THE DIFFERENT LEVELS AT THE WRITERS STUDIO

The workshops at The Writers Studio are organized into five distinct levels where each stage assumes a specific degree of technical sophistication. Exercises designed to practice these techniques are assigned at every level.

Although individual students develop at their own rates, everyone passes through certain stages of development. Some people stay in a stage for a couple of months while others stay five years, but they all pass through the same ones. In teaching writing, it is extremely important for these various stages to be addressed. The first stage is realizing that there's a difference between keeping a diary and preparing one's feelings and thoughts for other people to consider seriously. Then there is the stage where one realizes that writing is a form of communication where what one thinks is interesting and has to be made equally interesting to others. The stages continue from there.

Each stage of a writer's development is represented in the five levels at The Writers Studio. All the classes do exercises, from Level I through Level V. These exercises are designed to help students move through these recognizable stages of development. When a student has success with a particular exercise, he or she is encouraged to develop it into a finished story or poem to submit for publication.

Students may enter the school in a level I or II workshop and, with the recommendation of their teacher, advance to the next level. Writers who are unable to attend a workshop, who want to focus entirely on an existing project, or who want to jump-start their writing education may choose a private tutorial in The Writers Studio method. Students in the workshops are adults who are at least 18 years old. High school age writers may study privately in a tutorial.

“I wanted to find something more long-term than a two-year academic program. The workshop has grown from being a place where I brought in work every week to becoming a group of people who know something about my writing process and the things I'm struggling with.”

-LESLIE FINDLEN, poet and non-profit administrator

Where should you start at The Writers Studio?

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 Advanced Poetry

Tucson: Workshop | Intermediate | Advanced

San Francisco: Workshop | Advanced

Amsterdam: Workshop