Enroll in online creative writing courses with Writers.com, and take the next step on your writing journey with support from our award-winning instructors and welcoming community.
You’ll get regular instructor feedback on your work, ongoing collaboration with other committed writers, and a nourishing and supportive course structure.
Learn from published authors who have spent decades perfecting their craft, and are dedicated to supporting you and your work. Don’t miss out: find the online writing course for you today!
Online Writing Course Schedule
August
The Healing Power of Poetry With
August 17, 2022
$250 | 4 Weeks NEW!
journey alongside several poets whose works resonate with a variety of healing themes, Poetry heals. Learn how to use craft elements as healing tools. |
Essentials of Character Development: How to Create Characters that Move and Breathe and Can't Stop Talking With
August 17, 2022
$395 | 8 Weeks
Bring your characters to life in this in-depth character development class with Gloria Kempton. |
How to Craft a Poem With
August 24, 2022
$330 | 6 Weeks
A poem has many moving parts, from sound and rhythm to form, voice, and figurative language. Weave these elements into richer, fuller poetry. |
(Live Workshop) Intro to Screenwriting With
August 25, 2022
$89 | Single-Day Webinar NEW! 7:00-9:00 P.M. U.S. Eastern Time
In this workshop, you’ll learn the ropes of screenwriting and create living pieces of collaborative storytelling. |
Comics for People Who Can't Draw! With
August 25, 2022
$89 | Single-Day Webinar NEW! 7:00-8:30 P.M. U.S. Eastern Time.
Comic strip artists rely much more on creativity than on artistic skill. In this workshop, you’ll learn all the tools you need to make fun and engaging comic strips—even if your drawing level is “stick figures.” |
WriteRecovery: Our Stories Can Save Us With
August 25, 2022
$330 | 6 Weeks NEW!
Whether you’re struggling with addiction, newly sober, or have been sober for years, the WriteRecovery program supplements the 12 Step program and supports recovering addicts on their path to sobriety. |
Fall (Back) In Love with Poetry With
August 31, 2022
$275 | 5 Weeks NEW!
Whether you’re new to poetry or returning after a hiatus, rekindle the spark that puts verse to page in this exploratory poetry class. |
The Ongoing Fiction Workshop With
August 31, 2022
$460 | 10 Weeks
Many students have attended this 10-week online fiction workshop with Shelley Singer multiple times, completed novels, and come back to finish more books. |
September
Writing Spontaneously: How to Let Your Stories Surprise You With
September 6, 2022
$89 | Single-Day Webinar NEW! 7-9:30 P.M. U.S. Eastern Time
Some of the best stories don’t follow a specific plot structure; they develop organically. Learn how to hone spontaneity in your fiction writing and come away surprised by your work. |
Craft Your Story: Short Fiction and Memoir Live Workshops With
September 7, 2022
$395 | 8 Weeks NEW! Weekly Live Workshops
Get tailored advice and inspiration for your fiction or nonfiction stories, in this weekly live workshop with award-winning instructor Margo Perin. |
Flash Fiction: Writing the Short-Short Story With
September 7, 2022
$460 | 10 Weeks
Write 1–3-page flash fiction in this online course with Barbara Henning, drawing on classic, poetic & experimental elements. Read the form’s masters. |
Next-Level Creative Nonfiction: Elevating Essays, Memoir, Travel Writing & Literary Journalism With
September 7, 2022
$460 | 10 Weeks
Elevate your memoir, travel writing, literary journalism, & lyric and personal essays. |
Poems of All Sizes: Haiku, Tanka, and Japanese Poetic Forms With
September 8, 2022
$179 | 2 1-Day Workshop NEW! 7-9 P.M. U.S. Eastern Time.
