We believe in the vital role creative writing can play in an individual’s life and personal development. Our writing classes are open to everyone. We provide a warm supportive writing community for writers of all levels. Gemini Ink offers excellent, fair-cost workshops by published writers year-round.
Gemini Ink is an approved TEA provider for CPE (Continuing Professional Education). Educators seeking recertification can attend our classes and earn a certain number of credits for partaking in the workshop.
Parking at Gemini Ink
Gemini Ink offers free parking along the back wall of our downtown offices. Please access this parking lot from Augusta St and first park in any of the 12 spots along the back wall. Only when these 12 spots are full, do we ask that you park elsewhere in our lot. We now rent our offices from UTSA and are collaborating with them to create a secure and accessible parking lot for our community of writers and readers.
Upcoming Classes
Adult
Students under 18 are accepted into adult classes on a case-by-case basis. If you are under 18, please have a parent or guardian call Gemini Ink at (210) 734-9673.
The last Monday of every month Sep 25, Oct 30, Nov 27…6:30-8:30pm, CST, Via Zoom or in-person
Open Writers Labs
These peer-driven workshops, held the last Monday of each month, are free and open to writers of all levels and focus on poetry, flash fiction, and short creative non-fiction.
Saturday, Sep 30, from 10am-2pm CST (with 1-hour lunch), in-person at Gemini Ink
Cosmic Memory Map with Anel I. Flores
Welcome to the Cosmic Memory Map Workshop, a transformative journey into the depths of your “autohisteorías,” Led by Xicane, Queer, Trans author and artist Anel I. Flores. In this immersive workshop, we will explore the intersection of memory and the cosmos, delving into the cosmic tapestry that shapes our individual narratives. Drawing inspiration from real-life experiences, we will learn techniques to extract the essence of our stories, weaving them into vibrant tapestries of imagination and emotion. Through guided writing exercises, group discussions, and reflective meditations, we will navigate the cosmic landscape of our memories, unearthing hidden gems and untold tales.
Mondays Oct 2, 9, 16 & 23, 6:30-8:30pm CST, via Zoom
Memory & Image: A Micro Memoir Workshop with Poet Joni Wallace
Small, disconnected, and incomplete–this is how personal memories often come to us. But how do we take these moments and turn them into something meaningful? In micro memoir, a nonfiction piece is told in 200 words or less and is a perfect way to capture these tiny stories. In this generative four-week class, we’ll explore micro memoir and how adding a visual component can add depth to personal stories. We will study writers who use micro memoir and incorporate visual elements, then we will delve into our own memories, learn to identify powerful moments, and explore them through micro memoir and simple visual art exercises.
Sat, Oct 7, 14, 21, 28 & Nov 4, 11, 10am-12pm CST, Hybrid (online via Zoom and in-person)
Illness as Story: Healing through Writing and Community with Suzanne Ohlmann
Do you carry the story of illness in your body? No matter the diagnosis or disease, illness leaves a mark on the mind, body, and soul. Even caregivers or clinicians carry the story of how they’ve helped others navigate disease. Sometimes the first step toward health and healing can be sitting with the truth of how illness affects you. In this six-week course, participants will study the model of the Six-Part Story (6PSM), explore writing about their experience with disease from different points of view, and practice combining facts and fiction to create a new version of their healing journey.
Saturdays Oct 7, & 14, 1-5pm; Final Celebration 10/21, 10:30-12:30pm CST, in-person at the San Antonio Public Library (SAPL)
Voices of San Anto Bilingual Storytelling Workshop with Eddie Vega
You have a story to tell, and we want to help you tell it! Whether it’s that funny anecdote you tell at parties, an event that changed your life, or a family story passed down for generations, your story matters, and we want to help you bring it to life. Participants will share their stories at a public performance and final celebration.This workshop is for adults 18+ and no writing or performance experience is required. Native Spanish speakers and bilingual folks are highly encouraged to register.
The 3rd Wednesday of every month, Oct 18, Nov 15, Dec 20…6:30-8:30pm CST via Zoom
Veteran’s Writing Collective with Sarah Colby
This free writing workshop is geared to all active-duty military, veterans and their immediate family members.
