Free online creative writing classes allow you to further your love of writing from the comfort of your own home. These classes can be administered in the form of a one-time seminar or over the course of several months.
What to Look for in Free Online Creative Writing Classes
Online creative writing classes are designed to help you improve your overall writing skills or one aspect of your writing career. When you take an online class, you'll be solely responsible for doing the work and getting the most out the class.
There are two basic types of free courses: those that only offer reading material and those with an interactive forum or e-mail system. Depending on your need, either of these classes can be helpful. If you're simply looking to get education on the topic and don't want to create any new work, a course that only provides reading material can be helpful. If you want to get specific feedback on your projects, you will want to look for a free course that has a forum or a teacher that will give you guidance on your work.
In addition to looking for the type of class that will suit your needs, you should also take a close look at who is giving the course. Your course instructor should have sufficient experience in the creative writing field. If the class is interactive, they should be able to offer you specific advice on how to further your creative writing career. Just because the class is free doesn't meant that it should be a waste of your time. Make sure that you're getting quality content for the time that you spend.
Free Classes from Universities
Many universities offer free online creative writing classes. These classes normally offer interactive communication with the professor and other students, but check the universities' sites to be sure.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology offers several undergraduate and graduate level writing courses through their OpenCourseWare Initiative. They offer Introduction to Fiction, Writing and Reading Short Stories, The Creative Spark and many other writing and humanities courses. No registration is required and the course includes lecture notes and student stories.
Open University is the largest academic institution in the UK. Thanks to the Internet, their excellent courses and resources are available to people anywhere in the world. They offer a wide variety of classes in the creative writing field. Registration is free and you can take as many classes as you like. Try out these creative writing courses:
Online Learning Resources
In addition to working with a university's open course, you can also access free online creative writing classes through independent websites.
If you're interested in Science Fiction and Fantasy writing, there is a free course available at Write Science Fiction and Fantasy. The course includes an introductory module and in-depth learning on plot development, character creation and other essential elements.
Writing coach Sarah Lovett offers a free writing course excerpted from her book "Dream it, Write it". The course is available at the author's website.
Free Courses with Membership
Several online writer's associations offer free creative writing courses once you become a member. The membership fees range in price, but for the quality of classes it may be a good investment.
For example, Writers' Village University is $99 for the first year and then $69 per year after that to join. In exchange for the membership fee, you gain access to creative writing, nonfiction, poetry and business writing courses. The creative writing courses change with each semester. Offerings include courses that focus on topics like flash fiction , dialogue expression, and the art of sequencing
