Starting next week, the Ohio Writers’ Association will host classes to aid authors and aspiring writers to complete a manuscript in one year.

The series of classes coined “the Novel Year,” will begin with a weekly class for four weeks and transition into a monthly class following the initial four meetings. Additionally, the course offers two one-on-one consultations with the instructor for more targeted assistance with each author’s work.

“I’ve been teaching similar classes for a long time. This is a little bit different of an adaptation because it includes the one year of support … this will be the first time we’re incorporating the year-long support structure,” Brad Pauquette, President of the Ohio Writers’ Association and Director of the School of Kingdom Writers, said. “We really designed it, this time, for busy adults after working with lots of people and seeing the challenges that they face to get the job done.”

Working as a developmental editor for 10 years, Pauquette said he has worked with a number of best-selling and award-winning authors throughout the years. 

The course will focus heavily on writing and finishing a manuscript by the end of the year, but other topics like publishing a book will be discussed, as well.

While coming into the class with a solid idea is welcome, Pauquette said the class is also for those who want to write a manuscript but have no idea where to begin.

“People can really come with a blank slate. If they have an idea that they’ve been working on for awhile and maybe haven’t made progress on yet or if they’ve just been toying around with something in their mind for a long time, we can definitely work with that,” he said. “If somebody comes and they don’t have an idea yet, that’s really perfect. We’re going to work with them and develop an idea that really works.”

In an effort to keep the class small and provide individualized attention to each author, about 10 to 20 people are expected to enroll in the Zanesville class.

“I now live in Zanesville, and I’m excited to bring these kind of resources and opportunities to our community,” Pauquette said. “I think that Zanesville is right for things like this. I think that we have such an arts-driven community, and we have the right sized population to support things like this. And so I’d really like to see it take off and to see writing as a foundational part of the arts community in Zanesville.”

There are three available sections of the class, one hosted in downtown Zanesville, another in Columbus and an online portion for those who cannot make it in-person. The course is $499 for those that are not members of OWA and $469 for members.

Anyone interested in learning more about the course and registering, can visit http://www.ohiowriters.org/class.