Spring classes starting soon: “Welcome to Creative Writing,” “Writing Personal Stories & Other Nonfiction,” “Intensive Creative Writing,” and “{Not so} Extreme Creative Writing”

“Welcome to Creative Writing”

 ~ Discover your creative side

     ~ Offered both online and in-person

Online: Monday evenings, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
April 15 – June 17, 2024 (or to June 24 if the course fills up. No class May 20 or June 10)

Or

In-person: Thursday evenings, 7 – 9 p.m.
April 18 – May 30, 2024 (Or to June 13 if the course fills up. No class June 6)
Burlington Anglican Lutheran Church, 3455 Lakeshore Rd, 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

“Writing Personal Stories & Other Nonfiction”

~ A treasure trove of writing, learning, and         sharing

Online: Monday afternoons, 1 – 3 p.m., April 15 – June 17 (Or to June 24 if the course fills up. No class May 20 or June 10)

If you want to write any kind of true story, this course is for you. Personal stories will be front and centre – we’ll look at memoirs, travel writing, personal essays, family history – but we’ll also look at writing feature articles, creative nonfiction and other more informational writing. 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.

Guest speaker Kira Vermond is an award-winning writer with over 2,000 articles to her name. She has been a frequent contributor to the Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, CBC and Today's Parent. 

Kira is the author of seven nonfiction books for young readers, including: Trending: How and Why Stuff Gets Popular, a book that digs into the psychology and fallout of fads and that makes kids think. At the class, Kira will talk about the art of writing and pitching feature stories and nonfiction books. {Yes, nonfiction for kids and grownups goes through much the same process.} 

Visit Kira’s website for her kids’ books here, her website for her journalism and copywriting here, and see links to many of her articles {for grown-ups} here.

Fee: $220.35 plus 13% hst = $259

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

“Intensive Creative Writing”

Offered online at 3 different times:

Tuesday evenings 6:30 – 9:00
March 19 to June 18, 2024 (no class April 23 or June 11). First readings emailed March 12.

Wednesday afternoons, 12:30 – 3:00
March 20 – June 19, 2024 {No class April 10 or June 5}. First readings emailed March 13

Friday mornings 10:00 – 12:30
March 22 – June 21, 2024 (No class April 5 or June 7). First readings emailed March 15

Intensive Creative Writing isn't for beginners; it's for people who  are working on their own writing projects. You’ll be asked to bring in several 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: $292.04 + hst = $330

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

“{Not so} Extreme Creative Writing”

 ~ For more experienced writers 

In-person: Thursday afternoons, 12:30 – 3:00 p.m.
March 21 – June 13, 2024 {or to June 20 if it fills up. No class April 4 or June 6}
First readings emailed March 14.
Burlington Anglican Lutheran Church, 3455 Lakeshore Rd, Burlington, Ontario (Map here)

Extreme Creative Writing isn't like an extreme sport – it doesn't demand something crazy – but it is meant for writers 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 a few pieces of your writing for detailed feedback, including a couple longish 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: $292.04 + hst = $330

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. But his proudest boast is that he’s has helped many of his students get published.   

Read reviews and other pieces about 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.

Note: You can now get new postings on Quick Brown Fox delivered straight to your Inbox as I publish them. Subscribe to the new Quick Brown Fox page on Substack here:  https://brian999.substack.com/