Explore the history and poetics of Japanese poetry forms, and write haiku, tanka, renga, haiga, and linked verse poetry. |
(Live Workshop) Starting Off Right: How To Build A Blog, Grow An Audience & Make Money With
September 13, 2022
$89 | Single-Day Webinar 2:00 PM-4:30 PM Eastern time
When planned right, a blog allows you to share your passion and make money in the process. Learn how to build a blog in this one-day webinar. |
Creative Nonfiction and the Personal Essay With
September 14, 2022
$460 | 10 Weeks
Gretchen Clark pick axes her way into the volcanic marriage of real life and fiction. Weekly writing with incisive feedback. |
I've Drunk Your Poisoned Nectar: Writing with the Goddess With
September 14, 2022
$395 | 8 Weeks NEW!
Dig deep into the rich mythology of South Asian goddesses to find new inspiration for your work in this generative, open-genre writing class. |
Suspense Sells! Power Up Your Writing With Conflict, Tension and Emotion With
September 14, 2022
$235 | 4 Weeks
Inject suspense into your stories to keep readers turning pages. For writers of all kinds of fiction: thrillers, mysteries, romance, humor, literary and memoir. A four week class with Giulietta Nardone. |
The Five Ws (and One H) of Drafting Middle Grade and Young Adult Novels With
September 14, 2022
$395 | 8 Weeks NEW!
Asking yourself these six questions will give you the scaffolding for your next young adult or middle grade novel. |
Ten Steps to Creating Interesting, In-Depth Characters With
September 15, 2022
$89 | Single-Day Webinar NEW! 7:00 P.M. to 9:30 P.M. U.S. Eastern time
How do you write about people convincingly? Empower your character development in this workshop filled with exercises and character discussion. |
Anatomy of a Premise Line: How to Use Story and Premise Development for Writing Success With
September 21, 2022
$325 | 5 Weeks
The premise line is the only reliable tool that can tell you, BEFORE you start writing, whether or not your story will “work.” In this class participants will learn how to master the process of premise line development—the essential first step in any book or screenplay’s development process. |
Creating the Visual Journal With
September 21, 2022
$395 | 8 Weeks
Go beyond narrow definitions of “journaling” to include visual images and let writing give what is seen a new voice. Surprise yourself. |
Observing What's Vivid in Prose and Poetry With
September 21, 2022
$250 | 4 Weeks NEW!
Learn how to spotlight beauty through fresh, vivid, and surprising language, in this four week mindfulness writing course. |
Putting It All Together: Completing Your First Poetry Manuscript With
September 21, 2022
$460 | 10 Weeks NEW!
How do you put together a poetry book? From choosing a theme to ordering your poems, you’ll end this course with a ready-to-publish manuscript. |
Revision Strategies for Novels With
September 22, 2022
$199 | 2 1-Day Workshops NEW! 7:00-9:00 P.M. U.S. Eastern Time.
You’ve finished your novel. Now what? Develop in-depth revision strategies for your book in this two-part workshop series. |
Discover Your Writing Niche With
September 28, 2022
$395 | 8 Weeks
Fiction or nonfiction? Article, short story, or how-to book? Do you want to write for children, teens, adults? There is a type of writing that is best suited for you, and the discovery process can be an adventure. |
Finding Confidence in the Braided Essay: A Craft and Empowerment Workshop for Literary Nonfiction With
September 28, 2022
$395 | 8 weeks NEW!
Weaving your story with facts and research can help you craft a stronger essay. Tell your story with confidence in this empowering essay writing course. |
Poetry Workshop: Bring Your Poems to Life With
September 28, 2022
$395 | 8 Weeks
Join us for this workshop on creating powerful poems—poems that are clear and organized, fresh and moving, full of life. |
The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy With
September 28, 2022
$460 | 10 Weeks NEW!
