Local writers will have the opportunity to hone their skills with UNC Asheville's Great Smokies Writing Program's winter workshop series. Nine classes are open to interested writers; each course qualifies UNC Asheville credit hours in literature and language.

Award-winning fiction writer Leni Zumas will teach "Story Lab: A Fiction Workshop" at the Randolph Learning Center, 90 Montford Ave., from 6-8:30 p.m. for 10 consecutive Tuesdays, beginning February 16. In this two-credit hour class, student will practice a range of creative exercises to explore elements of fiction, including voice, diction, rhythm, dialogue, place, time and point of view.

Veteran children's book editor Joy Neaves will conduct a "Writing for Children Workshop" at the Randolph Learning Center from 6-8:30 p.m. for 10 consecutive Mondays, beginning February 16. The two-credit hour class will focus on critiquing serious works by students, the business of publishing and ways to approach editors and agents.

Laura Hope-Gill, Asheville Wordfest director, will lead "From Follows Function: The Inner Life of Making Poems." This two-credit hour class will meet at the Randolph Learning Center from 6-8:30 p.m. on 10 consecutive Tuesdays, beginning February 16. The class is open to poets at all levels of experience to sharpen the forms and techniques of their writing.

"The Abiding Image: A Poetry Workshop," taught by award-winning poet Cathy Smith Bowers, will meet at the Kellogg Center in Hendersonville from 2-4:30 p.m. for 10 consecutive Wednesdays, beginning February 17. The course, which is geared toward the beginner poet, will focus on tension, metaphor and sound. It is a two-credit hour class.

Vicki Lane, author of the Elizabeth Goodweather mystery series, will lead a fiction workshop on "A Practical Guide to Writing Popular Fiction" at Mountain Heritage Center in Burnsville. This two-credit hour course will meet from 2-4:30 p.m. for 10 consecutive Wednesdays, beginning on February 17. A workshop for beginning or in-process writers who want to write a novel with popular appeal, this class will combine instruction in the basics of setting, plot, characterization and dialog with practical information about seeking an agent and submitting a manuscript.

Noted teacher and writer Marjorie Klein will teach the fiction workshop, "Stretching the Truth: Creating Fiction from Life." This two-credit hour class will meet at Montford Books & Moore, 31 Montford Ave., from 6-8:30 p.m. on 10 consecutive Wednesdays, beginning February 17. Students will use in-class prompts to trigger the creation of fictional stories, based on memory and imagination.

Respected writer and editor Sebastian Matthews will lead "True Stories: A Creative Nonfiction Workshop" at the Black Mountain College Museum, 56 Broadway from 6-8:30 p.m. for 10 consecutive Wednesdays, beginning February 17. In this two-credit hour class, students will work with a variety of nonfiction forms, including personal essay and memoir.

In addition, two classes for advanced writers will be offered. Prospective students for these two courses must receive permission to enroll by contacting Great Smokies Writing Program Director Tommy Hays at hays@main.nc.us.

Novelist Elizabeth Lutyens will teach "A Prose Master Class" for students who have completed two or more Great Smokies Writing Program classes and are looking for a more intensive writing and critiquing experience. This three-credit-hour class will meet at the Asheville School from 6-8:30 p.m. for 15 consecutive Tuesdays, beginning January 26.

Hays will lead "Keeping Ourselves Company: An Advanced Creative Prose Workshop" at the Asheville School from 6-8:30 p.m. for 15 consecutive Thursdays, beginning January 28. This three-credit-hour class is for advanced prose writers, who are working on projects or who want to start something new in either fiction or memoir.

Tuition and fees for the 15-week classes are $267.30 for North Carolina residents. Tuition and fees for the 10-week classes are $178.20 for North Carolina residents. A $20 non-refundable application fee for new students will also be charged. Class size is limited; early registration is suggested.

For more information or to register, call the UNC Asheville Extension and Distance Education Office at 828/232-5122 or email fox@unca.edu. Applications are also available at www.unca.edu/gswp.