The Writers Workshop is a wonderful, personable and fun way to learn how to write and tell your story. Both on-line and in-person classes are filled with structure and focus and clarity as we examine writing examples and topics about writing. And then we write and and write. Nick is a gifted teacher and writer who offers pertinent comments on each assignment. I feel like I am finding and refining my writing voice. Valuable class content is offered no matter where you are at in the process, beginner, or stuck or wanting to publish. I highly recommend.

Nick, the instructor, made the class interesting and engaging. The resources he suggested and that we discussed as a group were exceptionally helpful to me in improving my writing. Nick did careful reviews of my work and provided expert feedback that will make my fiction manuscript better. Recommend!

Nick’s writing classes help writers the way builders help architects: he emphasizes the nuts and bolts of writing needed to sustain a structure. Through exercises, guided reading and class discussion, these classes teach the craft of turning a story idea into a solid work. Another strength of the series is the inclusion of magazine editors, authors, publishers, and agents who answer questions about the realties of the publishing world. Whether in ZOOM, in person, or in a traveling class, Nick’s expert tutelage helps writers improve their writing in a friendly, inclusive, and fun class.

Nicks classes bring together a wide variety of interesting people all motivated to write. Connecting with peers at different stages on the writing path is so valuable. Nick provides very practical, grounded advice on how to approach writing and how to position oneself in the world of writing. I highly recommend these courses.

The Spring course was fun, everyone involved was very friendly. It was just what I needed! Nick broke the writing process down to the nuts and bolts and helped me build an idea from beginning to end. The instructor feedback was extremely valuable, workshopping in a small group was great, as was the industry advice.

Nick is a great instructor. He emphasizes the positive, his comments are astute, and he brings out ones best writing. In addition to information and motivation, his classes provide structure and accountability, which I dearly need. During the pandemic, his online classes have been a supportive environment where kindred writers can share and delight in each others writing. If it werent for Nicks classes, I would not have self-published my first fantasy romance novel, The Bay of Mermaids, under my pen name Majia Comella. Thank you Nick!

Nick’s class helped me become a better writer. He is a patient and encouraging teacher who attracts many returning students. The class is a very positive learning environment that’s great for novices and experienced writers alike.

I’ve just completed 4 courses over the last year, as part of a certificate programme, with Dr. Nick O’ Connell of the Writer’s Workshop. One year ago I decided to take up writing with more sincerity and depth. With lockdowns due to the COVID pandemic around the world I was lucky to find The Writer’s Workshop offering what would typically be in-person classes in Seattle, online.Being in Thailand, I was lucky the schedule allowed me to attend Nick’s classes at 9am on a Thursday morning. Extremely convenient for me. The zoom classes were well structured, interactive, and rigorous. We had 6 assignments per quarter, including the mountain of a project: either a short story or a book chapter. Nick taught us in a structured manner, following course notes that included many varied articles and books. But there was also a sense of his presence individually. His email corrections of assignments were detailed and each one of us had a one-on-one conference to discuss specifics with him. So by the time it was chapter or short story assignment time, I felt ready and able.Nick supports those working on fiction, creative-non-fiction, short stories, or novels equally well. He had inspiring, very specific, constructive criticism and advice, always expressed with respect and encouragement.I started out shyly, hoping to share some pieces of my life with my young children one day. I’ve ended up, one year later, almost completing a memoir, having published a few pieces after following advice and completing assignments regarding getting published, and I’ve revamped an old blog to support my new life as a writer in the scope of it becoming part of my platform.I plan to take more courses with Nick as I see things with different eyes each time, I am encouraged to write, and I see growth and more understanding with regards not only to the craft of writing, but also the more mundane, and practical side of things - like to write a cover letter, steps towards getting published and so on.

Nick OConnell is a treasure for the ordinary person wanting to write. He is a serious teacher, teaches a lot of practical and poetic skills, and inspires one to want to write and write, edit and edit.It is great to complete one essay or chapter. In class he will sometimes tell you to write then and there for 5 minutes. In each class I attended, this 5 minute exercise was the start of my final product.Nick reads and gives feedback on the final draft of the class and then gives enough detail to help you finish off.The class is useful, concise, intimate, safe, inspiring and empowering. Sign up!

I first met Dr. Nick O’Connell at Hugo House in 2017 where he was a guests lecturer on a technique called ‘In Media Res’ - used extensively by, among other writers, the 1982 Nobel Laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I have since taken several courses with him including, most recently, “Revising Your Life”. The class, taught online (due to the limitations imposed by the pandemic), was well organised and clearly presented. Among its facets is an extensive overview of the publishing process – from finding an agent to researching publishing houses, from negotiating royalties to developing a professional network, Dr. O’Connell covered the foundations of an aspect of writing that is rarely taught.From a personal standpoint, I found Dr. O’Connell to be a generous teacher, a discerning reviewer, and a compassionate friend whose courses I would recommend without reservations.