Create fantastical worlds with mythical beings in this comprehensive introduction to fantasy and science fiction. |
Writing for Children: Create A Picture Book! With
September 28, 2022
$330 | 6 Weeks
Picture books have changed greatly over the last few decades, and the market is wide open for fresh ideas. Join us in this six-week intensive where we’ll take that idea of yours and turn it into a manuscript! |
Show and Tell: How to Write Captivating Nonfiction With
September 29, 2022
$89 | Single-Day Webinar 7:00-10:00 P.M. U.S. Eastern Time
Your true story of healing or transformation can captivate and empower your readers. Learn how to balance showing the vivid details of your own journey with telling the broader themes for readers to apply in their own lives. |
October
Liars, Lovers, Criminals: Story as Character, Character as Story With
October 5, 2022
$330 | 6 Weeks NEW!
Characters don’t just drive the story, they are the story. Learn how to craft character-centered fiction and give life to the people on your page. |
Telling Your Food Story With
October 5, 2022
$235 | 4 Weeks NEW!
Let’s write at the kitchen table together, as we explore using food as a lens to tell our stories. |
The Hero's Journey For Storytellers With
October 5, 2022
$460 | 10 Weeks
Structure your story and give it meaning with Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey. |
Crafting a Story or Novel Chapter Using Forward-Moving Tension With
October 12, 2022
$275 | 5 Weeks
How do writers tell stories with tension, action, and emotion? Learn how to write forward-moving tension in this 5 week fiction course. |
The Foundations of Poetry With
October 12, 2022
$395 | 8 weeks NEW!
Discover the elements of poetic mastery: structure and form, sound and tone, image and metaphor, character and voice, and much more. |
The Sixth Sense: Writing Horror with a Message With
October 12, 2022
$235 | 4 Weeks NEW!
Looking to write the substance of nightmares? Learn the ropes of horror writing in this spine-chilling fiction course. |
Writing Mindfulness: Sensual World/Poetry Mind With
October 26, 2022
$250 | 4 Weeks
A four-week class, melding the language mind with the sensual: How to turn detailed observation into a poem. With Marc Olmsted. |
November
Ordinary to Extraordinary: Turning Everyday Experiences into Poetry With
November 2, 2022
$250 | 4 Weeks
No experience is too small or mundane to serve as a foundation for extraordinary poetry and short fiction. |
Scene Study: Strengthen Your Writing with Compelling Scenes With
November 2, 2022
$275 | 5 Weeks NEW!
Great stories are constructed with great scenes. Immerse your reader in your stories by learning the ropes of scene development. |
Poetic Prose: The Prose Poem With
November 9, 2022
$460 | 10 Weeks
Explore the border between prose poetry and flash fiction. For writers of fiction, poetry, essay and memoir. |
Getting Started Marketing Your Work With
November 16, 2022
$235 | 4 Weeks
Solve the mystery of marketing and get your work out there in front of readers in this 4-week online class taught by Instructor Gloria Kempton. |
Accessing Your Writer’s Voice With
November 30, 2022
$195 | 3 Weeks
Voice: What is it and how do you find yours? Instructor Gloria Kempton offers feedback on assignments in this 3-week online class. |
January
Write Your Novel! The Workshop With Jack With
January 4, 2023
$460 | 10 Weeks
Get a good start on a novel in just ten weeks, or revise a novel you’ve already written. Free your imagination, move steadily ahead and count the pages! |
Starting to Write With
January 11, 2023
$395 | 8 Weeks
For those who want to kick start their writing into high gear. |
Writing Autobiographical Fiction With
January 11, 2023
$395 | 8 Weeks
Learn to depart from “what really happened,” and write compelling fiction from your own life experiences. |
February
Plot Your Novel With
February 1, 2023
$395 | 8 Weeks
Over eight weeks, you’ll develop a solid basis in the fictional elements—protagonist, setting, secondary characters, point of view, plot, and theme—while you develop the outline of your novel. You’ll receive feedback at all stages from your fellow writers and your instructor. |
Mastering the Elements of Fiction With
February 8, 2023
$460 | 10 Weeks
In this course, you’ll work with the basic elements of fiction–the fundamentals that drive the story and determine the quality of the work. |
Unscheduled Courses
These online writing classes don't currently have a next session on our calendar, but will soon. If you see a course you're interested in, use the "I'm Interested" button to let us know, and we'll follow up with you when the course is on our calendar next.
