During our 2-hour Saturday workshops (after the regular meeting), experienced instructors guide participants through lecture and example to increase their marketability and the quality of their writing. Any work required of the students is done during that session. These workshops are open to the public and fees are kept low to encourage participation.
In Person & via Zoom
UNM Continuing Education (UNM-CE). Our Saturday meetings/workshops will still include a Zoom component. Workshops will start at noon, after the regular meetings end. Go to the SWW Meeting Location page for more information about our meetings at UNM-CE.
For a schedule of all our events, go to this page. What workshops would you like to see offered? Contact our class/workshop coordinator at office@swwriters.com to let us know.
2025 Workshops
Saturday, December 13, 2025
Noon – 2:00 pm In Person and Via Zoom
SWW members: $20 ♦ Non-members: $30
Ruth E. Thaler-Carter
Flying Solo: Launching a Freelance Writing Business
More and more writers with “regular” in-house jobs are thinking about going freelance, and many established writers could use some help in generating more visibility, credibility and income from their work. This session will offer tips on starting, managing and expanding a freelance writing venture, with insights that will help both novice and established writers.
Ruth Thaler-Carter (www.writerruth.com), a longtime, award-winning successful writer, editor and proofreader, recently moved to Albuquerque. She is the author/publisher of “Get Paid to Write! Getting Started as a Freelance Writer” and the author or co-author of booklets about freelancing for the Editorial Freelancers Association and Society of Professional Journalists.
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.
2026 Workshops
Beginning in 2026, workshops will be held on the 3rd Saturday of the month at the SWW Office. Times vary.
Saturday, January 17, 2026
Time: 10:00 am – noon In Person and Via Zoom
Location: SWW Office
SWW members: $20 ♦ Non-members: $30
Holly Day
Creating and Using Outlines in Fiction
We’ll discuss how learning to create an outline and using an outline to guide your writing helps keep you on track and motivated to finish writing your short stories, from your bare-bones concepts to the final draft. In-class writing includes creating our own brief outlines and some short writing exercises to see how using an outline works in practice.
Holly Day has worked as a freelance writer for over 30 years, with over 7,000 published articles, poems, and short stories and 40 books and chapbooks, including Music Theory for Dummies, Music Composition for Dummies, Walking Twin Cities, Stillwater, Minnesota: A Brief History, and Nordeast Minneapolis: A History.
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.
Saturday, February 21, 2026
Time: 12:00 – 2:00 pm
Zoom Only
SWW members: $20 ♦ Non-members: $30
Marilyn Atlas
Dirtying up Your Characters
Why is dirtying up your character important? It complicates your character. Some writers try too hard to make their protagonist likable and relatable, which are key considerations. But all people are flawed and so your character should be, too. The most memorable characters stick in your mind because they remind you of yourself, also speak to other parts of you that you may not express or want to acknowledge. I will send a list of characters to be familiar with to discuss and analyze. We will do exercises from Dating Your Character. Writers are encouraged to pick a character themselves.
Marilyn R Atlas is a literary talent manager, award-winning producer and the co-author of Dating Your Character. Among her credits as a film producer are “Real Women Have Curves,” for HBO; “A Certain Desire,” starring Sam Waterson; and “Echoes,” which won the Gold Award at the Texas International Film Festival, and the lifetime movie, “the Choking Game.” Marilyn has long been committed to issues surrounding diversity in Hollywood. Marilyn has guest spoken at writer’s conferences and colleges in Europe and in the United States. Amongst her projects in development is “The Trouble With Dreamers,” based on the award-winning YA book The Space Between You and Me.
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.
Saturday, March 21, 2026
Time: Noon – 2:00 pm
IN PERSON ONLY at the SouthWest Writers Office – located in the Carlisle Executive Offices
3200 Carlisle Blvd NE, Suite 114, Albuquerque, NM 87110 505-830-6034
SWW members: $20 ♦ Non-members: $30
BRENDA COLE
How to Speak in Public and Live to Tell the Tale!
Does the thought of getting up to speak in public leave you gasping for breath and with a heart rate like a hummingbird? Join me for a practical workshop on how to prepare, give and survive public speaking.
We will cover:
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- How to project, handle a microphone and present yourself in the best light
- How to write a “parachute.”
- Speaking versus reading to your audience
- Breathing exercises and other brief methods of calming yourself.
- Everyone will give a 3-5 min talk.
Come prepared with blank 3×5 or 4×6 index cards, something to write with and ideas to speak on.
Brenda Cole’s first public stage appearance was at age 6. She has performed as a soloist, actor, lecturer and on radio, television and stage. She has multiple degrees including a BA in Speech and Theatre. She has been a member of SWW for decades.
Saturday, April 18, 2026
Time: 12:00 – 2:00 pm
Zoom Only
SWW members: $20 ♦ Non-members: $30
Sara Frances
Joy, Death, and Memoir in Short Form Poetry
a 2-3 hour generative workshop (following on from the program in poetry month)
Imagine a memoir in 17 syllables, all about beauty and endings. Of course there is the question is poetry fiction or non-fiction. This hybrid workshop bridges reading, appreciation, discussion, with more examples of Joy and Death (sometimes combined in short form poetry with the end goal of creating a mini-memoir poem. Explanations/discussions of structure, style, punctuation (or not), “right words.”
Sara Frances self-defines as a photojournalist-poet. Her MA (Comparative Literature) and Poetry Collective of Lighthouse Writers Workshop cross genre with her photographic tittle Master Photographic Craftsman. Her full length illustrated poetry books are What to Wear to Paradise and Aqua Primordial, entirely written in Japanese forms.
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.
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.
