. Writers of all levels, working on short pieces or book-length works, are welcome.

CREATIVE WRITING FOR AGES 11 - 14 with Charlotte Walsh
8 Tuesdays, 5:00 - 6:30 pm
January 19 - March 16 (skips February 16)
Fee $225; Walsh returnees deduct $10

Some of us like nature stories, some like fantasy, some like adventure, some like personal stories, and some of us like to write poetry. In this workshop we will tap into our experiences and let our imaginations flow. We will listen to our dreams and ideas as we explore the world around us and the world within us. We will embark on an adventure in writing, as we mold our words into stories and poems.

CREATIVE WRITING FOR THIRD, FOURTH, AND FIFTH GRADERS with Kate Gallagher and Charlotte Walsh
8 Thursdays, 4:00 - 5:30 pm
January 21 - March 18 (skips February 18)
Fee $225; Gallagher/Walsh returnees deduct $10

Each day you take in the world around you—a fly perched on a leaf, the smell of spaghetti sauce bubbling on the stove, the sound of traffic rushing by on the street outside our window. How do use these things to create stories and poems? This class will help stimulate your senses, imagination, and emotions, and allow you to try out various writing techniques and share ideas in a comfortable atmosphere. (Note that some sessions will be taught by Kate Gallagher and others will be taught by Charlotte Walsh.)

Our LEARNING TO SEE™: CREATIVE WRITING FOR TEENS AGE 14+ with Brenda Connor-Bey
beginning January 23 is currently full, but you can call or e-mail to be added to the waiting list and we will contact you if a space opens up.

HOW TO WRITE PAGE-TURNING FICTION with Joanne Dobson
6 Thursdays, 7 - 9 pm
January 28 - March 18 (skips February 18 & March 11)
Fee: $235; returning Dobson students deduct $10

We've all done it, stayed awake until three a.m. compulsively turning pages until we finish the book or our eyes betray us and we fall asleep. How do writers grab us like that and not let go? As writers ourselves we can learn from literary techniques of popular genres how to keep the story moving in a compelling fashion. Whether we write about the everyday dramas of ordinary life or the extreme situations of the detective novel or the pulse-pounding thriller, our work will benefit from consideration of how to develop compelling and sympathetic protagonists, disquieting antagonists, a unique voice, well-considered plots, conflict and tension. Our characters may or may not be seeking the Holy Grail, but everyday life with its quiet agonies and quiet satisfactions is equally sacred to the writer of intelligent fiction—and equally deserving of that special magic it takes to keep the reader turning "just one more page."

SEX! HORROR! MYSTERY! (SERIOUSLY) A multi-genre workshop for adventurous writers with with David Surface
7 Saturdays, 10:30 am - 12:30 pm
January 30 - March 20 (skips February 13)
Fee: $270; returning Surface students deduct $10

In this craft-based, multi-genre workshop we will explore practical techniques for incorporating "erotic", "horror" and "mystery" elements into your writing. We'll investigate the phenomenon of "slipstream fiction" in which writers experiment with the elements of erotica, horror and mystery to create an entirely new genre. You'll discover (if you didn't already know) that sex doesn't have to be a dirty word in your fiction, that not every horror story needs vampires or serial killers, and that the most compelling mysteries aren't always solved by detectives (and sometimes don't even have to be solved at all).

Whether you're a nonfiction author, memoirist, or novelist, and whether you have a book almost finished or merely a concept for one, this 6 week class will help you get to know your book—what it is about, how to structure it, how to finish it! You'll learn a step-by-step plan (including timetables, chapter grids, story-boarding, and other techniques) and ways to flow chapters, find holes in your material that need filling, organize research and concepts, and construct plots. You'll also learn how to package your book for agents and publishers and gain essential tips on editing and evaluating your book at all stages.

ESSAYING NONFICTION with Peter Bricklebank
6 Thursdays, 12:30 - 2:30 pm
February 4 - March 18 (skips February 18)
Fee: $235

Note: This workshop will take place at 57 River Street, Sleepy Hollow.

