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Creative Writing 101

RAN WALKER

Creative Writing 101

RAN WALKER

$579.99

12/12/2024 - 3/6/2025

Enroll Now

Are you one of those people who have thought, “I’d like to write a book someday, but I don’t know where to start”? If yes, then this is the course for you. All you need is to open yourself up and allow your ideas to flow, plus a writing implement to capture those ideas.

You may have hesitated to start writing your story before because of confusion about what to say, where to start writing, and how to shape your ideas. That should no longer be an issue. Let’s start by saying that there is no wrong way to write. While there are lots of tools to help with writing, as well as a plethora of methods and books, you should focus on what works for you. Use whatever method of writing is comfortable, motivating, and inspiring. Make your writing routine as simple and as convenient as you can.

However, there are a few key elements of good storytelling to learn that help the writer develop the story and meet the expectations of the reader. A good story also contains strong character development. The protagonist is the key to every story—who your protagonist is, what the protagonist wants, and the enemy the protagonist is fighting against. It is important to create a character that you want to get to know and look forward to writing—a character that your audience will care about what happens to him or her. Writing interesting characters is half the battle, which is won by learning how to get to know your character.

Creative Writing 101 combines teaching the key elements of storytelling with developing the protagonist. Once you understand who this character is and how to make sure you’ve included the key story elements, you are well on your way to writing that book you have been squelching.

$579.99

12/12/2024 - 3/6/2025

Enroll Now

Are you one of those people who have thought, “I’d like to write a book someday, but I don’t know where to start”? If yes, then this is the course for you. All you need is to open yourself up and allow your ideas to flow, plus a writing implement to capture those ideas.

You may have hesitated to start writing your story before because of confusion about what to say, where to start writing, and how to shape your ideas. That should no longer be an issue. Let’s start by saying that there is no wrong way to write. While there are lots of tools to help with writing, as well as a plethora of methods and books, you should focus on what works for you. Use whatever method of writing is comfortable, motivating, and inspiring. Make your writing routine as simple and as convenient as you can.

However, there are a few key elements of good storytelling to learn that help the writer develop the story and meet the expectations of the reader. A good story also contains strong character development. The protagonist is the key to every story—who your protagonist is, what the protagonist wants, and the enemy the protagonist is fighting against. It is important to create a character that you want to get to know and look forward to writing—a character that your audience will care about what happens to him or her. Writing interesting characters is half the battle, which is won by learning how to get to know your character.

Creative Writing 101 combines teaching the key elements of storytelling with developing the protagonist. Once you understand who this character is and how to make sure you’ve included the key story elements, you are well on your way to writing that book you have been squelching.

Course outline

Course outline

Each session includes required reading, a written lecture, and a writing assignment to turn in for personalized feedback from your instructor.

Meet the instructor

Ran Walker

Ran Walker (he/him) is the author of over 30 books. His short stories, flash fiction, microfiction, and poetry have appeared in a variety of anthologies and journals. Prior to becoming a writer and educator, he worked in magazine publishing and practiced law in Mississippi.
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He is the winner of the Indie Author Project's National Indie Author of the Year Award, the Black Caucus of the American Library Association Best Fiction Ebook Award, the Virginia Indie Author Project Award for Adult Fiction, and the Blind Corner Afrofuturism Microfiction Contest. His collection Keep It 100: 100-Word Stories was selected by Kojo Baffoe for South Africa's Sunday Times' Best Reads of 2021. 

Ran is also the recipient of both a Mississippi Arts Commission/NEA artist grant and an artist mini-grant.  He has served as an Artist-in-Residence with the Mississippi Arts Commission.  Additionally, he is a past participant in the Hurston-Wright Writers Week Workshop and is the recipient of a fellowship from the Callaloo Writers Workshop. He has been featured in Library Journal and Publishers Weekly and at the Library Journal Day of Dialog. He has served as a judge for several regional, national, and international contests, and he also regularly writes for Writer's Digest magazine, where he serves as a Contributing Editor.

Ran is an Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing at Hampton University and teaches with Writer's Digest University. He lives in Virginia with his wife and daughter.

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