Workshops you might have missed—examples of topics and presenters from the last few years:
2025
♦ Finding Your Niche Markets: A Pathway to Multiple Streams of Income for Writers
with Rose Marie Kern
♦ From Pitch to Launch: Publicity Steps Authors Can Take to Maximize Book Exposure
with Dorinda Wegener
♦ How to Speak in Public and Live to Tell the Tale
with Brenda Cole
♦ Screen Adaptation
with Christopher Upham
♦ Finding Your Unique Voice
with Lynn Doxon
♦ Romance 101
with Bethany Turner
♦ Writing Realistic Dialogue
with Kirt Hickman
♦ How to Craft Your Life into Story
with David Hicks
♦ Creating Audio Books
with Sandra Murphy
♦ You Wrote a Book…Now What?
with Cornelia Gamlem
♦ Flying Solo: Launching a Freelance Writing Business
with Ruth E. Thaler-Carter
2024
♦ Find Your Niche Market
with Rose Marie Kern
♦ The Writer’s Wheel & Screenplay Hero’s Journey: 2 Keys to Organize YOUR Writing
with Kathleen O’Keefe-Kanavos
♦ How to Speak in Public and Live to Tell the Tale
with Brenda Cole
♦ Writing the Difficult Topic
with Mary Collins
♦ The Basics of Writing Award-Winning Fiction and Nonfiction for Children and Teens
with Chris Eboch
♦ From Hiaasen to Evanovich – Comedic Writing Techniques
with Lisa Haneberg
♦ Copyrights, ISBNs & Barcodes
with Rose Marie Kern
♦ Do You Need a Publisher?
with BR Kingsolver
♦ A Gentle Goodbye: Life-Affirming Stories
with Andrea M. Penner
♦ Creating 3-Dimensional Non-Stereotypical Characters
with Marilyn R. Atlas
2023
♦ Criticism Tips and Tricks, How to Take it and How to Give It
with Patricia Walkow and Chris Allen
♦ Finding Your Niche Markets
with Rose Marie Kern
♦ Creating a Book Tour
with E. Joe Brown
♦ Book Award Competitions: Get a Running Start
with Sara Frances
♦ “Who, What, When, Where, and How” of Copyright Compliance
with C. Daniel Miller
♦ Writing a Ten-Minute Play
with Andy Mayo
♦ Preparing Print-Ready PDFs with Affinity
with RJ Mirabal
♦ Let’s Make a Scene
with Charlene Bell Dietz
♦ How to Speak in Public and Live to Tell the Tale
with Brenda Cole
♦ Military Writing Techniques and Tips
with Jim Tritten
♦ From Writer to Author
with Rose Marie Kern & Cornelia Gamlem
2022
♦ Writing a Page Turner
with Hallie Ephron
♦ Finding Your Niche Markets
with Rose Marie Kern
♦ Social Media 101
with Elizabeth Layton
♦ Keeping Your Eye on the Prose (not the press)
with Lauren Wolk
♦ Creating Three-Dimensional Characters
with Melody Groves
♦ Marketing Best Practices
with Geoff Habiger
♦ Publishing an eBook on Amazon
with Rose Marie Kern
♦ How to Speak in Public and Live to Tell the Tale
with Brenda Cole
♦ Wildness in Your Writing
with Lisa Taylor
♦ The Path from Writer to Author
with Rose Marie Kern and Cornelia Gamlem
2021
♦ Starting Your Novel in 2021: Taking it Day by Day
with Jonathan Miller
♦ Jump Start Your Writing with Short Forms
with Miriam Sagan
♦ Romance Genres and Subgenres: Understanding Reader Expectations
with Tamra Baumann and Jeffe Kennedy
♦ Writing Great Love Scenes for Romance and Other Genres
with Sarah Storme/Lydia Parks
♦ Plotting a Romance (and Other Genres)
with Robin Perini
♦ Finding Romance Publishers and Agents
with Sarah Storme/Lydia Parks
♦ Finding the Story in History
with Pamela Nowak
♦ The Art of Screenwriting
with Art Eisensen
♦ Mystery Genres & Subgenres
with Joseph Badal, Michael Avery, Keri Bovee, Charlene Bell Dietz, Marcia Rosen, Margaret Tessler, Robert D. Kidera
♦ Tips from Successful Mystery & Thriller Writers
with Keri Bovee, Charlene Bell Dietz, Patricia Smith Wood, and Robert D. Kidera
♦ The Mystery Market, Today and Tomorrow
with Pat Wood, Michael Orenduff, and Robert D. Kidera
♦ Queries and Cold Reads
with Shannon Snow and Haley Casey
♦ Taxes and Best Accounting Practices for Writers
with Brian Reinhardt
♦ Poetry Fireside Chat, August 11
with Jacqueline Murray Loring and Dan Wetmore
♦ Poetry Fireside Chat, August 18
with Preston H. Hood III
♦ Poetry Fireside Chat, August 25
with Lisa C. Taylor
♦ Insider Tips for Using the Internet
with Loretta Hall
♦ NaNoWriMo
with Kathy Kitts and Grant Faulkner
♦ Special Presentation: Speculative Fiction — An Overview
with Kirt Hickman, Bruce Kingsolver, David Lee Summers, Dollie Williams
♦ Special Presentation: Speculative Fiction — Fantasy Genres
with Joyce Hertzoff, Bruce Kingsolver, David Lee Summers, Vicky Murata, Kirt Hickman
♦ Special Presentation: Speculative Fiction — Purely Science Fiction
with Kirt Hickman, Geoff Habiger, Dollie Williams, Natalie Wright
♦ Finding the Story
with Loretta Hall and Patricia Walkow
♦ Understanding Rights & Copyrights
with Rose Marie Kern