Want to reach us or our instructors with questions about our online writing courses? Contact us at writers@writers.com, or visit the contact form.
(Live Workshop) Dread and Desire: Gothic Fiction Techniques to Lure and Horrify Your Readers
This Halloween, learn how to write eerie, haunting moods in this 2 hour workshop on Gothic writing techniques.
How can writers harness the power of dreams? Let your slumber supercharge your creativity in this three hour dream writing workshop.
(Live Workshop) Get Clear on Your Story and Voice
What is your story about? What is your voice? Whether you write poetry, fiction, or nonfiction, hone your writing in this 3 hour workshop.
(Live Workshop) Haiku & Senryu: Rekindling A Sense of Wonder
Haiku, Senryu, and other Japanese poetry forms encourage us to slow down and write mindfully. Learn how to write these forms in this meditative writing workshop.
(Live Workshop) Move Your Writing Forward: The Art of the Bullet Journal
Want to have a productive new year? Set up your bullet journal in this one day live workshop.
(Live Workshop) Revising the Novel: Take Your First Draft to the Next Level
Ready to start revising your novel? Get rolling in this in-depth webinar.
(Live Workshop) The Art Friend's Dilemma: Advice on Writing from Real Life
Are you writing about people from real life? This one-day live workshop answers the question of how to be a good art friend.
(Live Workshop) The Art of Love Stories: A Flash Fiction Workshop
How do you distill love into 1,500 words or less? Zining Mok explains in this love stories flash fiction workshop.
(Live Workshop) Writing a Love Poem: Listening to the Language of the Heart
How do poets capture the essence of love in language? Learn how to do it yourself in this one day workshop.
(Live Workshop) Writing Beginnings and Endings
How do you write a story that’s compelling to start and satisfying to finish? Sarah Aronson explains in this comprehensive one-day workshop.
(Live Workshop) Writing from a Strong Sense of Place: A Generative Workshop
Develop powerful and realistic settings in this generative three-hour workshop, with Jacquelyn Stolos.
*Private Class | Create Story Characters Using the Enneagram
In-depth character development using an ancient personality study of human motivation–the Enneagram.
*Private Class | Shadow Writing
Your unconscious can drive your writing or block it. Gloria Kempton will guide you in coaxing your shadow out of hiding.
*Private Class | The Anti-Hero's Journey for Storytellers
Throughout her writing career, Gloria Kempton has met many anti-heroes. In this course, you’ll receive feedback on your story antagonists.
A Novel First Draft in 70 Days
For novelists ready to write daily and intensively to finish the first draft of their novel in ten weeks.
Architecture of the Creative Heart: Writing Formal Poetry
Learn how diving into form—the coherent relationship of all of a poem’s parts—can enhance your creativity and freedom as a poet.
Beyond Formula: Writing Love Scenes With Spirit, Passion, Grit And Character Truth
Write about love beyond trite sentiment and shallow fictions. Work down to the real thing: deep, powerful, destructive, exalted, fundamental.
Block Buster: Turbocharge Your Creativity with Breakneck Writing
Banish writer’s block, unearth fresh ideas, and sharpen your storytelling ability with the practice of fast, timed writing.
Boost Your Imagination and Reap the Literary Rewards
It happens to all of us: life gets in the way and our creativity falters. Get back on track with this four-week creativity boosting class!
Branches of Creative Nonfiction
What are the different types of creative nonfiction? From the personal essay to the hermit crab, learn the ropes of CNF in this 8 week class.
Building a Career as a Literary Artist
Not sure how to start building a literary career? By the end of this course, you’ll have tackled the author’s bio, C.V., LinkedIn, and more!
But What Is Your Story Really About? Finding the Core of Your Short Memoir, Story, or Personal Essay
Take a four-week writing adventure deep into the core of your story, to find the true theme of your personal essay, short story, or short memoir.
