Webinars
Self-Publishing Foundations for Long-Term Success
David Woghan
NOVEMBER 14 | 1:00 PM ET
The objective of this class is to educate you, an author considering or choosing self-publishing, about the important decisions you need to make and things you need to do during the book preparation process that have an impact on marketing success once your book is released.
Guided Courses
Getting Started in Writing
Estelle Erasmus | Terri Valentine
Have you always wanted to be a writer? Don't let doubt or fear get the best of you—take a chance and learn how to start writing a book, novel, short story, memoir, or essay. In this course, you'll discover your voice, learn the basics of grammar and examine the different types of writing.
Creative Writing 101
Ran Walker
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.
Form and Composition
Kelly Boyer Sagert
Proper grammar, punctuation, and mechanics make your writing correct. In order to truly write well, you must also master the art of form and composition. From sentence structure to polishing your prose, this course will enhance your writing, no matter what type of writing you do.
Grammar and Mechanics
Kelly Boyer Sagert
Do you remember the difference between the 8 parts of speech and how to use them? Are you comfortable with punctuation and mechanics? No matter what type of writing you do, mastering the fundamentals of grammar and mechanics is an important first step to having a successful writing career.
Outlining Your Novel
G. Miki Hayden
Writers often look upon outlines with fear and trembling. But when properly understood and correctly used, the outline is one of the most powerful weapons in a writer's arsenal. In this course, you will learn how to write an outline as you explore what type of outline is right for you, brainstorm plot ideas, and discover your characters.
Creativity and Expression
G. Miki Hayden
When you take this online course, you’ll explore creative writing topics and learn how descriptive writing can breathe life into your characters, setting, and plot. Stretch your imagination, develop your creative writing skills, and express your creativity.
Fearless Writing
William Kenower
In this workshop, we’ll look at several techniques you can you use to keep yourself in the creative flow and out of the trouble and misery fear always causes. This course is offering you a transformative experience. Don't miss out!
Read Like a Writer: Learn from the Masters
Mark Spencer
This course will demonstrate that the best way to become a good writer is to study the writing of others, especially the work of the masters. Because there are no hard-and-fast rules to writing, it’s important to study what other writers have done.
Short Story Fundamentals
Ran Walker | John DeChancie
Throughout this four-week course, you will have feedback and support while you write and hone an entire short story from beginning to end, and you'll leave with a polished draft of your story. You will get insider information about what editors are looking for in short stories they choose to publish.
Fundamentals of Fiction
Jack Adler | G. Miki Hayden
Creating a story that is dynamic and engaging takes a lot more than just setting aside an hour every day to write. This course will take you through all of the basics of writing a novel, including how important it is to choose a great setting, how to build characters, what point of view you should choose, how to write great dialogue, and more.
Writing Nonfiction 101: Fundamentals
Mark Spencer
Research, interview, and explore the subjects that interest you. Then write about what you've learned in Writing Nonfiction 101: Fundamentals. Writing nonfiction is a great way for beginner and experienced writers to break into the publishing industry.
Writing the Personal Essay: Fundamentals
Estelle Erasmus
This course guides beginning and intermediate writers through elements of how to write a personal essay, helping them identify values expressed in their stories and bring readers into the experiences described.
Voice: The Personality of Writing
Sharon Short
In this course, examples of voice from literature, music, and art will deepen your understanding of and appreciation for voice. You will explore all these elements, experiment with them, and emerge with a stronger voice for your writing projects, making them memorable and engaging for readers.
The Novel Opening
G. Miki Hayden
How can you produce an infallible story opening? Action, voice, an immediate interest in the characters, and a hook that pulls in the reader and which is designed around your particular genre.
Setting: Create a Vivid Story World
Sharon Short
Learn how to world build in any genre, research setting, use setting to define character and drive plot, and discover techniques for weaving setting into other creative writing craft elements such as theme and voice.
Point of View: Finding The Heart of Your Story
Sharon Short
Learn the nuances of POV and how to avoid POV pitfalls, how time is an essential part of POV, how POV intersects with character, how to choose the right POV for each story, and how to handle unusual or tricky POVs.
Description: Bring Your Writing to Life
Sharon Short
Learn how to effectively use descriptive techniques to elevate your writing into an immersive reading experience for your readers, including agents and editors.
Write Great Dialogue
Sharon Short
Dialogue can be one of the most interesting parts of a book to read, but only if it is done right. Sharpen your writing skills and challenge yourself to craft engaging, yet believable dialogue that will keep your readers interested.
Character Development: Creating Memorable Characters
Sharon Short
Learn how to create believable fiction characters and construct scenes with emotional depth and range. You'll discover character development techniques and tips along with practical advice for weaving emotion into scenes
The Art of Storytelling 101: Story Mapping and Pacing
Terri Valentine
Discover how the seven core competencies of storytelling—concept, character, voice, plot, theme, scene construction, and style—combine to create compelling narrative.
The Art of Storytelling 102: Showing vs. Telling
Terri Valentine
Learn the differences between showing and telling, how to use dialogue to convey information, how much setting description is necessary, how to avoid information dumps, and more!
Beginning Feature Film Writing: Complete Course
Donald H Hewitt
This 12-week course guides students through the process of building a feature film script, starting with an outline and continuing through all the acts of your screenplay. You will get expert guidance on your writing along the way, and helpful self-tests allow you to reinforce your mastery of the lecture content.
Beginning Feature Film Writing: Outline and Act One
Donald H Hewitt
The writing critiques in this workshop are tailored to develop specific skills needed to succeed as a feature film writer. You will also gain access to a wealth of creative writing prompts.
Beginning Feature Film Writing: Acts Two and Three
Donald H Hewitt
This course is designed to pick up where Beginning Feature Film Writing: Outline and Act I left off. If you are working your way to a completed screenplay, this is the next step
Beginning Television Writing
William Rabkin
In this four-week course, an established executive producer/showrunner will give you an inside look at the world of dramatic, episodic television. You will explore—and practice—the actual process involved in successfully writing a spec episodic script that will open doors across Hollywood.
The Fundamentals of Screenwriting: Give your Script a Solid Foundation
Donald H Hewitt
This four-week class is the perfect introduction to the fantastic world of writing a script, from the fundamentals of the story down to the revision process. In this course, you will gain the tools to structure your scenes, your acts, and your plots.
Proper Formatting Technique: Script Format Made Easy
Dave Trottier
Let Dave Trottier (Dr. Format himself) show you the necessary techniques and currently accepted standards that will set your script apart from the heap. Not only will he teach you the rules of script formatting, he will show you when and how to break them.
Watching Movies: Learn from the Masters and Become a Better Writer
Bryan Young
In this 10-week course, we’ll take you through some of the master filmmakers and writers of the past—Alfred Hitchcock, William Goldman, George Lucas, Edgar Wright, Steven Spielberg, and more—and give you a peek behind the curtain of their work and how they crafted stories.
