Workshops currently open for registration: “Writing the Short Story” course for adults (virtual) ; “Craft of Fiction” workshop series for adults, co-taught with Ellen Bryson and Ruth Druart (in person, Paris, France)
A passionate and dedicated teacher, I have a decade of experience teaching writing in various capacities to students of all ages. I believe deeply that humans are inherently creative, so I strive to simply give them the best craft tools and thinking skills with which to shape the stories they have inside.
Before moving to Paris, I taught upper elementary and middle-school Literacy for three years at the innovative Long-View Micro School in Austin, Texas. As a teaching artist with the Austin Public Library Friends Foundation’s Badgerdog initiative for six years, I also designed and led numerous community-based creative writing workshops and summer camp classes for children and adults, including programs held at libraries, underserved public schools, museum exhibitions, and public housing. During my time in Austin, I also served for four years as an adjunct professor at St. Edward’s University, teaching courses on creative writing and children’s/young-adult literature and mentoring Master of Liberal Arts students on their creative writing theses. My experience also includes leading a wide variety of after-school creative writing workshops for children and teenagers in Texas, in Maryland, and in Cairns, Australia, where I was a writer-in-residence at Whitfield State School.
Currently, I teach creative writing to undergraduate students at the Le Havre campus of the French university Sciences Po. I also teach after-school creative writing workshops for middle-school students at two schools in Paris, as well as literature/writing courses for adults through the WICE expat organization.
Below are some of the types of workshops and services I offer.
General creative writing workshops for children, teenagers, and adults of all levels
These small-group workshops, formed according to age and experience level, are powerful opportunities to deepen craft skills, gain confidence, and help build a supportive community of writer peers. Highly customizable according to student interest and background, these groups generally meet weekly to experiment with inspiring writing exercises and to share and respond to each other’s work.
Project-based, genre-specific after-school creative writing workshops
Often hosted at individual schools as part of their after-school or Wednesday program offerings, these workshops are highly engaging courses designed to appeal equally to passionate budding novelists and reluctant writers. A careful study of mentor texts within the workshop’s specific genre, along with scaffolded writing exercises within that genre, build up to an ambitious, high-investment collaborative project—a short film written, acted, and directed entirely by kids; a co-written fantasy book from multiple points of view; a murder-mystery dinner party scripted and devised by students and played out by their parents as invited guests . . . the possibilities are endless! In the past, these workshops have been unforgettable experiences for some writers. Students build crucial collaborative skills even as they practice creativity and self-expression.
Private tutoring
I offer supportive, personalized, kind, and rigorous mentorship to help writers of all ages advance toward their goals.
Manuscript consultation
I would be happy to apply my writing and teaching experience to help improve your novel manuscript, no matter where you are in the writing process. My specialty is in middle-grade and young-adult novel manuscripts. You can expect thorough, deep, and professional insights on everything from structure and characterization to subtle sentence-level craft.
Please contact me for more details, to ask any questions, or to sign up!
Noah Weisz 