Character Transformation Workshop: How to Write Stories that Emotionally Resonate
Learn how to write emotionally resonant journeys that stick with the reader, using the power of character transformation.
Claiming Our Stories: Autobiography, Memoir & Autobiographical Fiction
Turn your experience into fiction, autobiography, or creative memoir. Bring forward stories with a powerful truth at their core. Instructor Anya Achtenberg.
Crafting the Poetry Novel for Young Adults
Even if you’ve never written poetry before, you can begin the rewarding process of crafting a poetry novel for Young Adults. Is there a market for novels written in verse? Are they well received? Yes, there is, and yes, they are!
Crafting the Poetry Novel: Advanced Workshop
Want to make headway on your poetry novel? This workshop offers the structure and resources to get it done, with instructor Kelly Bingham.
Crafting Your Collection: Next Steps In Poetic Craft
Hone your poetic craft by writing 6-7 new poems and combining them with previously-written poems to create a chapbook, or short poetry collection.
Creative Nonfiction Fundamentals: The Art of Telling True Stories
How do you tell your stories beautifully and authentically? Learn the fundamentals of creative nonfiction with Nicole Hardy.
Death Riding Shotgun: How Awareness of Our Mortality Impacts Poetry
How can your own mortality inform your work? In this 6-week course, you’ll use death to inspire and motivate your poetry writing.
Deepening and Organizing Our Stories: Autobiography, Memoir and Autobiographical Fiction
For writers of memoir, creative nonfiction and fiction, with some experience. Particularly helpful to writers in the midst of a longer work.
Drafty in Here: Write Your Novella in Ten Weeks
Write the entire first draft of a novella-length story, with plenty of feedback from stage to stage, and finish with a plan for revising toward a publishable manuscript.
Embodied Writing: Improve Your Writing with Full-Body Creativity
Have a grand time with specific physical exercises that honor your health, generate imaginative ideas, explore deeply and make your creative writing entertaining.
Embodied Writing: Somatic Practices to Improve Your Work
Have a grand time with specific physical exercises that honor your health, generate imaginative ideas, explore deeply and make your creative writing entertaining.
Find Your Brave: Publishing As An Act Of Courage
In this fun, transformative four-week program, get tips and techniques to bring out your courage to publish a story in print or online.
Finding the Real Story: Essential Elements of Story in Fiction and Memoir
Address the larger issues of writing story through a look at the essential elements of narrative in fiction and memoir.
Finding Wildness and Freedom in Poetry
Find a greater sense of comfort, ease, lightheartedness, and freedom in reading and writing poetry.
Finish Your Manuscript: Next-Level Picture Book Mentorship
During this six week program, you will work closely one-on-one with Kelly to finalize, refine, and polish your picture book into a manuscript ready to submit for publication or representation.
Food Writing: Food-Focused Memoir
The food we eat and enjoy tells volumes about our lives and experiences. Write it all down in this food memoir course, with Jennifer Billock.
Food Writing: Meals And Manuscripts
Do you collect cookbooks, love to cook, or religiously read anything about food? This course is for you. With award winning writer Jennifer Billock.
From Pitch to Publication: Writing Narrative Journalism
Explore literary journalism as a powerful means to share fascinating characters, stories, and perspectives. Learn all you need to start pitching, landing, and writing reported essays and features.
From Writing Circle to Finished Poem: Turn Raw Writing into Poetry (Session 2)
Gather together in a virtual writing circle, hit the mute button on your internal editor, and uncover inspiration to shape into poetry.
From Writing Circle to Poems in 6 Contemporary Forms (Mondays and Fridays)
From the sonnet to the villanelle, turn your journal entries into formal poetry in this 6 week writing circle workshop.
From Writing Circle to Poems in 6 Contemporary Forms (Tuesdays and Saturdays)
From the sonnet to the villanelle, turn your journal entries into formal poetry in this 6 week writing circle workshop.