Over the course of a couple of years I took the complete cycle of writers workshop 4 classes while starting a couple of books, one a memoir and a travel/ecology book.I found the classes extremely helpful in going through a stepwise process for writing. Some of the techniques I had picked up (somewhere) but having a logical foundation upon which to build and vary your story was insightful.Nick provided some great reading material to showcase other instructor ideas and author examples. The review by classmates also proved useful. Two of the classes were remote due to the recent COVID precautions - but it still seemed to work well and provided an opportunity for some far-flung people to take the class.I would highly recommend Nicks classes if your beginning a writing project, stuck in the middle, or just contemplating an idea.

In the wild and foreign land of writing, Nick is a guiding light. There is no way around the pain and frustration. However, his perceptive expertise delivers the exact structural components necessary for break through. Nicks open mindedness invites expression and a sense of freedom. Yet, his professionalism provides an anchor to ground during the flights of creation. Often, Nick knows what I am trying to say before I have fully said it. The Writers Workshop assignments mimic the development for all growth. Beginning in the roots, so that a great tree (and sometimes forest) may arise. With a PhD, Nick channels years worth of his academia into these courses. As a published author skilled in networking, Nick unveils the process of creating a desirable author platform and portfolio. His courses adapt to all levels and styles of writers. The Writers Workshop teaches writers to avoid pitfalls in order to keep crawling, climbing, and eventually flying forward.

Nick is an extraordinarily gifted teacher. He straddles the line between pedagogy and cheerleading effortlessly with a twinkle in eye. He took away the mystique of writing well and broke it down into a handful of steps that come together with the glue of good language. This allows a writer to focus on fleshing out the language after the bones of the story have been properly fashioned. His classes were a wonderful experience and I strongly encourage anyone considering them to jump right in.

The Writers Workshop offers great assignments, interesting topics, and kind, constructive criticism of your writing projects. Despite the varied backgrounds and interests of the class members, Nicholas brought everyone into the circle, and made the class quite enjoyable. I learned quite a bit about character development, engaging the reader, and active dialogue. The assignments were not burdensome, and I found myself really looking forward to each class! I will take more classes, and continue to work on my book! Thanks Nick, for the instruction and the inspiration!

Wonderful classes. Nick consistently provides useful feedback. The class offers practical skills for writing in a fun and interesting way. I look forward to the next class.

I took Nicks writing 101 class last year and currently taking non-fiction with him, and I highly recommend either of these courses to others. As part of the course, Nick provides an easy-to-follow schedule, rich with resources and clear guidance, that you can work on your own schedule. He then responds to assignments with succinct advice - correcting bad habits, and pointing toward advanced and effective habits. He uses short assignments, genuine feedback and unflinching edits to teach by showing. The dialog format is so effective - I gained confidence in how to bring life to my writing and inspiration to keep going - to keep writing. Thank you, Nick. Again, highly recommend!

As a beginning writer I was encouraged and empowered by watching my story take life under the deft instruction of Nick OConnell. Such a joy!

Nick is a master teacher. Each of his classes and each series of classes builds his students’ skills. He connects students to publishing resources, brings out the best in each student and creates a supportive writing community. I met Nick two years ago in Italy at his travel writing class and just completed the fourth and final series of his Writer’s Workshop Narrative Writing Program. It has been life changing.

The online travel writing class was my first experience with a course geared specifically towards writing, and Nick gave me a great experience to set me on my way in pursuing a career in writing. All of the basics of the writing and editing process are covered expertly and the focus on strategies for marketing the finished product was a huge help. I fully recommend this course if youre looking into an online class!

My first course in poetry was Jana Harriss INTRODUCTION TO POETRY, through The Writers Workshop. Jana provided prompt and extremely helpful feedback on each assignment. The curriculum and reference materials brilliant for a novice. Not only that, within the year of taking Janas course, Finishing Line Press accepted by chapbook, Mourning Dove. I was stunned. Most poems in that collection were written under her mentoring.

Nick is an amazingly kind, astute, and patient teacher. His classes will help you learn the essential knowledge for effective storytelling. No matter your level of expertise or writing skill, you will certainly learn something useful, and you will have fun! My only complaint about the class is that I wish I had taken it earlier in life.

Nick gave me some great suggestions, tools, and a way to organize and write stories, books, chapters, and professional tricks and tips to get published and thrive as a writer. Nick is a professional who has been there and has many great connections he invites to his class to meet and learn from. He easily demystified the process of writing and gave me hope that I could indeed write stories of length that were compelling and interesting. I recommend that anyone who wants to be published or polish their skills should sign up for his courses.

