Creative Writing Courses: Introductory, Personal Stories, The Next Step, and Intensive,

Welcome to Creative Writing

9 weeks of discovering your creative side

Thursday evenings, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

September 26 – November 28, 2019 (No class Oct 31)

Oakville Central Library, 120 Navy Street, Oakville, Ontario (Map here)

This is your chance to take up writing in a warm, supportive environment. This course will open the door to writing short stories and writing dialogue, writing in first person and writing in third person, writing just for fun and writing all kinds of things. 

You’ll get a shot of inspiration every week and an assignment to keep you going till the next class. Best of all, this class will provide a zero-pressure, totally safe setting, where your words will grow and flower.

Fee:  $176.11 plus 13% hst = $199

To reserve your spot, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Writing Personal Stories

9 weeks of sharing and writing

Offered in two locales:

Thursday afternoons, 12:45 – 2:45 p.m.

September 26 – November 28, 2019 (No class Oct 31)

St. Elizabeth's Anglican Church, 5324 Bromley Rd, Burlington, Ontario (Map here.)

And

Friday afternoons, 1:15 – 3:15 p.m.

September 27 – November 29, 2019 (no class Nov 1)

Glenview Church, Bethlehem Room, 1 Glenview Ave,  Toronto, Ontario (Map here.)

If you've ever considered writing your personal stories, this course is for you. We’ll look at memoirs, travel writing, personal essays, family history ~ personal stories of all kinds. Plus, of course, we’ll work on creativity and writing technique and have fun doing it. 

Whether you want to write a book or just get your thoughts down on paper, this weekly course will get you going. We'll reveal the tricks and conventions of telling true stories, and we’ll show you how to use the techniques of the novel to recount actual events. Weekly writing exercises and friendly feedback from the instructor will help you move forward on this writing adventure. Whether you want to write for your family and friends or for a wider public, don't miss this course.

Fee: $167.26 plus 13% hst = $189

To reserve your spot, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Next Step in Creative Writing

10 weeks of growth as a writer

Note: Now waiting list only for the fall course, but this will be offered again on Tuesday afternoons in Burlington starting in December. Email me now to reserve your spot at brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Tuesday afternoons, 12:30 – 2:45

September 24 – Dec 10. (no class Oct 8 or Nov 5)

First readings emailed Sept 17

St. Elizabeth's Anglican Church, 5324 Bromley Rd, Burlington, Ontario (Map here.)

The Next Step in Creative Writing is for people who have been writing for a while or who have done a course or two before and are working on their own projects. Over the ten weeks of classes, you’ll be asked to bring in five pieces of your writing for detailed feedback. All your pieces may be from the same work, such as a novel in progress, or they may be stand alone pieces. You bring whatever you want to work on. 

Besides critiquing pieces, the instructor will give short lectures addressing the needs of the group, and in addition to learning how to critique your own work and receiving constructive suggestions about your writing, you’ll discover that the greatest benefits come from seeing how your classmates approach and critique a piece of writing and how they write and re-write. This is a challenging course, but extremely rewarding.

Fee: $184.96 + 13% hst = $209

To reserve your spot, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Intensive Creative Writing

12 intense weeks of writing & critiquing

Note: Now waiting list only for the fall Intensive courses, but they'll be offered again on Wednesday evenings in Burlington and Friday mornings in Toronto starting in December. Email me now to reserve your spot at brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Offered in two locations:

Wednesday evenings, 6:45 – 9:00 p.m.
September 18 – December 11 (no class Oct 9)

First reading emailed Sept 11

St. Alban's Church, 537 Main Street, Georgetown, Ontario (in the village of Glen Williams (Map here.)

And

Friday mornings, 10:15 – 12:30

September 20 – December 13 (no class Nov 1)

First reading emailed Sept 13

Glenview Church, Bethlehem Room, 1 Glenview Ave, Toronto, Ontario (Map here.)

Intensive Creative Writing isn't for beginners; it's for people who have been writing for a while or who have done a course or two before and are working on their own projects. Over the twelve weeks of classes, you’ll be asked to bring in five pieces of your writing for detailed feedback – including three longer pieces. All your pieces may be from the same work, such as a novel in progress, or they may be stand alone pieces. You bring whatever you want to work on. 

Besides critiquing pieces, the instructor will give short lectures addressing the needs of the group, and in addition to learning how to critique your own work and receiving constructive suggestions about your writing, you’ll discover that the greatest benefits come from seeing how your classmates approach and critique a piece of writing and how they write and re-write. This is a challenging course, but extremely rewarding.

Fee: $229.20 + 13% hst = $259

To reserve your spot, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Instructor Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years. He publishes Quick Brown Fox, Canada's most popular blog for writers, teaches creative writing at Ryerson University and has led workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Sarnia to Saint John. Brian is the author of a children’s version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Tribute Publishing). But his proudest boast is that he’s has helped many of his students get published. 

Read a review of Brian's various courses and workshops here (and scroll down).

See Brian’s complete current schedule here, including writing workshops, weekly writing classes, and weekend retreats in, Bolton, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Collingwood, Cambridge, Georgetown, Georgina, Guelph, Hamilton, Jackson’s Point, Kingston, Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Midland, Mississauga, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Saint John, NB, Sudbury, Toronto, Windsor, Woodstock, Halton, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York Region, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.