From Writing Circle to Poems of Kindness, Wonder, Connection & Joy (Mondays and Fridays)
Explore the power of joy, kindness, and community in this four week poetry workshop.
From Writing Circle to Poems of Kindness, Wonder, Connection & Joy (Tuesdays and Saturdays)
Explore the power of joy, kindness, and community in this four week poetry workshop.
From Writing Circles to Poems of Gratitude & Hope for the New Year
Want to move forward into the new year with gratefulness and clarity for 2022? Join us for 4 weeks of writing about gratitude and hope.
From Writing Circles to Poems of Gratitude and Hope
Poetry is a powerful method for healing and happiness. Write poems about gratitude and hope in our intimate, live-video writing circles, with instructor Susan Vespoli.
Fundamentals of Travel Writing
Take to the skies in this online travel writing course. We’ll discuss the market, different types of travel writing, and pitching your piece!
Get Invited to Read at Literary Conferences!
How do you get invited to read at literary conferences? Lyzette Wanzer shows you the ropes in this one day workshop.
Get That Novel Finished! Tools and Inspiration to Complete Your First Draft
Finishing a novel requires guts, dedication, and stamina. When you find yourself struggling, our 10-week course with Donna Levin will help!
Get Your Book Done Intensive! 4 Weeks to Measurable Progress
The summer is the best time to get the ball rolling on your book. Join us if you really want to get your book into the world.
Growing Smaller: The Art of Micro- and Short Fiction
Less is more. Learn the ropes of flash and micro-fiction in this 4-week course and hone the art of the short-short story.
Honor Your Journey: Therapeutic Writing Group for Caregivers
If you’re a caregiver, public servant, or medical professional, this 6 week journaling course is designed to affirm your place in the world, creating a space for hope, gratitude, and meditation.
How to Firm Up the “Mushy Middle” of Any Story
Ensure a strong middle throughline for any story. Say goodbye to the “mushy middle,” and hello to stories that work.
Create your blog, brand it, create engaging content and successfully promote posts. Taught by journalist, writer and photographer Jessica Festa.
How To Turn Your Blog Into A Career
From branding to search engine optimization and advertising, this course puts bloggers on the path to earning an income through their blog.
Learn how to combine character, setting, plot, and other elements of fiction to write powerful, compelling stories.
Ready to add a splash of fun to your writing life? Join us for a four-week humor writing class. We’ll read. We’ll laugh. We’ll write. We’ll experiment.
In Bloom: Nature Writing Workshop
Want to write about nature like Robert Frost, Henry David Thoreau, or Annie Dillard? Join us for this six week nature writing course.
In Your Own Words: Transforming Life Into Memoir and Fiction
Learn how to draw inspiration and material from your life experiences or those of people you know, or want to know, to craft compelling, publishable memoirs, personal essays, autobiographical novels and short stories, and/or narrative poetry.
What makes a good fiction story? Learn how to write compelling stories in this eight-week intro to fiction course, with Donna Levin.
Introduction to Writing Genre Fiction
Take the whirlwind tour! Learn the conventions of eight major fiction genres, try them out, and figure out your niche.
Introduction to Writing the Lyric Essay
The lyric essay challenges us to tell authentic stories without concrete forms. Learn the ropes of the genre in this 3 hour workshop.
Writing a novel requires planning, strategy, and an understanding of the fundamentals of fiction. Get the guidance you need to start your novel the right way.
Let It Rip: The Art of Writing Fiery Prose
You’ll write prose that gets folks so hot and bothered they won’t be able to put it down, even if it isn’t about sex.
Let’s Get Personal: The Art and Craft of the Personal Essay
Draw inspiration and material from your life experiences or “real life” people you know to craft compelling, publishable personal essays. With author Margo Perin.
Manuscript Review for Children's Writers: Summer Edition
Instructor Sarah Aronson welcomes all writers who are working on manuscripts for kids and teens. This advanced workshop will focus entirely on the participants’ own work in progress.
