THE AMSTERDAM WORKSHOP ONLINE

The Writers Studio Amsterdam Workshop Online is designed for students at all levels who are new to the Writers Studio method. Like the face-to-face Workshop, this online workshop is open to both the beginner and the experienced writer eager to learn the elements of craft. Techniques studied are first person persona, third person persona, tone and mood. An important goal of the workshop is to help writers understand the difference between a narrator and his or her own self. Students are encouraged to turn autobiographical fragments into publishable work by using different personas to tell their story in fiction and poetry.

Each week, the teacher posts a short reading with notes about the techniques that make the work effective. Students then write their own short exercise based on this reading. Students submit these exercises on a weekly schedule. Each student has the opportunity to respond to every other student's work, and on a given day of the week, the teacher responds to all the written exercises. In this way, the student learns not only from his or her own work, but also from the work of everyone in the class.

There is an optional live chat one hour per week, which serves as a forum for students and the teacher to discuss the assigned reading and the exercises that resulted from it. The chat helps to strengthen the sense of community felt by the class, and allows students to get to know each other. A transcript of the chat is posted on the bulletin board afterwards, for students who weren't able to participate in the chat.

Like the face-to-face Amsterdam workshop, the Amsterdam Workshop Online meets for 10 weeks, and utilizes the Writers Studio method, which for more than 25  years has been helping writers reach their potential. As with every other class in the school, the teacher has completed a three-year training program and is uniquely qualified to give the support and literary instruction students need to move forward in their writing careers.

Created for students in the greater Amsterdam area or throughout The Netherlands, the Amsterdam Online Workshop is also open to other students throughout Europe or throughout the world. Students who find The Writers Studio method works for them take the Amsterdam Workshop for two or three terms before moving on to the Intermediate level.

Open to Mac and PC users. Technical support is available throughout the class. Class size is limited to 12 students.

“In my lifetime, I never really had a crystal-clear explanation of the writing process until the fortunate day that I stumbled upon these classes.”

—Robbin Engels, Amsterdam Writers Studio student

Where to start at The Writers Studio?

New York City: Level I | Level II | Level III | Level IV | Level V | Advanced Poetry | Tutorial

Online: Level I | Level II | Level III | Level IV | Online Intermediate Poetry | Online Advanced Poetry

Tucson: Workshop | Intermediate | Advanced

San Francisco: Workshop Financial District | Workshop Rockridge | Intermediate | Advanced

Amsterdam: Workshop | Intermediate Workshop | Advanced Online | Online