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Class Catalog
Heroine Course Catalog

Creative Portals: Tarot and Oracle Cards

with Elise McHugh

Let the cards guide your creative work. In this generative class, we’ll use tarot and oracle decks to spark new writing, surprise your imagination, and quiet your inner critic.

generative

4 Sessions
Thursdays, July 30 - August 20, 2026
7:10-9:10 pm PT In Person The Writing Life

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Graphic Humor

with Greg Stump

Learn to make comics that are seriously funny. Bring your gags, niche jokes, silly premises, and biting satire to life on the page as you study the mechanics of comedy, draw solo and collaborative comics, and work toward a class anthology. Absolutely no drawing skills required.

generative

6 Sessions
Saturdays, August 1 - September 5, 2026
10:00-12:00 pm PT In Person The Writing Life

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Setting as Storytelling

with Elizabeth Villaman

Setting can be more than just the stage for your story. Turn it into a living environment that interacts with character, drives action, carries meaning, and transforms your storytelling. For fiction and nonfiction writers.

generative, craft

6 Sessions
Saturdays, August 1 - September 5, 2026
10:00-12:00 pm PT Online Fiction

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SLIDING SCALE: Intro to Revision

with Carolyn Abram

Revision can feel overwhelming, but it’s often where a piece truly begins to take shape. In this intensive, we’ll demystify the process by breaking it into clear steps and exploring techniques for strengthening and refining a work-in-progress.

craft, creative practice

1 Session
Saturday, August 8, 2026
10:00-1:00 pm PT In Person Fiction Introductory

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Publishing Fundamentals IV: Marketing & More

with Elise McHugh

What happens after you sign your book contract? Learn how books move from manuscript to publication, including production timelines, marketing realities, publicity, and the many behind-the-scenes decisions that shape a successful launch.

professional development, publishing

3 Sessions
Mondays, August 10-24, 2026
5:00-7:00 pm PT Online Fiction

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From Pen to Plate: The Art of Food Writing

with Sabra Boyd

Great food writing goes beyond the plate. Through reading and prompts, we’ll explore the food essay as a way to write about memory, culture, history, pleasure, the human experience, and more. Leave with an essay draft and a strategy for next steps and/or publication.

generative, craft, cohort

4 Sessions
Thursdays, August 13 - September 3, 2026
5:00-7:00 pm PT In Person Fiction Advanced

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How to Write Funny When You Aren’t a Comedian

with Minda Honey

Humor gives life to personal writing. Learn to use humor to reveal deep truths, make your reader laugh, crank the ordinary into the absurd, and give your story an unforgettable voice. Life can get pretty weird; thank goodness we can laugh through it all.

generative, craft

1 Session
Saturday, August 15, 2026
5:00-8:00 pm PT Online Nonfiction

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Pet Sounds: Writing About the Animals in Our Lives

with Steve Almond

What do our animals teach us about attention, love, grief, and companionship? We’ll explore writing about the pets who’ve changed us. You leave with new work and tools for writing about these very special relationships.

generative, craft

1 Session
Monday, August 17, 2026
5:00-8:00 pm PT Online Fiction

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Understanding Story Structure

with Ruth Joffre

Stories can unfold in many ways, from the classic hero’s journey to spirals, fractals and experimental forms. Learn how story shape creates the emotional experience and experiment with new possibilities for plot, character, and movement in your fiction. 

craft

3 Sessions
Wednesdays, August 19 - September 2, 2026
5:00-7:00 pm PT Online Fiction Intermediate

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Beyond Setting: Writing Literature of Place

with Amy Muia

Some stories can only happen in one particular place. We’ll explore how writers create immersive settings that shape character, mood, and plot. And we’ll practice writing our own settings that feel vivid, transporting, and unforgettable.

craft, close reading

1 Session
Saturday, August 22, 2026
1:10-4:10 pm PT In Person Fiction

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Start Submitting: Poems, Short Stories, Essays

with Tina Tocco

Take the guesswork out of submissions! Learn how to research and confidently submit your poems, short stories, essays, and other short work to literary journals and magazines.

professional development, publishing

1 Session
Saturday, August 22, 2026
10:00-12:00 pm PT Online Fiction Introductory

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Zine Camp for Adults

with Meredith Arena

Doomscroll less, make more! In true DIY spirit, we’ll collage, doodle, write poetry and manifestos, and assemble it all into a handmade zine—a mini self-made fanzine—that you can reproduce and share.

generative, creative practice

1 Session
Saturday, August 22, 2026
10:00-4:00 pm PT In Person The Writing Life

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Secrets & Lies: Writing Deception

with Steve Almond

Every human being lies or deceives in some way and your characters should, too. We’ll examine different types of deception and how they can be powerful drivers for our stories. Great for anyone interested in character motivation.

generative, craft, personal growth

1 Session
Monday, August 24, 2026
5:00-8:00 pm PT Online Fiction

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Making Meaning from Memories

with Kimberly Dark

Turn overlooked moments into powerful stories. In this generative class, you’ll learn to shape fragments of memory into meaning, resonance, and beautifully crafted narrative. Leave with 20+ fresh starts and renewed momentum for your memoir or personal essays.

generative

1 Session
Saturday, August 29, 2026
10:00-1:00 pm PT Online Fiction Introductory

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Sentences ARE the Story

with Mary Lane Potter

How you tell a story matters as much as the story itself. In this sentence-level craft class, you’ll learn how rhythm, syntax, tone, and structure can create mood, reveal character, and shape the way your story lands with readers.

craft

1 Session
Saturday, August 29, 2026
10:00-2:00 pm PT In Person The Writing Life

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Writer’s Welcome Kit

with Paulette Perhach

This asynchronous course features online workbooks, including ten essential templates in Word and Excel to kickstart your writing life, and resources professional writers use to get published.

November 20, 2029
 Online Asynchronous Fiction

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