SouthWest Writers offers classes and workshops to advance the skills and marketability of writers. Experienced instructors guide participants through lecture, example and, often, critique to increase the quality of their writing.
What is the difference between a class and a workshop? A class can be more than one session and usually includes assignments to be completed outside of class. Our workshops are two-hour sessions that occur after our monthly first-Saturday meetings. Any work required of the students is done during the workshop session.
In-person classes are held at the Carlisle Executive Offices (click here for directions). The class information below will indicate if a class is in person, via Zoom, or a hybrid of both. For a schedule of all our events, go to this page.
What classes would you like to see offered this year? Contact our class/workshop coordinator at Info@SWWriters.com to let us know.
Upcoming Classes
MASTER CLASS
with Joseph Badal
(Amazon #1 Best Selling Author)
From Inspiration to Publication: How to Turn Experiences into Publishable Works
- 1 day long session (7 hours)
- Saturday, June 17
- Platform: In Person & Zoom
- 9:00 am–4:00 pm (MST)
- $140 SWW members ♦ $175 Nonmembers
The goal of the class is to inspire each student to write something he/she is passionate about, with the ultimate objective of that work being published.
Students will be asked to bring to the class one example of each of the following that could inspire a work (fiction, non-fiction, biography, autobiography): 1) A personal experience; 2) An historical or current event; 3) A story/experience related to them by someone else. Joe will provide examples of his published novels which were based upon just those three sources of inspiration. Students will interact with one another about each student’s three sources of inspiration, after which each student will decide which one source will form the basis for a manuscript. Finally, students will have 30 minutes to draft an outline or narrative description of the work he/she will construct and will present said description to the class for feedback. Students will be given the opportunity to email Joe after the class their outline/narrative for his feedback.
Joseph Badal is an Amazon #1 Best-Selling Author, with 18 award-winning suspense novels. He has received numerous awards for his work, including being a 2-time Tony Hillerman Award Winner and a 4-time Military Writers Society of America (MWSA) Gold Medal Winner. He was named Writer of the Year in 2021 by MWSA. He has been a member of SouthWest Writers for more than 25 years.
To register call the SWW office at 505-830-6034 (Monday-Thursday, 9:00 am – noon) or use the online registration form. (Our online payment portal utilizes PayPal, but you’ll be given an option to pay by credit card without signing into PayPal.)
Meeting Information: Our in-person classes take place at the Carlisle Executive Offices in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Directions to the class, as well as the Zoom invitation link and password, will be emailed to those who register. For more information, please contact the class/workshop coordinator at Info@SWWriters.com.
Class Instructor: Kirt Hickman
Revising Fiction: Making Sense of the Madness
- 8-week Class
- Saturdays: July 15, 22, 29, August 5, 12, 19, 26, and September 2
- Platform: In Person & Zoom
- 3:00 – 5:00 pm (MST)
- $280 SWW members ♦ $350 Nonmembers
Write your novel and revise it to sell. With all the books, talks, classes, and workshops available on writing and self-editing, a writer can quickly become overwhelmed by advice. “Revising Fiction: Making Sense of the Madness” cuts through the clutter and offers an organized, practical approach to writing and self-editing that covers everything from planning your novel, to first draft, through revision, to final submission-quality manuscript. Each class will include a lecture, discussion, prepared exercises, and plenty of time to ask questions about whatever has you stumped in your own writing. This course is geared toward book-length fiction, but the vast majority of the topics are applicable to short stories and creative non-fiction as well. Topics include:
- World Building & Characterization
- Plot
- First Draft, Research, & Gross Manuscript Problems
- Chapter Breaks & Avoiding Information Dumps
- Scenes
- Polishing Prose
- Dialog
- Finishing Touches & Critiques
Kirt Hickman is the award-winning author of several science-fiction and fantasy novels, as well as two children’s picture story books. His writer’s guide, Revising Fiction—Making Sense of the Madness, won a New Mexico Book award for Best How-To and was a finalist in the international IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards.
To register call the SWW office at 505-830-6034 (Monday-Thursday, 9:00 am – noon) or use the online registration form. (Our online payment portal utilizes PayPal, but you’ll be given an option to pay by credit card without signing into PayPal.)
Meeting Information: Our in-person classes take place at the Carlisle Executive Offices in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Directions to the class, as well as the Zoom invitation link and password, will be emailed to those who register. For more information, please contact the class/workshop coordinator at Info@SWWriters.com.
