Online Writing Classes

Now is the time to kickstart your writing!

Each season welcomes a new batch of talented teachers and developing writers from all over the world. The Adirondack Center for Writing’s online classes are easy for you to participate in from your own computer. All you need to participate is a web browser — there’s no technical software involved, so you can work whenever is convenient for you. An interactive workshop is at the heart of each class. Every student will receive personal feedback from the instructor on their weekly assignments. We welcome any level of writer to join the online writing classes, and offer courses for a variety of genres. Visit the FAQ page for more info about the online writing classes.

Upcoming Classes

[January 15 – February 12, 2018]

#1: The Promise of a Good Story: Writing Middle Grade and Young Adult Novels

Teacher. Chris Tebbetts [Bio]

Description. What makes a good story? What makes a good story for young readers? How are those questions the same, and how are they different?

This five-week class will include discussion of story’s building blocks, including character, setting, plot, and voice, as well as the writing process itself. Participants should come prepared to work on an existing novel for young readers or to begin writing a new one.

The goal of this class will be to spark creative thinking and discussion; to share responses to each other’s work, with an emphasis on the positive; and to move each writer a step closer to the completion of his or her respective novel. If there is interest, we will also schedule a short follow-up workshop later in the year, to see where our individual stories have taken us.

#2: Essay Associated: Experiments in Creative Nonfiction

Teacher. Jessica Hendry Nelson [Bio]

About. Creative nonfiction narratives are having a cultural moment, not just because they reflect modern and dialogically complex experiences, but because they give writers and readers an avenue through which to push against the boundaries of the lived metaphor.

By experimenting with a variety of forms in creative nonfiction, the writer can activate wonder by juxtaposing conflicting or adjacent narrative elements, often without transitions, creating threads of meaning across seemingly disparate ideas. A beast by many names, these new forms are also referred to as collage, montage, lyric, segmented, hermit crab, braided, etc.

Writers may blend prose and poetry; fact and fiction; memoir and science; playwriting and poetry—finding innovative structures to best support a-linear storytelling. In this 5-week workshop, we’ll read, analyze, and write short creative nonfiction narratives that rely on poetic prose and unconventional structures—including lyric, braided, and hermit crab memoirs—and harness the power of vivid imagery, dialectical movement, and specificity.

Registration & Payment

To register for an ACW online writing class, click here or register below.

Cost per five week course is $120 for ACW members and $170 for non-members. Payable by credit card or check sent to Adirondack Center for Writing, P.O. Box 956, Saranac Lake, New York 12983.

• ACW Member: $120
• Non-Member: $170

 Previously Offered Courses