The Writers Studio Online – The Writers Studio

Our Virtual Literary Community

The Writers Studio Online Program features writing classes that use the same technique-oriented method as our other workshops, and is available to all. We started The Writers Studio Online Program in 2001, and now offer the same six levels of writing classes online that we have developed in our New York City school. We have taught online students from every region of the U.S. and places as diverse as Mexico, Tuscany, Tasmania, and an air-force base in Vietnam.

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Our online classes are a great alternative for those who don’t live near any of our in-person classes. We also encourage busy or peripatetic students to move back and forth between online and New York City or branch workshops if that helps them stay connected to their work. Consider online classes too if traveling or hearing poses an obstacle. Often students who feel shy about jumping into an in-person class thrive in the online environment. After all, what could make more sense than a writing class in which students and teacher know each other strictly through their words?

Virtual Classes During the Pandemic

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During the pandemic, our classes that would normally meet in person at our branches in NYC, Tucson, San Francisco, and Rome are taking place virtually via Google Meet or Zoom. In these virtual classes, students are discussing texts, submitting exercises, and receiving oral critiques. 

Distinct Online Class Experience

The Writers Studio Online Program is distinct from our virtual branch classes in that our online teachers provide each student written weekly critiques on their work. On a regular weekly schedule, students post exercises in our online classroom as well as receive and give several peer critiques. And the teacher writes a weekly critique of each student’s assignment — a degree of attention that is nearly unheard of in other writing classes.

Our online classes have two formats:

Weekly Typed Chat

Our online classes, featuring an optional one-hour typed chat, are best suited to students who want an asynchronous experience that does not require attendance at a weekly chat. In addition, there are students who feel the anonymity of a typed chat frees them to be vulnerable on the page and to access and write about powerful material that they might otherwise be reticent about sharing. Transcripts of the weekly chat are available for those who cannot attend the chat. 

Weekly Video Chat

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For those who prefer engaging with classmates via video, our online video chat classes feature a weekly, one-hour virtual discussion via Google Meet. These classes also feature written critiques, which makes them distinct from our in-person classes that have been meeting virtually during the pandemic. There is no transcript or recording of the video chat available to students who miss a class.

Whether via typed chat or video chat, the weekly chats are a mix of discussion, instruction, and analysis of the week’s assignment. 

We understand that occasionally students miss a class due to professional or family responsibilities. We encourage them to rejoin the following week and do that week’s exercise.