Spring Novel Writing Class
Only Has Closed.
Check back here for Meredith Sue Willis's next classes and workshops.
Private Writing Classes
With Meredith Sue Willis
--Past workshops
--How to enroll
-- Manuscript Consultations with MSWNext Online Class Starts February 28!
Novel Writing Workshop
Spring 20246 Wednesdays 6:30 p.m. to 8:45p.m.
2-28-24 through 4-10-24
No Class 3-13-24
Synchronous online by Zoom
General
Information about
Workshops with MSW
Private Online Writing Classes and Workshops with Meredith Sue Willis are creative writing classes taught by Meredith Sue Willis usually by Zoom. (To get a free Zoom account, go to Zoom). The classes include short lectures, online readings, writing & reading assignments in class and out, discussions with your peers and brief lectures on craft.
The classes are payable
in advance, with no cash refunds. They are usually synchronous
and online, via Zoom.
For more information see Frequently Asked Questions and How to Enroll. Class size is strictly limited, and classes close early if they fill.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an online writing class with Meredith Sue Willis? Online Writing Classes with Meredith Sue Willis are online creative writing classes and workshops taught by Meredith Sue Willis , usually on Zoom. (To get a free Zoom account, go to Zoom).
Who
is Meredith Sue Willis? Meredith Sue Willis is a
writer and veteran teacher of writing with experience that
includes everything from university level to work with small
children, teens, and people in between. For information about
her teaching career and her publications, see her publication
page, her web
page, her resumé, and her biography.
What is the format? Everything in the classes happens online. The classes include short lectures, online readings, writing assignments in class and out (if it is more than one session), oral discussions, peer critiques, and responses from the teacher. E-mail, Internet access, and (usually) Zoom are required.
What are the writing assignments like? For a sample of MSW's free writing exercises—not necessarily from an online writing classes—see Writing Exercises. Many students in the online writing classes, however, choose not to do the assignments. Rather, they send in selections of their work for which they want critiques.
How
much do these online writing classes cost? One-shot
half-day workshops usually cost $100. Classes with multiple
sessions usually cost $60 per session times the number of
sessions. Thus, a six session class costs $360, payable in full,
in advance, by personal check, money order, PayPal
(MSueWillis@aol.com) or Venmo (@MeredithSue-Willis ). Payment
must be received before you are officially enrolled in the
class. There are no cash refunds.
When does the next class begin? Check back to this page or subscribe to Meredith Sue Willis's newsletter list. Spring 2024 Online Novel Writing starts Wednesday, February 28, 2024.
What do students say about these online writing classes with Meredith Sue Willis? Read some testimonials by people who took the classes.
How do I enroll? Enrollment is limited and will close early if the class fills. Go to information for instructions for the current class.
How to Enroll
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ONCE ENROLLMENT OPENS, email MSW at msw@meredithsuewillis.com explaining why you would like to take the class. You will receive an address for sending a check--or you may pay by PayPal or Venmo.
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Acknowledgement of payment is your registration.
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All classes require e-mail and Internet access. Zoom classes also require a microphone, camera, and the Zoom app, available free here.
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For more information about how online classes with Meredith Sue Willis operate, see Frequently Asked Questions.
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There are no cash refunds.
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Enrollment is extremely limited as the teacher is primarily a working writer. The class will close early if it fills up. You are not enrolled until payment has been received.
Selected Past Classes
& Workshops
Jump
Start Your Novel
or Other Long Prose Narrative
This 3 hour
workshop took place on
Saturday, 1-27-24 by Zoom
This workshop was aimed at starting and restarting long projects. Participants ended the session with new material and ideas for structure and keeping the momentum going as well as a written response from the workshop presenter for as many as 1,000 words from the project.
Topics and techniques included how to get back into a long project, mini-lectures, discussions, in-class writing, scene as the building block of long narratives, how outlining can both help and hinder, ways to use quotidian scenes and set pieces to go deeper and move the narrative forward, and written and thought exercises.
Starting and Sustaining Your Novel
Part I & Part II
These two classes, taught by Zoom, took place on 5 Wednesdays in Fall 2022 and in the Spring of 2023. The class included general information on novel writing plus up to 40 pages critiqued by the teacher. It was aimed at helping writers with a novel underway to expand and keep going, and to give beginners basic information and a good start on a novel.
The Big Picture: A Half-Day Workshop on
Structuring the Long Prose Narrative
The Moynihan Hall of Penn Station in New York City 2021
This workshop took place by zoom on August 13, 2022. Topics included plot versus story; whether outlining is the best way of establishing this; how to find an ending; about how to sustain momentum in the writing; and more. There were be mini-lectures, in-class writing, discussion. Included in the fee was a critique of up to 1,000 words from your project by the teacher.
The Scene in Narrative Prose
This workshop by Zoom took place 1-15-22. It focused on the centrality of the scene in building prose narrative, and how a novel or memoir can be planned and drafted through scenes. There were also discussions and experiments with heart of the scene--dialogue.
