Current Workshops

Writing Workshops for Everyone

We offer a variety of ongoing, weekly workshops to encourage you in your writing practice and explore craft topics, and one-day or half-day workshops packed with craft tips—all taught by experienced WIP faculty. Our online workshops offer the same quality instruction, intimate community and inspiration as our in-person workshops.

Half-day and Full-day workshops

Morning Jumpstarts, with Dori Ostermiller

Even the most seasoned writers have difficulty carving out time and summoning inspiration. This popular, productive morning workshop provides quiet, structured writing time among peers, some fabulous prompts to get you rolling, thoughtful, encouraging feedback on your work, and inspiring advice and craft tips. If you’re longing to make serious headway on your projects, or looking for a shot in the arm in a supportive community of writers, come Jumpstart your writing this season! Sells out fast! Online and in-person options.

Tues, Thurs, or Friday mornings, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.; 10-week summer session starts week of May 28 ($425)

Writing Down the Moon: A Poetry Workshop, with Sarah Browning

Our lives might be busy, our minds distracted. But once a week, for eight Wednesday mornings, we will hone our powers of attention, learning to distill poetry from the magic of our senses. Participants are writers of all levels who want to deepen their understanding of the elements of poetry–image, line-break, music, form–and practice the beauty and challenge of placing the poem on the page. In a supportive atmosphere, we’ll generate new work together, responding to exercises the workshop leader brings, and receive encouraging feedback from the group.

Wednesdays, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., 8-week winter session begins February 21st ($325)

Crafting Your Memoir, with Cathy Luna

This eight-week generative online craft workshop is intended for writers who want to explore a variety of memoir-specific craft challenges. These include creating dual narrative voices; the challenges of writing about real people in your life; dealing with characterization in memoir; ‘inventing’ dialogue for scenes when you may not remember precisely what was said; handling memory (or lack thereof); navigating narrative time; and believing in and owning your story. In addition to a brief weekly craft lesson, each class will include writing prompts, time for participants to generate new writing or revise existing work, and time for sharing and responding to in-class writing.

Wednesdays, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.; 8-week session begins March 20th ($325)

Writing from Life, with Emily Lackey

No matter what we write, our experiences, observations, and inclinations are the greatest inspiration and fodder for our work. In this weekly generative workshop, writers will receive a series of prompts to help them tap into their deepest material and move them into a sustained period of writing. Afterward, we’ll have the opportunity to share our work and receive thoughtful feedback from the group.

Mondays or Wednesdays, 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.; 10-week session begins the week of April 29th ($395)

Resistant Writers’ Support Group, with Sarah Browning

We all know that resistance takes many forms but is really fear in disguise. Fear of failure. Fear of the uphill slog. Fear of vulnerability or exposure, And the only thing that helps most writers overcome that fear is having a schedule, manageable goals, and the support of other writers. That’s why we created the Resistant Writers’ Support Group. For three hours a week, writers will come together online to blast through resistance and get the work done. Minimal sharing/feedback. This group is perfect for anyone with a longer writing project who craves productive writing time, accountability, inspiration, and encouragement. ONLINE

Mondays, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.; 7-week session begins May 6th ($295)

The Art and Craft of the Personal Essay, with Emily Lackey

At its heart, the personal essay is one of the most powerful vehicles for illuminating a universal theme through the writer’s intimate, lived experience. But the essay can take a myriad of different forms, and can be daunting to master. In this workshop, writers will closely read a number of effective essays, examining the elements that make them powerful and, ultimately, impossible not to publish. Each month, we’ll read and analyze two essays of a single form—lyric essays, graphic essays, hermit crab essays, and personal reportage—discuss what makes the pieces work, and try our hand at each.

This workshop meets on June 6th, July 11th, August 1st, and September 5th, from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. ($195)

Half-Day & Full-Day Workshops

Embodied Dialogue, with Kira Rockwell

Writers for the stage and screen write dialogue for actors who embody those words to tell a story. It is through the actor’s embodiment that the dialogue is imbued with greater emphasis and meaning. But writers of any genre can employ embodied dialogue techniques–such as movement, tempo, and behavior–to enhance and activate the speech of their characters. This craft based, generative seminar gives you the opportunity to learn and practice new skills through in-class writing exercises, group discussion, and close readings of embodied dialogue

Saturday, April 20th; 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. ($75)

On Retreat: A One-Day Writing Retreat, with Emily Lackey

Time is what every writer seems to crave and lack the most. No matter how many promises or writing dates we make with ourselves, so many things get in the way: families to care for, appointments to keep, houses to clean, streaming platforms to distract. In this all-day retreat, writers will come together at our peaceful and inspiring Florence, MA studio for a full day of writing. No interruptions! Feed your creativity, boost your productivity, find inspiration, and build community.

Saturday, May 4th, 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. ($70)

Designing Your Writing Life, with Jacqueline Sheehan

Using seven key guidelines, we will spend the morning exploring and strategizing the practical and emotional resistance to writing that gets in our way. Experimenting with some writing prompts, we’ll air out negative voices and self-sabotaging behaviors, chart practical solutions for prioritizing our goals, and design a plan for a positive and achievable writing practice.

Saturday, May 18th; 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. ($75)

How to Write a Riveting, Character-Driven Tale, with Kira Rockwell

Some say that there are two kinds of stories, plot driven, and character driven. Others argue that any plot worth reading must be driven by the desires, dilemmas and choices of the characters. But following your characters through a story can sometimes feel like hiking through an unfamiliar forest with no map. Along the character-driven route, doubt and insecurity may creep in. When characters take the lead, it can feel like not enough happens, resulting in roadblocks, sinkholes, or even author abandonment. This workshop will teach you powerful character-driven craft techniques for each stage of the writing process.

Saturday, July 13th; 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. ($75)

Community Writing Workshops

Community Writing Instructors:

December 5th: Tzivia Gover

January 7th: Emily Lackey

February 4th: Susanne Dunlap

March 3rd: Michael Mercurio

April 7th: Anna Hogeland

May 5th: Dori Ostermiller

Community Writing Workshops—Now Online!

Come join us for a morning of writing among peers! After a short warm up, we’ll engage in a sustained writing period in response to a variety of prompts. We’ll share some of our work and receive supportive feedback. Rotating instructors. A great way to jumpstart your writing projects! Suggested donation of $10.

First Sunday of every month, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m

Please use the form to the right to RSVP for our Community Writing Workshops. All Community Writing workshops will be held online for the foreseeable future.

Manuscript Intensive Series, with Dori Ostermiller

“I never would have completed my manuscript without the structure of this group and Dori’s loving guidance. She holds an incredibly safe, nurturing yet critically honest space for creativity and the pages to emerge. It’s impossible to measure the value of this program!”

Carla Savetsky

Writing a book in isolation can feel like climbing Mt. Everest with no oxygen and no guide! In order to support and guide writers through this daunting task, we offer the Manuscript Intensive Series, a year-long program for writers with prose manuscripts in progress that call for critical response and new writing. Writers can be working on novels, short story collections, memoirs or essay collections. This group will provide the structure, support, inspiration and critical feedback to help writers complete a book-length manuscript.

This is serious work that gets books written! Dozens of finished manuscripts have emerged from this process, and many have gone on to publication, including Dinah Mack’s Pirates of Cologne, Dusty Miller’s Alice Ott Mystery Series, Ruth Lehrer’s Being Fishkill, JoAnne Jones’s Headstrong, Steve Bernstein’s Stories from the Stoop, and Dori’s Outside the Ordinary World, among many others…