Online Writing Courses and Classes for All Levels

A word of caution about online writing courses and lessons:

Some large companies prey on the emerging writer's vanity and sincere desire to learn. They will offer to evaluate a short piece of writing without charge, and will supply much superficial praise with little constructive criticism about how to improve.

The purpose of these companies is to sell an expensive creative writing course based on the writer's "exceptional" ability.

Many years ago, before anyone had heard of online writing courses, I ordered two creative writing courses by mail. Each one promised to take me from "wannabe" writer to published writer in ten or twelve weeks. I never made it past lesson one on my first attempt, and although I swore I'd persevere the next time I paid for a course, I didn't complete that one either.

The lessons were expensive, and they asked me to complete creative writing tasks before I had the skills to do so. I felt overwhelmed by the lessons, and I had no human contact, only a submission address to send my finished writing assignment, or not.

These companies were in the business of selling, not teaching or coaching. After all, if nine out of ten people never completed a course, the company had its money up front and never had to deliver the promised feedback.

The online writing courses and instructors listed here are legitimate and professional. They want repeat business, and they will help writers succeed.

Courses I'm Currently Offering

Novel Immersion Workshop

I am only teaching two courses this year. The first is the Novel Immersion Workshop, which guides individuals and small group of writers through a novel, from start to finish as they study the lessons, write on a regular schedule, and receive valuable feedback. This is the year you could bring your novel up a level, or even complete it. Read about this course HERE.

Length: Ongoing/monthly, begin or stop with two week's notice.

Read to Write

Writers write. To write well, they also must learn to read from a writer's perspective.

Architects study the buildings of other architects. Photographers study the photographs and techniques of other photographers. Artists of all types study the work and techniques of others in their field, both their contemporaries and the masters.

This course teaches you to read for technique and for inspiration. Each session compares discusses either a novel or two short stories to demonstrate the elements of fiction in depth, so you will learn about craft as you also hone your ability to analyze literary works.

Four weekly lessons each consist of assigned readings, questions, and a threaded discussion. Participants ask questions and post responses in the threaded discussion. There are no right or wrong answers, but participants may be asked to probe deeper or examine work from a different perspective to further illustrate practical techniques. Group size: 1-5

Length: 4 weeks

Cost: $395

CLICK HERE and contact me if you want to take the Read to Write course.

Point of View Simplified

Although I'm not offering it at the moment, I also teach Point of View Simplified. If you're like most writers struggling with Point of View (POV), you understand the basics, but may have difficulty grasping the subtleties of this element of fiction.

This online writing course is designed to simplify POV and give you confidence as you learn to distinguish minor differences in perspective. Over four successive lessons, this course discusses the theory of POV and puts that theory to practical use as you examine how established authors use POV. You will then complete exercises at your own pace. At the end of the fourth lesson, you will submit a short piece of fiction for a critique of your use of POV.

Length: 4 weeks

Cost $595

CLICK HERE and contact me if you want to take the POV course.

Other Online Writing Schools and Courses I Recommend

Gotham Writers' Workshop is located in New York City and online; they have been around since 1993. I took an article writing class from them and was pleased with the experience. Selected as "Best of the Web" by Forbes, their writers on their faculty have taught at Harvard and Columbia, have been on the New York Times bestseller list, and have written for the big name glossies you find at the newsstand. They offer group workshops in all genres at reasonable prices.

CLICK HERE to comment on the Online Writing Courses page

Return from Online Writing Courses to the Home page