Offered by the cities of Irvine, Newport Beach & Huntington Beach Community Classes

Winter Session 2025

Commit to your creativity! New sessions begin in January 2025.

“Creative Writing” —a six-week course

“Creative Writing Jumpstart” —a one-evening intensive

Having trouble starting something? Having trouble finishing something?

Now is the time to make your desire to write a priority. What are you waiting for? Yeah, I’m talkin’ to you!

In class we’ll cover structure, characters, description, dialog and more. Much more. Weekly writing exercises will help you build your skills, in-class prompts will stimulate ideas, class discussions will grow your awareness. Once your awareness increases, your writing improves. 

The classes are open to all levels of experience.

— Your first writing class? Welcome!

— Did you earn an English degree? Welcome! 

— Have you been procrastinating? Welcome!  

You may also work on your personal projects: fiction or non-fiction, short stories, novels, personal essays, memoir, children’s books, poetry, plays, and scripts.

For the time being, these classes will continue to be held live online via Zoom. Click on “Writing Classes” for detailed course descriptions, dates, times, and registration information. 

Thanks for dropping in. Questions? Just ask! 

Dorothy Spirus | Writer, Instructor, Actress
Dorothy Spirus teaches Creative Writing to adults through Community Classes offered by the cities of Irvine (over a decade) and Huntington Beach (over seven years), and Newport Beach (over five years), in addition to private sessions for all ages. She is a published writer, playwright, actress, and former magazine editor. She earned a BA degree in Humanities in English from USC. Her curriculum included journalism courses in the Annenberg School, screenwriting in the School of Cinematic Arts and creative writing under the tutelage of best-selling author T.C. Boyle.