Local writers will have the opportunity to hone their skills with the Great Smokies Writing Program’s summer workshop series. A consortium of the Western North Carolina writers’ community and UNC Asheville, the program will offer four workshops in poetry and prose. Classes are open to all interested writers but class size is limited; early registration is suggested.

Noted author and editor Sebastian Matthews will teach “Art of the Personal Essay,” at Phil Mechanic Studios, 109 Roberts St., downtown Asheville, from 4-6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays June 5-July 3. This course will help students brainstorm, write and revise a personal essay.

Matthews will also lead “Create Your Own Poetry Chapbook” at Phil Mechanic Studios from 4-6:30 p.m. on Thursdays June 7-July 5. This class will allow students to combine previously written poetry with poems composed during class to create their own theme-based chapbook. Local book artists will contribute to the course.

Professor and folklorist Bobbie Pell will lead “Story Structures: Plotting Your Fiction” at the Asheville School, 360 Asheville School Rd., from 6-8:30 p.m. on Thursdays May 31-June 28. Designed for both beginning and advanced writers, the course will explore a variety of literary techniques to help shape short and long fiction. Students will examine classic master plots, create narrative arcs with sub-plots and emotional threads, discern techniques for active scenes versus narration, and synthesize thematic threads into cohesive sequencing.

Vicki Lane, author of the Elizabeth Goodweather mystery series, will lead “Scene by Scene: The Building Blocks of Commercial Fiction.” This class will meet from 6:30-9 p.m. for five consecutive Tuesdays beginning May 29 at the YMI Cultural Center, 39 South Market St., downtown Asheville. The course will focus on the basics of setting, character, dialogue and plot with an overview of the publication process.

Each course qualifies for one UNC Asheville credit hour in literature and language. Tuition and fees are $79.19 for in-state tuition and $421.25 for out-of-state students. A $20 non-refundable application fee for new students will also be charged.

For more information or to register, call UNC Asheville’s Extension and Distance Education Office at 828/232-5122, e-mail fox@unca.edu, or click on www.unca.edu/gswp.