For MSW's Novel Class at New York University's School of Professional Studies (also taught by Zoom), click here.
To receive MSW's free newsletter for readers and writers and notice of online classes and other MSW news, join her mailing list here:
Testimonials for MSW's online classes
I have taken several of Meredith Sue Willis's online classes and I treasure all of them. Each of her lessons brought me into her deep understanding of the imagination and the creative process. Not only have I finished a first draft of a novel through her classes, but in this last class I began to grapple with more looming problems of revision. Always her teaching and feedback is clear-eyed. It invites you to keep writing at your best. I look forward to the next class.
—Dreama Frisk
You have given me confidence to do something I never thought I could do – write scenes and dialogue rather than just description.
—William Jarvis
My novel needed major revisions. Meredith Sue Willis' Summer Solstice Master Class had me soon writing with a fresh approach, opened creative ways of expressing my ideas and set aside some doubts. I made real progress. To anyone who is looking for assistance in making your writing reflect more of what you can imagine, I encourage you to take this online class.
— Jean Prendergast.
I'd recommend MSW's on-line writing classes to any writer at any level. She has deeply considered the best components for such a course, keeping them simple to manage yet very likely to get quality writing from each participant. The exercises are numerous, original, challenging and, best of all, fun. Instructor feedback is fast and useful. Not only did I have a blast, but I feel quite positive about the story I got a good running start on. I'd take another class without hesitation.
— Ed Davis
I found the exercises and the way they were positioned helpful and informative on a variety of levels. I liked how some got us thinking about our characters, some pulled us forward to stretch and see our novels as having length, and others asked us to think about structure. I found these last ones most fruitful, and I think that’s because I’ve been wanting to ask myself where I’m headed.
—Chris Echaurre
If you're looking for a concise, insightful, personal writing class, look no further. Meredith Sue Willis' on-line writing class is well worth it! She'll challenge you, make you stretch, make you think.
—Carter Seaton
The guidance provided by Meredith Sue not only encouraged me to continue with my project, it taught me to review my material from a more professional standpoint. Her comments were insightful; her suggestions stimulating, provocative and very much on-target. I have participated in many workshops and groups. I found Meredith Sue’s on-line course to be a significantly positive influence on my writing. I am eager to sign up for the next course with her.
— Savannah Gill
The January Plan for Novel and Memoir Writers offered on-line by Meredith Sue Willis was truly a gem of a course. Although a professional writer all of my life, I felt I needed a shot in the arm, as well as some good advice as I pursued a genre unfamiliar to me as a writer, the novel. The assignments, both major and minor, as well as the pacing of these exercises all seemed just right – hard enough to push me into new places and yet always easily understandable and somehow accessible. I appreciated, as well, the flexibility built into the overall course which allowed me to stray from the letter of the assignment if I felt I needed to do so. Quite frankly, however, I found the assignments so compelling that even when they didn’t 'fit' the particular needs of my project, I pursued them anyway. Furthermore, and of equal value were Ms. Willis’s comments upon my submitted work. Every word of advice, every critical observation I felt had been weighed carefully and meted out with just the right admixture of encouragement and suggestion. I simply can not recommend her instructional skills too highly and envy those students who count her as their teacher.
—Marc Harshman
Just wanted to say what a great get-back-to-work kick in the pants this session has been. That sounds a bit too harsh though, since the most wonderful aspect of it was how supported and encouraged I felt by your thoughtful and insightful reading and response. Each session was chock full of ideas for getting going with writing, and I felt very cared for by the generosity of the assignments both in their number and originality. I especially thought the last one, to write a dream for a character, or write about a dream you yourself had was great. I know I'll be responding to that one and the one on the weather again and again. I appreciated reading the other students' work, though right now I'm in such a private kind of space, that I didn't make comments or join in the on-line community, though I think it's another wonderful aspect of the course and I most likely would take part at another time.
—Deedee Agee
I'd recommend your workshops to anyone who wants coherent, polished writing. The exercises are extremely valuable, and the editing techniques you pass on turn a good idea into something worth reading....I've enjoyed the sessions, and it was good to keep my fingers moving over the keys while traveling. Just enough work, and lots to occupy my thoughts while driving.
—Lynne Gleason
Meredith Sue Willis's class, guaranteed to jump-start my writing, did more than that. One of the characters in my novel may not be dead after all and the others have more definition. Meredith Sue's careful editing and comments helped me feel like I am on the right track and gave me more tools to help me get where I want to go. Her warmth and humor shows through with each interaction, an incredible gift in a teacher, particularly when one is interacting through cyberspace.
— Jamie Rhein
Helped me to stretch my imagination by using challenging exercises. I came away feeling I really am a writer as a result of her positive supporting comments and suggestions.
— Suzanne Gluck
The experience of Meredith Sue is well worth your time and money
—Martha Jo Goff
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