Indiana Writers Center

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Indiana Writers Center

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At the Indiana Writers Center (IWC), we believe everyone has a unique story to tell; and our goal is simple: to help you tell it.

For more than 40 years we have worked to foster a vibrant writing community in Indiana. For more than 30 years we have worked to foster a vibrant writing community in Indiana.

10/11/2026

6 weeks of playwriting fundamentals coming at you soon!

Andrew Black will be on Zoom with us 6 Thursdays from October 29th to December 10th 7:00-9:00PM EST to teach the basics of playwriting. This course will focus on the creation of a ten-minute play through laying out the key elements of narrative structure, presenting outlines for a ten-minute play using said key elements, and reading plays! The last couple of sessions will bring in professional actors to bring the plays to life.

Come join us by registering here: https://www.indianawriters.org/product/fall-write-that-ten-minute-play/

10/06/2026

Struggling with a story opening, or just want to try something different out to see if what you’ve got is working?

On Saturday, October 17th, Tina Tocco will join us on Zoom from 10:00am-12:00pm to examine various story openings across genres to spark ideas and understand how different styles can change a piece.

Come find out how a reimagined intro can alter tone, POV, pace, and more!

Register here: https://www.indianawriters.org/product/oct26-story-openings/

10/04/2026

Proof year 3!

What an incredible day of literary shenanigans, thank you to everyone who stopped by the IWC table and chatted about writing and their book purchases of the day!!

Also the biggest thanks to everyone who made this day possible, what a great turnout and a beautiful day of connecting with Indy’s thriving literary community.

09/26/2026

“Memory (the deliberate act of remembering) is a form of willed creation. It is not an effort to find out the way it really was- that is research. The point is to dwell on the way it appeared and why it appeared in that particular way.” – Toni Morrison

Using Toni Morrison’s “Memory, Creation, and Writing” as a guide, Arriel Vinson will be leading a discussion of short, contemporary works of all genres that use memory and observation not only as storytelling tools but as ways to explore relationships, bodies, and place.

This workshop will examine how memory informs both body and story, not only through stories of memory about observation, but through the act of meditation. After the readings, Vinson will end with a meditation that dives deep into memory, the sense, and the will to tell powerful stories.

Come ready to flow this us! BYO yoga mat, paper, and a writing utensil.

Register here: https://www.indianawriters.org/product/10-24-memory-as-meditation/

09/23/2026

Join us 8 Thursday evenings from October 8th to December 3rd for our beginning novel writing class!

This one is designed to help aspiring writers generate 10,000 words on a novel. Sessions will combine craft talk, discussion, and practice. While enrolled, participants should aim to write about a page of the day throughout their enrollments.

Session Breakdown:

Session 1- Overview of the novel form and getting tatted on your novel
Session 2- Character and POVs. 1,500 words
Session 3- Key scenes. 3,00 words
Session 4- Mid-point check-in and getting unstuck. 4,500 words
Session 5- Discourses. 6,000 words
Session 6- Motifs. 7,500 words
Session 7- One great page. 9,000 words
Session 8- Celebrating your progress and looking ahead. 10,000+ words!

Register here: https://www.indianawriters.org/product/fall-beginning-novel-writing/

09/20/2026

Postcards from the 2026 Gathering of Writers!

What an incredible day of learning, writing, and community. Indiana has a powerful group of leaders in writing and students of the craft. Whatever your genre, there is something new to be learned by opening yourself up to new ways of interacting with craft and maybe even getting out of your comfort zone genre-wise!

A huge thanks to everyone who attended and to our amazing instructors (not all seen here).

If you were there, what was your favorite part of the day? Any particular workshop that really helped your process or moved you in a way you hadn’t previously been moved?

09/17/2026

Grab a beverage and join us on three Saturday mornings to consider how poets have used their craft to capture what it means to be a woman!

Not only will you pick up your own pen, but you will also read poets such as Ada Limón, Marge Piercy, and Lucille Clifton. We will explore our shared experiences through reading poetry rooted in beauty, strength, identity, and survival.

Register here: https://www.indianawriters.org/product/sips-solidarity/

09/14/2026

Last spotlight for our Gathering workshop instructors, we have Natalie Lima and Chris Forhan.

Natalie Lima is a Cuban-Puerto Rican writer and graduate of the MFA program at the University of Arizona. She is a recipient of fellowships from Bread Loaf Writers, PEN America Emerging Voices, and more! Lima is an Assistant Professor of English at Butler University.

Chris Forhan is a poet, memoirist, and essayist whose most recent book is A Mind Full of Music: Essays on Imagination and Popular Song. He has also published a memoir and four poetry collections, and said collections have garnered many prestigious awards. He teaches at Butler University.

They will be co-teaching a session about the nuts and bolts of submitting your creative work for publication. Lima and Forhan will share tips and best practices for getting your prose and poetry into literary journals.

Register at this link: https://www.indianawriters.org/product/gathering2026/

09/13/2026

Another Gathering countdown post, and today we spotlight Liz Whiteacre! Whiteacre is the author of three poetry collections, her most recent being Hindsight 20/40. Her poems have appeared in publications such as Disability Studies Quarterly and Breath and Shadow. She is a Professor of English at University of Indianapolis.

Her workshop, Imagery & Poetic Leaps, will use photographs and figurative language techniques to explore different ways to engage imagery and create a poem that uses imagery and poetic leaps.

Register for the Gathering at this link: https://www.indianawriters.org/product/gathering2026/

09/11/2026

Barbara Shoup, author of nine novels for adults and young adults, will be giving a workshop at this year’s Gathering! Shoup is a PEN Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Working Writers Fellowship recipient and Writer-in-Residence here at the Indiana Writers Center. Her creative nonfiction has been published in magazines such as Arruce and the Ocotillo Review.

Her workshop, Secondary Characters: Where They Come from and How to Make Them Real, will explore the purpose and development of secondary characters by looking at examples of effective secondary characters in contemporary fiction and considering why/how they work, as well as offering strategies to help you create secondary characters that support your main character(s) and move the plot of your novel.

Register for this year’s Gathering at this link: https://www.indianawriters.org/product/gathering2026/

Address

401 E Michigan Street
Indianapolis, IN
46204

Telephone

+13177628239

Website

http://www.indianawriters.org/, https://www.indianawriters.org/product/gathering2026/

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