Wed, Oct 18, via Zoom @ 7PM CST, Free, RSVP
The Big Texas Author Talk: A Free Monthly Online Reading Series from Writing Workshops Dallas & Gemini Ink
Featuring Katie Guttierrez–Book TBA
Mondays, Oct 30 & Nov 6, 6:30-8:30pm CST, via Zoom
Memory & A Walk on the Dark Side: Gothic Erasure with Kristine Esser Slentz
Want to take a walk on the dark side? Let Gothic classics and erasure take you there! From The Phantom of the Opera, to The Picture of Dorian Gray, to Frankenstein, Gothic fiction has captured our deepest fears and twisted our imaginations with the strange and unusual. In this two-session class, we will explore erasure techniques and apply them to popular Gothic tales to create our own stories or poems.
Mondays, Oct 30 & Nov 6, 6:30-8:30pm CST, via Zoom
Introduction to Playwriting with Mikaela Simon
Excellent theatre has a way of getting a great story up on its feet. But how do you tell a story on the page so that it comes to life on the stage? Join New Jersey-based playwright Mikaela Simon in this two-session course which will cover the fundamentals of writing a play. Workshop participants will learn how playwriting differs from other genres, what “show don’t tell” means when writing for the stage, and how to use it to create dynamic storytelling on stage. This course will cover structure, format, dialogue, monologues, characters, dramatic action, and theatricality. Participants will explore these elements and use them to create their own short plays and/or scenes.
Saturday, Dec 2, 10am-2:30pm CST (with 30-minute lunch), Hybrid (via Zoom and in-person at Gemini Ink)
Creating Scenes that Move the Story with Desiree Kannel
Great novels and short stories use scenes to gain momentum, escalate conflict, and reveal character. But how do writers decide which scenes push the action forward and which ones stagnate the story with unnecessary details? In this 4-hour workshop, writers will analyze scenes from their own work and learn how to decide what to cut and what to revise. We will discuss scene structure, effective transitions, and how to let character motivation drive the plot instead of the author’s agenda. Writers will leave with a better sense of what may be missing from their work in progress and tips on how to move forward.
Saturday, December 16, 10am-1pm CST, via Zoom
Exploring Your Cultural Inheritance through Poetry with Ebony Stewart
When we think of cultural inheritance, we often think of language, music, food, holidays, and maybe even sports. But what about the way a culture approaches central concepts like race, religion, patriotism, literacy, and integrity? In this workshop, we will explore the idea of our own unique heritage as a museum, reflect on spoken word pieces, and generate writing. In the discussion portion, we will explore the concrete and intangible elements of culture, any logical or illogical fears these may evoke, and the impact of that. We will use all of our explorations of culture and fear to create new poems that use some of the literary techniques covered.
Saturdays Jan 13, & 20, 1-5pm; Final Celebration 1/27, 10:30-12:30pm CST, in-person at the San Antonio Public Library (SAPL)
Voices of San Anto Bilingual Storytelling Workshop with Eddie Vega
You have a story to tell, and we want to help you tell it! Whether it’s that funny anecdote you tell at parties, an event that changed your life, or a family story passed down for generations, your story matters, and we want to help you bring it to life. Participants will share their stories at a public performance and final celebration.This workshop is for adults 18+ and no writing or performance experience is required. Native Spanish speakers and bilingual folks are highly encouraged to register.
Youth
Enjoy these free online mini-lessons from some of our Partner Classes faculty!:
How online classes work.
For our multi-session workshops, we’ve partnered with Wet Ink, the only online platform designed exclusively for writing workshops to bring top-notch creative writing workshops to you. Led by published, professional writers, our classes are intentionally small so that each writer can get the time and attention their work deserves.
Our classes meet in a dedicated online classroom where you can interact with your classmates and instructor. Craft materials, lectures, reading assignments, and writing prompts are all available through the online classroom. Students also post their work, and provide and receive feedback within the Wetink platform.
What you get:
- Access workshops 24/7, anytime from anywhere
- New writing prompts and lectures posted every Monday
- Interact with instructor and other class participants on a lively platform
- Generate new drafts by the end of every workshop
- Recieve feedback from the instructor and your peers
- Be fueled by new ideas that take you far beyond the workshop
- Access workshops for 2 weeks beyond the final class date
- All students are emailed a packet of all lectures to keep for your future writing and documentation. Incredibly valuable!!
Wetink and Zoom meeting links will be sent via email to all registered participants 30 minutes prior to the start of the first class. If you don’t see it in your Inbox, please check your Spam folder.
For detailed instructions on how to use Zoom, see Zoom video tutorials here.