Group Classes

*No Group Classes are being held at this time. Check back at a future date.

Basic Elements of Fiction Writing + Workshop

Have you always wanted to write a story but don’t know where to begin? Would you like to learn the basic elements of fiction, including point of view, scene versus summary, characterization, and apply them to your own writing? Would you like to submit your story for peer review in a workshop setting? If so, this course is for you. Beyond the exploration of narrative elements and the workshop element, students will also be given published short stories to analyze and writing exercises to help hone their skills.

The course is comprised of 6, 3-hour classes that meet once per month. Material covered includes: story/plot, characterization, scene versus summary, point of view, and theme. The course also includes time spent addressing sentence-level issues that sometimes arise for narrative writers, such as active/passive voice trouble, over-used adverbs, “wordiness,” etc.

Course Duration: 6 months

Class Dates: TBD

Course Cost: TBD

Class Size Limit: 8 students

Course Location: TBD

Experience

Jasmine’s fiction has appeared in Underground Voices, and The Helena Vigilante. Her non-fiction has also appeared in The Helena Vigilante as well as Montana Mountain Mamas. Jasmine has taught fiction writing for Helena College’s Continuing Education program, and she is a co-founder and co-editor of Montana Mouthful literary magazine. Jasmine currently writes, teaches, and edits through The Lamb Group, Inc., a company that she and her husband started in 2012.

Jasmine introduced me to fiction writing in a class that covered the mechanics of a good story. She is so well-organized and clear about the components of telling, showing and creating a scene that it takes readers on a fantasy ride they can’t resist. I couldn’t resist the challenge, and I now can begin to combine the aspects of story-telling to keep my audience’s attention. After the class finished, she met with me on an individual basis to read my work and guide me in my creative endeavor. She is a gem to have for a teacher and mentor, always providing positive suggestions.

Janet Hulme