Apple polishing: fall classes to revive a writer

So many of my friends and family are students or teachers, eager for the start of the academic year, I longed to go back to school too. Only not a regimented way. Not by taking entrance exams or aptitude test. Not, just by choosing classes I wanted to take, when I wanted to take them.

For anyone else feeling that yearning (or if members of your writing critique group keep saying, dude, just take a class!) I’ve compiled a list. Some of these are local to my area of North Texas. Many are online, available anywhere in the world with internet access. Costs vary, schedules vary. The following options are listed in alphabetic order.

2-Day Film School: Carpe Diem Pictures presents a live workshop on the fundamentals of filmmaking October 21-22 at the Dallas Marriott Suites Medical/Market Center, 2493 N. Stemmons Freeway in Dallas. Early bird registration (through September 21) is $389. Later registration $439. Register at the site. For additional details, email questions to dfw2dayfilm@gmail.com or call 940-600-3939.

image: Pixabay

MasterClass: This online classroom offers an incredible number of instructors in various fields, including writing. When I took James Patterson’s course here this past year, the cost was $99, but check the site for specifics, including authors in other disciplines.

NaNoWriMo: If you’ve ever signed up for NaNoWriMo, the annual November writing marathon, you’ve already received their email about the online creative writing courses. If not, read on. (Warning: the discounted rates mentioned here only apply if you at least intend to be a NaNoWriMo participant.) This year, the internet learning project, Coursera is teaming with Wesleyan College to offer five online writing courses for WriMos. Check out the site for details. Each class is offered at a discounted price of $29. After November, participants will be able to share their first chapters with the group for another round of peer review.

The Writer’s Garret: This Dallas institution founded by the late Texas poet-laureate Jack Myers and his wife Thea Temple offers both online and in-person classes in elements of fiction, nonfiction and poetry, from overviews of creative writing elements, to voice to writing with diverse characters, to pitching a project, and more. Costs typically in the $100-$160 range for multiple session classes, but see the site for early bird and members' discounts.

The Writer’s Path at SMU: This is Southern Methodist University’s continuing education program in creative writing. You can take their complete pathway, from which selected participants are chosen for a seminar in New York with editors and agents. Four to six-week long on-site classes leading to the New York seminar range in price from $450 to $625. More intensive tutorials in editing, revision and manuscript evaluation are also available. See the tutorial site or email suzannefrank@smu.edu for more information.

Writers Guild of Texas: This North Texas group offers in-person, daylong semiannual writing workshops. It fall workshop, October 7, features Cindy Dees, New York Times bestselling romance author (who also now writes epic fantasy). 9 a.m. to noon, in the Richardson Civic Center, 411 W. Arapaho, Richardson, Texas. Registration is $25 for WGT members, $35 for nonmembers. Limited seating, so the group urges registration by September 23. Price increases by $5 at the door, to the extent seats are available. See the site for details.

Writing Workshops Dallas: Online classes in fiction, nonfiction, screenwriting and poetry, from a plethora of published, often award-winning Dallas-area writers, teachers and editors. Classes can run multiple weeks or require no more than a single afternoon of your time. Costs range from the low double digits to mid-triples. See the site for details.