Manuscript Workshop: Writing For Children
Author Sarah Aronson leads this intermediate/advanced workshop on writing for children. It offers support, structure and detailed feedback on manuscripts.
Mastering the Scene: For Fiction Writers
A course for intensive practice and feedback in scene writing skills.
No More Excuses! Four Weeks to Finish and Submit Your Personal Essay or Short Memoir
Join us for this insightful four-week “get the writing done” program, give and receive thoughtful comments from your fellow writers and the instructor, and enjoy heaps of encouragement and writing wisdom along the way.
Overcome Writing Anxiety: Boost Your Storytelling Confidence in Four Short Weeks!
“Who are you to want to write?” Someone great, that’s who! Politely ask Mr. or Ms. Fear to step aside while you sign up for this fun, freeing and functional adventure.
Plan On It: Essential Novel Planning Workshop
Set your novel up for success! In this six-week workshop, instructor Dennis Foley will help you craft a plan to handle the essential demands and choices you’ll face as you write your novel.
Plotting and Outlining for the Novelist
A course covering both plotting and outlining for the novelist, with Dennis Foley.
Plumbing the Past: Turning Life Experience into Poetry, Flash and Creative Non-Fiction
Dig deep into personal ritual while studying narrative poets, short fiction and non-fiction authors, and food writers.
Poetry asks us to slow down, listen, and pay attention. In this meditative workshop, we’ll open ourselves to the beauty and mystery of poetry.
Rapid Story Development: A Master Plan for Building Stories That Work
In this 10 week story writing class, Jeff Lyons pairs the Enneagram with story development techniques to revolutionize your writing practice.
Roads Into Writing: Opening New Terrain In Your Work
Write like mad, read brilliant books & deepen your craft while exploring new paths to inspiration. With novelist and poet Anya Achtenberg, .
Simple Winter Sanity-Saving Writing Circles
Write your way to the finish line of 2021: let go of and say goodbye to a momentous year, honor the changes in yourself and the world, and set your intentions for a new chapter.
Tales From The Memory Palace: 6 to 250 Word Memoirs
If you want to be an in demand storyteller in the digital age, you need to get in, get out and get going. In this “short” four-week memoir writing adventure, you’ll learn to scope out, swoop down and snatch up important memories from your life then speed write them into miniature masterpieces.
The "I've Always Wanted To Write Fiction" Workshop
Learn the basics of fiction writing and submit weekly writing for feedback from Shelley Singer, author of 13 novels. It’s time to start.
It’s an age-old art form—storytelling—and you can learn the craft.
The Chronology of Mind: From Journal to Poem or Prose
Gather material through writing and experimenting with journaling, researching and taking notes to develop into poems or prose works.
The First Fifty Pages of the Novel
The first 50 pages sets up plot, characters, and voice, and it lays the groundwork for your book’s overall structure and success. Receive critical, supportive feedback on your book’s start from novelist Sandra Novack.
The Joy of Poetry: A Beginner-Friendly Workshop
Have you wanted to get into poetry, but don’t know where to start? Learn the craft from the Joy of poetry herself in this welcoming workshop.
Explore the literary essay – from the conventional to the experimental, the journalistic to essays in verse – while writing and workshopping your own.
Explore non-traditional and imaginative ways to tell your stories with this ten-week writing course online. Creative nonfiction teacher Gretchen Clark provides detailed feedback on weekly writing assignments that emphasize creative freedom.
The Micro-obstacles/Flow Technique
Create new work with fresh language, universal themes, sustained mystery and memorable characters. Stimulate your imagination.
The Next Fifty Pages of the Novel
So now that you have your opening novel pages, what next? Get detailed, constructive feedback on your work-in-progress, wherever you’re at in writing it.
The Soundtrack of Your Life: Writing About Music, Memories and Mix Tapes
In a song inspired class, write several essays about the music that has moved you through life: the emotions, the relationships, the events, the outcomes.
