Use your writing to present a solid, cohesive message to your target audience. Understand how marketing principles can be applied to written communication to make you and your copy come alive. Complete your registration online: ed2go.com/mplscommed. New class sessions begin monthly.

*** May 13th has been added as a skip date - Class length has been shortened by 1 date, price has been lowered to reflect this change.**** Creating a writing habit takes practice and patience. Explore your creativity with other writers, set goals, write from a variety of prompts and share new writing in a supportive environment. This is NOT a critique class. Open to creative writers of all levels.

Designed specifically for those with little to no fiction writing experience, find your pathway towards your fiction writing goals. Learn the basic building blocks of story: character, plot and setting. Then find out the different forms of fiction writing and some of the genres you might like to explore. Whether you’ve never written a word of fiction, or haven’t written since high school or college, you will complete the course with the skills you need to get started. Create a new work of fiction, or revive an old one that’s been sitting in your bottom drawer. Courses are online and asynchronous, meaning students may login to the classroom anytime during the course session, day or night, 24/7. For more information, go to our Online Professional Development Certificates & Courses FAQ Class details: Unit 1: The building blocks of story Character Conflict Setting Plot and story structure Short story versus novel Who are we writing for? Unit 2: Character and conflict Protagonists and antagonists Secondary characters Character archetypes Character desires, conflicts and stakes Dialogue Unit 3: Setting and plot Contemporary versus fantastical and historical settings Setting as character Three act plot structure and the hero’s journey Time jumps and flashbacks Prologues and epilogues Unit 4: Putting it all together Strategies for outlining Character-driven versus plot-driven outlines Overcoming writer’s block Researching markets Creating a marketing plan

Do you think you're a budding Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, August Wilson, or Lorraine Hansberry? Come join us to explore your idea for your play. It might be an ensemble piece or a one-person performance piece. We will listen to each other's ideas, brainstorm our ideas, and write and workshop five or more pages you've written on the day of the last class. You will also learn playwrighting format.

This seven-session workshop is designed for beginning and early-career writers who want to craft a compelling short story and understand what comes next. Students will learn key elements of short fiction, draft and workshop the opening of their own story, and gain guidance on giving and receiving constructive feedback. By the end of the class, participants will leave with revised pages, a stronger writing community, and a clear sense of where and how to submit their finished work.

Join us on a journey through the world of creative writing! Explore fiction, non-fiction, and poetry while experimenting with various forms of writing. Engage in collaborative workshops and unleash your imagination through the power of words

Learn how to find and craft the honest, hilarious, painful and transformative true stories in your own everyday life in this encouraging and participatory workshop. Through discussion, writing exercises and even a little improv, we’ll focus on the definition of “story” and the essential building blocks that make up a story: identifying conflict and dramatic arc; bringing scenes to life with action, emotion and sensory detail; and embracing your unique voice.

You want to write a children’s book and don’t know where to start? By taking this course, you’ll learn how to target your audience, write relatable characters, and gain knowledge on story organization. You’ll also understand how you can do this in your spare time and on a limited budget. As we go through the guidelines to master your own children’s book, you’ll leave this course with a solid start on your own original story, and advice on pitfalls to avoid. Topics of illustrations, copyrighting, and publishing are also covered. Don’t wait for “some day” to publish your own book.

You want to write a children’s book and don’t know where to start? By taking this course, you’ll learn how to target your audience, write relatable characters, and gain knowledge on story organization. You’ll also understand how you can do this in your spare time and on a limited budget. As we go through the guidelines to master your own children’s book, you’ll leave this course with a solid start on your own original story, and advice on pitfalls to avoid. Topics of illustrations, copyrighting, and publishing are also covered. Don’t wait for “some day” to publish your own book.

Join us to write about the personal experiences and life events that have impacted you. We will generate ideas and share with the class; including possible titles, audience for your writing, etc. At the end of five weeks, each person will share five or more pages of their life event writing. Everyone will give you constructive feedback on your efforts. Don't be afraid to go to sad, scary, angry, or hilarious places with your writing. This is a safe space!

Join other writers in this informal class focused on recording stories. Experiment with fun writing prompts to help generate new material and inspire you to keep going. We will learn from each other by discussing the challenges we face in our writing process and share our work in a supportive, non-judgmental setting. This is not a critique class. No previous writing experience necessary; writers of all levels and ages welcome.

Sunny, funny, “happy ending” stories are what we often assume audiences want to read and hear. But the meaning in our lives also lies in our difficult stories: the secrets, mistakes, traumas and crises we’ve survived. How do we write and tell those riskier stories in a way that invites the listener in with honesty and vulnerability? This workshop uses readings, discussion, handouts and writing/telling exercises to approach the challenges of working on difficult personal narratives, shifting the creative process from intimidating to rewarding. Taught by writer/actor/storyteller Amy Salloway.

Writing about your own life can take many forms: novel-length memoir, short stories, Substack, even performance monologues. This all-levels class uses writing exercises, readings and discussion to cover the vital tools that make narrative writing compelling and memorable: finding the heart of your story, identifying action and conflict, building scenes and structure, and creating vivid details. Taught by writer/actor/storyteller Amy Salloway.

Break through writer’s block, inertia, fear and self-sabotage with this affirming five-week class full of exercises and tools to help you find your own unique creative process. We’ll spend much of the class time actively writing and sharing our work; feel free to come in with a project you’re working on, or with a blank slate! Taught by writer/actor/storyteller Amy Salloway.

Everyone is creative but we seldom believe it. Come join other writers as we experiment and play with a variety of writing prompts to invoke the muse. No writing experience necessary only a desire to write.

Dr. Seuss once said, “So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads.” In this age of twitter, text, and blogs, brevity is in. Brevity is not only fun and challenging but it can also improve your writing. In this 4-week workshop, we will explore the art of flash fiction, prose poetry and micro-memoir using a variety of fun and engaging prompts to get your imagination going. Be amazed at how much you can say with so little words. Open to all writers. This is not a critique class.