None of us go through a day without worry or exultation, finding ourselves amused, bemused, abused or obtuse. We reflect, and this consideration of ourselves and our world is at the heart of nonfiction writing. Essai (from the French) means "an attempt, to try"--not necessarily to reach conclusions or find answers to issues of experience, but simply to ponder them. Whether you're writing memoir (making sense of the past), travel or nature writing (seeking to understand the kaleidoscopic world around us), or you're the quintessential contrarian essayist (mining the marvelously quirky self for what it shows of the riches of human nature), this is an ongoing workshop, both engaged and playful, for experimenting with new material, revamping that manuscript that has lain too long, and coming to see how nonfiction, like fiction, reveals truths that reality obscures.

WRITING OUR LIVES: A CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOP FOR VETERANS with David Surface
6 Tuesdays, 6:00 - 8:00 pm
February 23; March 2, 9, 16, 23 & 30
Note: This workshop is a Big Read program co-sponsored by The Hudson Valley Writers' Center, ArtsWestchester, and Fordham Westchester and is free to armed forces veterans.

Note: This workshop will take place at Fordham Westchester, 400 Westchester Avenue, West Harrison, NY.

We all have stories inside us. But when we try to put them on paper, something stops us. Fortunately, there are tools we can use to break through those barriers. In this workshop, you’ll learn useful techniques for turning your memories into stories that will come to life on paper (or your computer screen). We’ll share our writing in an honest and supportive group setting and help you write the stories that only you can write.

WRITING CHILDREN'S BOOKS AND STORIES with Elizabeth Sachs
4 Wednesdays, 1:30 - 3:30 pm
March 3 - March 24
Fee: $155; returning Sachs students deduct $10

Note: This workshop will take place at 57 River Street, Sleepy Hollow.

Develop a strong narrative voice and distinctive style when writing for readers from middle grade to young adult. In this intensive course, unique writing exercises will help writers, both the inexperienced and the skilled, explore their writing strengths. Each session will focus on a different aspect of writing. Information about being published will also be addressed.

HOW TO WRITE BOOKS THAT A CHILD OR TEENAGER WANTS TO READ with Marthe Jocelyn
2 Fridays, 9:30 am - 1:00 pm
March 19 & 26
Fee: $135; returning Jocelyn students deduct $10

Note: This workshop will take place at 57 River Street, Sleepy Hollow.

It's harder than you think! This two-part workshop will help you get started or look with fresh eyes at work already in progress. We'll address points unique to writing for young readers, from board books for toddlers to teen literature, as well as essential aspects of any manuscript: voice, character, plot and point-of-view. Stories submitted in advance* will be critiqued in class and students will go away inspired with a plan for what to do next!
*students may submit up to 3 pages of a work in progress no later than one week prior to the first class.

NOTE: Marthe Jocelyn will also review work (separate from that discussed in class) of up to 20 pages in advance of the class and meet with you for a 20-minute one-on-one session by appointment following class. Fee for the manuscript review and one-on-one session is $75.

Additionally, we are offering the following workshops onsite at Pelham Art Center:

MEMOIR WRITING with Susan Hodara
8 Thursdays, 7:00 - 9:00 pm at Pelham Art Center, 155 Fifth Avenue, Pelham, NY
Feb 25; March 4, 11, 18, 25; April 8, 15, 22
Fee: $305; returning Hodara students deduct $15

FICTION WRITING with David Surface
5 Tuesdays, 7:00 - 9:00 pm at Pelham Art Center, 155 Fifth Avenue, Pelham, NY
April 6, 13, 20, 27, May 4
Fee: $195; returning Surface students deduct $10

CREATIVE WRITING FOR AGES 11 - 14 with Charlotte Walsh

Additional workshops may be added to the schedule, so check our website periodically for up-to-date information.

Register for a workshop at the Writers' Center or Pelham Art Center by going to www.writerscenter.org and clicking on Classes & Workshops. You can also register for a workshop by calling us at 914-332-5953.