I took two classes with the Writers Workshop. An online class on the Art of the Narrative and an in person class on personal essays/memoir. Nick is a great teacher and makes classes fun and informative for writers of varying levels. Ive been able to use both classes to great effect in later writing projects and just had my first essay published that I started while in one of Nicks classes. I am also always recommending the fiction class to friends who want to learn about the art of storytelling.

I joined Nick O’Connell’s narrative writing course as a refresher and to improve my storytelling, so I could get a longstanding book project to the point I felt confident in pitching it. With Nick’s help and encouragement, I did, it was accepted, and I am under contract. In addition to achieving this goal, the course reignited my passion for writing. I would recommend Nick’s writing classes for experienced and aspiring writers alike.

This is a review for the ONLINE INTRO TO FICTION WRITING COURSE. I looked around for a long time before I chose The Writers Workshop course. I was hesitant to do an online course, for various reasons, a couple of which were the time frame and the cost. Other courses just didnt fit my schedule. Maybe I could write a whole novel in several weeks but I wanted a course I could take that would allow me enough time, as a working adult new to creative writing, to finish without feeling too much pressure. You can read a lot of things online, listen to webinars and all that, and thats great, but sooner or later (preferably sooner, I would say) you need someone to give you expert feedback. This was the missing piece for me, and I was happy to get good, constructive criticism as well as much-needed encouragement from an experienced instructor, Scott Driscoll. Im looking forward to taking the next course, INTERMEDIATE FICTION WRITING.

My husband Richard and I had the great experience last May of taking Nick OConnells Food and Wine Travel Writing Workshop in Provence, France. We loved every single moment of our time there. Nick is not only an amazing writing teacher and coach, he also knows how to pick extraordinary places to visit, delicious restaurants to dine in, and adventurous side trips that add up to a deeply satisfying experience that goes well beyond just education. We look forward to the next time we can join Nick somewhere weve never been, and learn how to write better in the process. Learning truly can be fun - and Nick knows how to mine the deepest experiences for the gold.

Ive taken many writing classes over the last year and still felt lost in my writing. After taking my first class with Nick last fall, I felt like I finally understood how to take the steps to write a good essay, and/or chapter. I was so pleased with Nicks supportive teaching style, the class content and the other group of fellow writers, I decided to continue on with whole series of writing classes. I no longer feel lost in my writing because I learned how to outline, write dramatic scenes, use narrative structure and so much more including how to position my work for publishing. Highly recommend Nicks class.

I’ve taken two of Nick’s Writing Workshop classes and both were excellent. They helped me publish three books and several magazine articles. I learned so many things from Nick’s classes—from the importance of my promotional platform to how a story is told. He is clear, organized, and well-prepared. You have the feeling you are in good hands. Nick sets the tone for the class as a welcoming and friendly environment. The classes accommodate all levels of writing expertise and ages. I was a novice when I took my first class. The workshop format is a valuable tool for writers. Nick is careful to make sure that stories are workshopped fairly and positively. It was a good experience (which is not always the case with other writing programs). I emerged with a sense of confidence and direction. I also met three classmates who later became part of my writing critique group.

No matter where you are at in your writing ability, Nicks lessons will take you to the next level. He helps you to move forward. As you progress in writing, you gain more confidence. And as you gain more confidence, you progress more in writing. Thank you Nick!

I highly recommend The Writers Workshop for writers of all stages. Not only is Nick a fantastic teacher, but he genuinely cares about his students and their interest in growing as a writer. I looked forward to each class, and always left feeling encouraged and energized.

Nick OConnell, founder of The Writers Workshop, helped me with the concept for my book, Colors of the West, published in 2017 by Mountaineers Books. We worked together for 6 months on one of the chapters. Nick gave me valuable assistance with 4 drafts, which he read with care, offering detailed suggestions for crafting a lively non-fiction narrative. My book would not have gotten off the ground without his insights and experience!

I attended my first writing class with Nick about ten years ago for help on my memoir. It was very challenging for me to share details about my private life in a group setting but with Nicks support and encouragement I was able to talk about my personal story for the first time in public which opened up a whole new level of writing. It was because of Nicks class that I learned how to be a consistent writer and why I was able to publish and even win some awards. This class made it a little easier to put myself out there and its where I learned more about the local writing community and how to connect with other writers.Ive attended several classes with Nick since that first class and I am looking forward to many more in the future! Id love to go on one his travel writing workshops. On my list! Nick is an excellent teacher and his classes are both meaningful and fun. Theres serious focus on the work but he also includes a bit of social time which is a great way to get to know other students. Many of Nicks classes are held in a beautiful and historical building in Wallingford called The Good Shepherd Center. A wonderful setting all year long!