Class Instructor: Kathy Louise Schuit
Don’t Make Your Friends and Family Read Bad Stuff
- 3-week Class
- Saturdays: September 16, 23, 30
- Platform: In Person & Zoom
- 10:00–noon (MST)
- $120 SWW members ♦ $150 Nonmembers
Are your go-to “readers” exhibiting signs of reluctance when asked to look over your latest literary baby? This could be a clear sign they don’t want to tell you that what you write is boring, over their head, riddled with unneeded punctuation or blatantly lacking it, fraught with really too many adverbs, or written in a voice so passive it could replace their anxiety meds. These poor readers may be the victims of writing that “tells” rather than “shows.”
Your loving readers deserve better. In this class you’ll:
- Learn easy ways to identify and start to eliminate “telling” after your first draft.
- See how active verbs and metaphor add action, create personal connections with your readers, and build the mental images of what you’re trying to “show.”
- Write short, prompt-driven paragraphs in class, revise them and benefit from “before and after” critique from peers and the instructor.
An editor for newspapers, magazines, and newsletters; a writing contest judge; and an instructor with Santa Fe Community College, Kathy Louise Schuit has spent the last two decades reviewing writing in many forms, from writers of all skill levels. Her newest writing passion is the short, short story, where every word matters. Visit Kathy’s website at OpenWithDdesign.com.
To register call the SWW office at 505-830-6034 (Monday-Thursday, 9:00 am – noon) or use the online registration form. (Our online payment portal utilizes PayPal, but you’ll be given an option to pay by credit card without signing into PayPal.)
Meeting Information: Our in-person classes take place at the Carlisle Executive Offices in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Directions to the class, as well as the Zoom invitation link and password, will be emailed to those who register. For more information, please contact the class/workshop coordinator at Info@SWWriters.com.
Workshop and Class Refund Policy
If you cancel one week before the beginning date of the workshop or class, you will receive a full refund. Cancellations after one week prior up to 24 hours prior to the beginning of the workshop or class will receive a credit only toward a future workshop or class of your choice. If you do not cancel or don’t show up for the workshop or class you will receive no refund and no credit. For multi-session classes, if you miss a class, you receive no refund. We pay our instructors based on how many students enroll, so you are part of that roll count if you don’t cancel as detailed above.
Classes you might have missed:
2023
♦ Using WordPress to Build and Maintain Your Webpage
with Jamii Corley
♦ Success with Self-Publishing
with Rose Marie Kern
2022
♦ Crafting a Nonfiction Book Proposal
with Loretta Hall
♦ Hearing Voices: Using Multiple Narrators to Deepen Your Novel
with Ellen Meeropol
♦ Formatting Your Book Using Microsoft Word
with Mary McArthur
♦ Self-Publish Your Book with KDP Amazon
with Rose Marie Kern
2021
♦ Publishing with KDP Amazon
with Rose Marie Kern
♦ Writing Stories Children Will Love
with Chris Eboch
♦ Writing for Magazines
with Loretta Hall
♦ Revising Fiction: Making Sense of the Madness
with Kirt Hickman
♦ Book Covers From Art to Finish
with Rose Marie Kern and Kathy Louise Schuit
♦ Writing Scenes That Drive Your Story
with Rob Spiegel
2020
♦ Revising Fiction: Making Sense of the Madness
with Kirt Hickman
♦ Bring Your Memoir to Life
with Rob Spiegel
♦ Self-Publish Your Book with KDP Amazon
with Rose Marie Kern
♦ Websites for Writers
with Loretta Hall
♦ Blogging Your Way to Success
with Rob Spiegel
♦ Crafting a Nonfiction Book Proposal
with Loretta Hall
2019
♦ Researching Your Writing Project
with Loretta Hall
♦ Polishing the First Chapter
with Sarah Baker
♦ Blogging Your Way to Success
with Rob Spiegel
♦ Revising Fiction: Making Sense of the Madness
with Kirt Hickman
♦ Writing for Magazines: Bagging Your First Magazine Assignment
with Melody Groves
♦ Make Money from Writing
with Chris Eboch
♦ The Secret(s) to a Successful Book Signing
with Kirt Hickman
♦ Bring Your Memoir to Life
with Rob Spiegel
♦ Independent Self-Publishing
with Kirt Hickman
♦ Illustration: It’s Not Just for Children’s Books
with Kathy Louise Schuit
♦ Writing a Producible Play
with Richard E. Peck
♦ Self-Publish Your Book with KDP Amazon
with Rose Marie Kern
2018
♦ Revising Fiction – Making Sense of the Madness
with Kirt Hickman
♦ Writing for Magazines: Bagging Your First Magazine Assignment
with Melody Groves
♦ Websites for Writers
with Loretta Hall
