Core Courses | Seminars | Instructors
Beginning this fall, earn a noncredit Certificate in Writing at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and learn from experts. All seminars will be taught by published authors and core courses will be taught by top students in UMSL's distinguished Master of Fine Arts Creative Writing Program.
Complete two core courses (one fiction and one nonfiction) and choose from a selection of seminars on a wide variety of topics that will improve your writing skills as well as your knowledge of the business of writing. When you’ve completed a total of 50 contact hours, you’ll be awarded a Chancellor’s Certificate in Writing.
If you aren’t interested in earning a certificate, that’s okay! Simply pick and choose the classes or seminars that interest you. All of them will take you closer to realizing your dream.
For more information on The Write Stuff certificate program, please call (314) 516-5911. To register, please call (314) 516-6590.
Core Courses: Fall/Spring
Core courses will provide specialized instruction, opportunities to write, discuss and analyze participants work.
Introduction to Fiction Writing (8 weeks)
This class covers the writing process, character development, plot, story structure, setting, dialogue, and point of view. Students will have ample opportunity to brainstorm, write, and revise.
Intermediate Fiction Writing (8 weeks)
This class provides an in-depth look at fiction writing: building characters, plot-driven vs. character-driven stories, development of dialogue and plot, the function of theme and how theme shapes the evolution of a story, and the use of imagery, emotion, and insight.
Introduction to Nonfiction Writing (8 weeks)
Addresses doing research, using just the right interviewing techniques for your project; editing, considering all the ethical issues; and organizing it all. Students will have opportunities to discuss and analyze a variety of published works.
Intermediate Nonfiction Writing (8 weeks)
Time will be spent on interviewing techniques, recording conversations, and recreating them. Doing background searches and adjusting the tone to fit the subject matter also is covered. Creative nonfiction: planning ahead for telling your story, journal writing, writing a memoir.
Seminars
Nine Keys to Effective Business Writing (Instructor: Mary Menke)
Business writing has changed dramatically over the past twenty years or so due to the advances in technology and the changing roles of secretaries. "Nine Keys to Effective Business Writing" will explain the basics of business writing, including which grammar and punctuation rules you must follow and which are now considered "personal preference," as well as give you techniques for getting started when you're having trouble putting "fingers to keyboard."
Publishing From A to Z (Instructor: Bobbi Smith)
NY Times and USA Today bestselling author (and UMSL graduate) Bobbi Smith will take you through the basics of novel writing and getting your book published.
Communicating Effectively Through Media: Blogs, Social Media, Press Releases, and More (Instructor: Dianna Graveman)
If you’ve written a book, own a small business, are looking for a job, or just want to keep up with what’s happening in the world today, communicating effectively online is a must. Learn how to use Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook, Wordpress, and several other free applications to build your business, network with others, or market your book. Online press releases, media kits, infographics, easy-to-build websites, blogs, book trailers, and more will be discussed, as well as lesser-known applications for managing and monitoring your online presence.
Freelance to Finance Your Writing Career (Instructor: Dianna Graveman)
Freelance writing and editing jobs are ripe for the picking, especially in a poor economy. Discover just how many specific skills you already have, and explore multiple ways to earn a steady freelance income while working on your novel or other creative work.
Publishing From A To Z (Instructor: Bobbi Smith)
Saturday, April 13, 2013 (1:00 PM-4:00 PM)
NY Times and USA Today bestselling author (and UMSL graduate) Bobbi Smith will take you through the basics of novel writing and getting your book published.
Freelance to Finance Your Writing Career (Instructor: Dianna Graveman)
Saturday, May 4, 2013 (1:00 PM-4:00 PM)
Freelance writing and editing jobs are ripe for the picking, especially in a poor economy. Discover just how many specific skills you already have, and explore multiple ways to earn a steady freelance income while working on your novel or other creative work.
Writing for the Net (Instructor: Catherine Rankovic)
Saturday, May 18, 2013 (9:00 AM-12:00 PM)
Publish your work instantly. Be your own columnist. Sell your work. Establish a Web presence. Writing for the internet is easier than normal writing, and a fun challenge. We will practice "translating" prose into internet prose.
Characters and Plotting, The Heart of Your Story (Instructor: Bobbi Smith)
NY Times and USA Today bestselling author (and UMSL graduate) Bobbi Smith will help you create believable and exciting characters who enhance your plotline and make your story a real page turner.
Writing a Mystery that Matters (Instructor: Claire Applewhite)
This workshop presents the essential elements of a mystery novel, and the ways in which it differs from other genre fiction. In-class writing exercises are implemented to demonstrate the integration of these elements.
You Can Write a Romance (Instructor: Claire Applewhite)
Learn the essential elements of this popular genre. In addition to lecture, students will engage in writing exercises to illustrate writing techniques often found in romance novels.
Overcoming Writers Block (Instructor: Catherine Rankovic)
Call it procrastination, fear of exposure, fear or rejection, fear of failure, wanting to quit: how to get past it.
