Online and In-person courses this spring: Intensive & Extreme Creative Writing, Writing Kid Lit, Writing Personal Stories, and Welcome to Creative Writing

Writing Kid Lit

Picture Books to Young Adult Novels

Online: Sunday afternoons, 1 – 3 p.m.
April 2 – May 28, 2023, {0r to June 4 if the course fills up; n0 class May 14)
Offered online and accessible from anywhere there's internet 

This course is for adults {or teens} interested in writing picture books, Chapter Books, Middle Grade books, or Young Adult novels. This course is accessible for beginners and meaty enough for advanced writers. Through lectures, in-class assignments, homework, and feedback on your writing, we’ll give you ins and outs of writing for younger readers and set you on course toward writing your own books.

We’ll have two children’s authors as guest speakers – Lana Button and Kira Vermond. Details here. 

Fee: $193.81 plus 13% hst = $219

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

Writing Personal Stories 

 ~ A wealth of writing and sharing

Online: Tuesday afternoons, 1 – 3 p.m.
April 11 –  May 30, 2023 (Or to June 6 if the course fills up)
Offered on Zoom and accessible from anywhere there's internet 

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.

Our guest speaker will be Tanya Bellehumeur-Allatt, author of the critically acclaimed memoir Peacekeeper’s Daughter. More details here.

Fee: $193.81 plus 13% hst = $219

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

Welcome to Creative Writing

 ~ Discovering your creative side

Online: Wednesday evenings, 7 – 9 p.m.
April 12 – June 7 (Or to June 14 if the course fills up)

Or

In-person: Thursday evenings, 7 – 9 p.m.
April 20 – June 15, 2023 (Or to June 22 if the course fills up. No class June 8)
St. Elizabeth’s Church, 5324 Bromley Road, Burlington, Ontario {Map here}

This is your chance to take up writing in a warm, supportive environment. We’ll explore writing short stories and writing true stories, writing in first person and in third person, writing technique and getting creative, getting down your very best writing and just for fun writing.

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: $193.81 plus 13% hst = $219

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

Intensive Creative Writing

 ~ Grow as a writer

Online ~ 3 different sessions: 

Tuesday evenings, April 18 – June 20, 2023
6:30 – 9:00 p.m
first readings sent April 11

Wednesday afternoons, April 12 – June 21, 2023
12:30 – 3:00 p.m.
first readings sent April 5

and Friday mornings, April 14 – June 23, 2023 (no class June 9); 12:30 – 3:00 p.m.; first readings sent April 7

– Still space in the Tuesday evening Intensive class. For the Wednesday afternoon or Friday morning class, email to be put on standby; a spot may open up.

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. You’ll be asked to bring in five pieces of your writing for detailed feedback, including three long 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: $255.75 + hst = $289

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

Extreme Creative Writing

 ~ For more experienced writers 

In-person: Thursday afternoons, 12:30 – 3:00 p.m
April 13 – June 22 { No class June 8}
St. Elizabeth’s Anglican Church, 5324 Bromley Road, Burlington, Ontario {Map here} 

Extreme Creative Writing is for experienced writers who have been writing for a while or who have done courses before and are working on their own projects. You’ll be asked to bring in five pieces of your writing for detailed feedback, including three long 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, we’ll have discussions on topics of interest to the class. 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: $255.75 + hst = $289

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, taught creative writing at Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan 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 reviews of Brian's various courses and workshops here (and scroll down).

See all of Brian’s upcoming weekly writing classes, one-day workshops, and weekend retreats here.