Workshops for Writers

We Take Workshopping Seriously

Are you seeking accountability and community as you write your chapbook, short story collection, memoir, or novel? If so, you’ve come to the right source.

The DPP CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOP is an ongoing forum, held over Zoom, where you can share your progress with fellow writers and our facilitator to sharpen your piece (and your editorial eye) while enjoying community and accountability. Both the Thursday and Saturday series are designed to be helpful and supportive, not judgmental or prescriptive. This model represents the best way to get through the “messy middle” of a novel or other long-form work.

The ongoing format of the DPP Writing Workshops gives you the flexibility of signing on to a 4-week session and then continuing thereafter or taking a break and re-registering a later date.


Now enrolling for 2023! CREATIVE THURSDAYS is a creative writing workshop based on the same workshop that Dianne hosted live, twice each month, between 2015 and 2022. The majority of participants in the live series found it so valuable that they remained in the workshop for the entire 7 years.

Minimum enrollment: 4
Maximum enrollment: 8

$99 (4 meetings)
2023 DATES: January 5, 12, 19, 26
Time: 11:00 AM – 1:30 PM PST (2:00 – 4:30 PM EST)


Now enrolling for 2023! Identical in scope to the creative writing workshop series, CREATIVE THURSDAYS, the CREATIVE SATURDAYS workshop meets on Saturdays and is provided for those who are unable to participate in a weekday workshop or are looking for an enriching weekend activity.

Minimum enrollment : 4
Maximum enrollment: 8
$99 (4 meetings)
2023 DATES: January 7, 14, 21, 28
Time: 8:00 – 10:30 AM PST (11:00 AM – 2:30 PM EST)


What does a short story have that a novel doesn’t have? What makes a short story valuable? What can you write about, and how can you get yourself to finish it?

The SHORT STORY WORKSHOP is a generative workshop for beginning short story authors, seasoned authors who may be stepping into a new genre. In four succinct meetings, generate a short story idea, and complete it, all while getting valuable feedback from the instructor and peers. Each session in the SHORT STORY WORKSHOP runs 2.5 hours (10 hours total).

Minimum enrollment: 4
Maximum enrollment: 8
$99 (4 meetings)
DATES: January 15, 22, 29; February 5

TIME: 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM PST (12:00 – 2:30 PM)


An essential follow-up to the creative writing workshop series, the CREATIVE WRITING 1:1 ADD-ON CONSULT is a post-workshop session. It features an individualized meeting and counseling session with Dianne. Over the course of the sixty-minute session, held over Zoom, you and Dianne will discuss your writing and and strategize on how to take it to the next level.

Prerequisite: Completion of a four-session DPP CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOP. The 1:1 meeting date will be scheduled at a time agreed upon by both facilitator and author.
Maximum enrollment per meeting: 1
$99 (1 meeting)


What makes a novel a novel? What are genres and which one do you want to write in? Do you need to know your genre? Do you need to know how it’s going to end? What makes your novel valuable? What can you write about, and how can you get yourself to finish it?

NOVEL BASICS is a generative workshop for beginning novel writers who want to write that book they have always had in them, or for seasoned authors in other forms who may be stepping into a new form with the novel. In four succinct meetings, held over Zoom, you’ll generate a novel idea, or make advancements on your work in progress, all while receiving constructive feedback from the instructor and peers.

Minimum enrollment : 4
Maximum enrollment: 8
$99 (4 meetings)
BY REQUEST: If you are interested in attending NOVEL BASICS, please sign up for the wait list. You will be notified when the next workshop series is scheduled.


What is memoir/ creative non-fiction? What differentiates it from biography? How do you write about the life you’ve lived? What does memoir/creative nonfiction have that a novel lacks? What makes it valuable to the author (you)? What makes it valuable to the reader? What can you write about, and how can you get yourself to finish what you start?

The MEMOIR/CREATIVE NONFICTION WORKSHOP is a generative workshop designed for both beginning memoir/creative nonfiction authors and seasoned prose authors who may be new to writing memoir/creative nonfiction. Across four workshop meetings, held over Zoom, you’ll learn the basics of developing a memoir and how to find the right voice to craft a compelling narrative. You’ll also discover the “creative” aspect of creative nonfiction and how it will aid in telling your story, all while receiving feedback from the instructor and peers.

Minimum enrollment : 4
Maximum enrollment: 8
$99 (4 meetings)

BY REQUEST: If you are interested in attending MEMOIR/CREATIVE NONFICTION, please sign up for the wait list. You will be notified when the next workshop series is scheduled.


What makes a poem a poem? What makes a poem valuable valuable? What can you write about, and how can you get yourself to finish what you start? What if you don’t understand poetry, but feel like you may be a poet? What if you can’t imagine rhyming, or writing in a form, like the sonnet? Can poetry be for you?

POETRY BASICS is a generative, foundational workshop designed for individuals just beginning to exam the poem, and who want a more impressionistic way to tell a story than memoir or prose offers. In this single-session workshop, held over Zoom, we’ll discuss poetry: what it is and isn’t, how to understand it. We’ll take a look at great poetry, and what makes it great. Then roll up our sleeves and learn the process of taking a thought or observation you may have and transforming it into a poem as we generate ideas together. In addition to your own poetry, you’ll also have an opportunity to contribute to a group poem, all while receiving valuable and immediate feedback from the instructor and peers.

Each POETRY BASICS WORKSHOP runs 2.5 hours and begins at 12:00 PM PST. Select your preferred date below. NOTE: This workshop is a one-off session.

Minimum enrollment: 4
Maximum enrollment: 8
$49 (1 meetings)
BY REQUEST
: If you are interested in attending POETRY BASICS, please sign up for the wait list. You will be notified when the next workshop series is scheduled.


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