Wednesday Writing Workshops
There is no fee to come to the workshop once to try it out — contact Robin at (413) 585-8530 to learn when the next 10-week series will begin. Sessions meet at 16 Vernon Street, Northampton, MA, from 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. on Wednesdays. Enrollment is limited to twelve.
Now offering online enrollment and payment for workshops! 
Writers in this workshop are encouraged to continue with any projects already in progress, and also to experiment, sketch, try new forms. Participants vary in educational background, amount of writing experience, age, and culture. We celebrate variety. Because this is not an academic writing class, competition has no role, and we strive to create an atmosphere of caring and support in which to work. Writing is an act which can make us vulnerable, so we are careful and thoughtful in managing fears and blocks to the creative process.
Each workshop series is structured to provide time for writing and response. To begin, at 6:30, I present brief readings and writing exercises as a trigger for exploration. After about an hour of writing time, participants may then share their work (or not, if privacy is preferred).
When someone wants critical response, he or she gives copies of an edited, typed manuscript to all participants. Prepare up to ten pages of prose, or six poems, and consider including a question about what elements you want readers to focus on for commentary. A week or two later we discuss the manuscript in the workshop, and copies are returned to the writer with written comments. In addition, workshop participants may request one private consultation during each ten-week series.
Registration: occurs prior to each ten-week series, or when an opening occurs. Participants wishing to re-enroll will have first priority over those on the waiting list.
Fees: $250.00 per ten-week series. (Substitutes will pay $25.00 per meeting).
I ask that members pay the full fee in advance. If you have any difficulty with payment, please talk to me. Members who must miss a session will be reimbursed substitute fees that I collect.
Workshop Leader: Born in Northampton, Robin Barber, M.A., is a writer, teacher, and photographer. Certified by Amherst Writers and Artists leadership program, Robin has been in writing workshops since 1987, and leading the Wednesday workshop since 1998. Currently, I write fiction, memoir, and an occasional essay, and I love working among writers using these and other forms: non-fiction, poetry, songs, plays.