Respect Your Reader with Professional Content and Copy Editing (Instructor: Jeff May)
Rarely, if ever, do writers get it right the first time through and sometimes too much polish makes the writing dull. Participate in editing activities, learn the difference between style and nonsense, and make sure to bring your sense of humor to this Write Stuff workshop.
Play Write: What Happens Before the Curtain Goes Up (Instructor: Gerry Mandel)
Essential elements to consider when writing a play, how to make dialogue work, what to say and what NOT to say. Character, plot, use of silence. Examples from scenes by established playwrights. Dialogue writing exercises.
A Road Map to Travel Writing (Instructor: Susan Manlin Katzman)
Paris, Fiji, Los Angeles, the possibilities are endless for the travel writer, but no matter how high-flying the dreams of travel, writers need to stay grounded in reality when considering a career in travel writing. This workshop offers insider secrets of the profession, including the necessity of creating "voice," and how to get published and paid.
Overcoming Writers Block (Instructor: Catherine Rankovic)
Call it procrastination, fear of exposure, fear or rejection, fear of failure, wanting to quit: how to get past it.
Play Write: What Happens Before the Curtain Goes Up (Instructor: Gerry Mandel)
Essential elements to consider when writing a play, how to make dialogue work, what to say and what NOT to say. Character, plot, use of silence. Examples from scenes by established playwrights. Dialogue writing exercises.
Instructors
Mary Menke
Mary Menke teaches writing and oral communication classes for Ranken Technical College and University of Phoenix. She led business writing workshops for SkillPath Seminars for 3-1/2 years before starting her own writing and editing services business, WordAbilities, in 2006.
Bobbi Smith
After working as a department manager for Famous-Barr, and briefly as a clerk at a bookstore, Bobbi Smith gave up on career security and began writing. She sold her first book to Zebra in 1982. Since then, Bobbi has written over 40 books and 6 novellas. To date, there are more than five million of her novels in print. She has been awarded the prestigious Romantic Times Storyteller of the Year Award and two Career Achievement Awards. Her books have appeared on numerous bestseller lists.
Dianna Graveman
Dianna Graveman, MFA, BSEd, owns 2 Rivers Communications & Design, LLC, which provides writing, editorial, and marketing services for businesses, publishers, and authors. A former corporate training designer and university instructor, Dianna’s portfolio includes over 200 writing credits, 22 awards, and coauthorship of 4 regional histories. She is currently developing an anecdotal history and two anthologies for release in 2013. Read more at diannagraveman.com and 2riverscommunications.com.
Claire Applewhite
Claire Applewhite is a graduate of St. Louis University and the author of The Wrong Side of Memphis, Crazy For You, St. Louis Hustle, Candy Cadillac and Tennessee Plates. She is a Past President of the Missouri Writers Guild, a Board member of the Midwest Chapter, Mystery Writers of America, and a member of the St. Louis Metropolitan Press Club, St. Louis Writers Guild, Sisters in Crime, Ozark Writers League and Active member, Mystery Writers of America. Website: www.Claireapplewhite.com, radio and television interviews available.
Catherine Rankovic
Catherine Rankovic’s books include Meet Me: Writers in St. Louis (Penultimate, 2010), Island Universe: Essays and Entertainments (WingSpan, 2007); Fierce Consent and Other Poems (WingSpan, 2005) and Guilty Pleasures: Indulgences, Addictions, and Obsessions (Andrews McMeel, 2003). She received her M.F.A. from Washington University, where she taught for 21 years; she now teaches poetry and creative nonfiction in the online M.F.A. program at Lindenwood University. Her essays and poems have appeared in The Missouri Review, St. Louis Magazine, The Iowa Review, Boulevard, River Styx, Umbrella, Garbanzo, Bad Shoe, The Progressive, Natural Bridge, Gulf Coast, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and other journals and anthologies. Her awards include the Missouri Biennial Award for essay writing, and an Academy of American Poets award. She is a professional book editor and her website is www.BookEval.com.
Jeff May
Jeff May (Jeffrey Penn May) has won several short fiction awards, published mountain climbing and education articles, technical writing guides, short stories and poems. His work has appeared in the US, UK, and Canada. He wrote and performed a short story for Washington University Radio and was a consultant to a St. Louis theatre company. His novel Where the River Splits received an excellent review in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and his story "The Wells Creek Route," a Pushcart Prize nomination.
Visit Jeff’s website at www.askwritefish.com.
Gerry Mandel
Gerry Mandel has successfully written in all forms of the craft: a novel published in 2010, several short stories and non-fiction pieces in literary magazines, plays produced by St. Louis area theater companies, an award-winning documentary which he wrote and directed, and a "ghosted" autobiography. “Good theater begins with the written word. Without that, the best cast and director are doomed to flounder.” Gerry worked in advertising for many years as a writer/producer/creative director.