The Wandering Heart: Tales of Connection
Wander through the rooms of your own life to discover stories of deep connection, reconnection or loss of connection and fashion your findings into stories suitable for blog posts, essays, short memoirs, short plays, scenes in screenplays, or chapters of novels.
The Watching Eye/Thinking Mind: Writing Flash Fiction
In this ten-week workshop with poet and novelist Barbara Henning, write tiny fictions while experimenting with first and third person points of view and analyzing how point of view affects the craft of fiction writing. Barbara will provide practical instruction and assignments, suggestions for revision, and lectures and and articles.
Using Bullet Journaling to Achieve Writing Goals
Looking to keep your writing goals organized? Make it happen in our bullet journaling course. Learn the art of the BuJo with Rudri Patel!
What’s Love Got to Do With It? Writing Romance in Non-Romance Genres
Relationships are an important feature of fiction—and not just romances! If your non-romance work has love involved, learn the ropes in this 5 week course, open to writers of all genres.
Word Flashes & Eye Snapshots: Sketching Your Life Awake
For any writer wanting to root writing in vision and vision in the body: for poetry, fiction, essay, memoir & pleasure.
Write from the Untamed Mind: Find Your Voice
Join Susan in two writing circles each week: intimate spaces for writers to free-write together, saying yes to whatever shows up, followed by group read-arounds. These writing sessions are spontaneous, intimate, freeing, and transformative.
Write Your Artist Statement Boot Camp
The artist’s statement is essential to applying for grants, fellowships, MFA programs and residencies. Writes yours in this one day workshop.
Write Your World: Express Your Creativity through Article Writing, Blogging, and Essays
Want to write your world, your way? Join us for this six week program on article writing, blogging, and essays.
Writing Circle Workshop: A Focus on Eight Contemporary Poets (Section 2)
By studying the poems of Billy Collins, Ellen Bass, Natalie Diaz, and more, write stunning poetry in this generative writing circle workshop.
Writing Circle Workshop: A Focus on Nine Contemporary Poets
Write freely and expressively in this 8-week poetry workshop. Along the way, we’ll explore the transformative work of 9 contemporary poets.
Writing Circle Workshop: Finding Community and Creativity in a Challenging Time
Write out the storm: Join supportive, friendly faces in twice-weekly virtual community writing circles.
Writing Circle Workshop: Writing for Happiness, Healing, and Health
Expressive writing can be a powerful elixir for what ails you. Learn and practice tools for writing expressively, including two virtual writing circles each week, turn raw writing into poetry or prose, and come away with a better understanding of how writing can lead toward wellness.
Writing Circles: Finding Community, Clarity, Poetry, and Prose
Join our writing circle to form a writing community, find clarity in your words, and turn your untamed free-writes into poetry and/or prose.
Writing for Kids: Entering the World of Children's Literature
Learn the fundamentals of writing for children in this one day workshop, and write the kinds of stories that kids simply can’t put down.
Writing Our Grief: How to Channel Loss into Creative Expression
Writing about grief is a powerful healing tool. Turn pain into power in this personal essay course, with instructor Rudri Patel.
Writing Place in Creative Nonfiction
In Creative Nonfiction, place is a character in itself. Deeply explore a narrative and a place of your choosing, and make weekly progress on your essay or memoir.
If you turn on to the absurd in life—to the ironic, edgy, bizarre, and grotesque—this is the course for you. Learn the key techniques of writing absurdist fiction, dark fiction, and satire.
A novel writing preparatory course for the first-time novelist.
Create new work with fresh language, universal themes, sustained mystery and memorable characters. Stimulate your imagination.
Jump-start your creative juices, and explore a world of divination, symbolism, and imagery right at your fingertips: learn short story and novel writing through Tarot.
Private-Only Courses
These courses are offered only privately one-to-one between you and the instructor, not in a group setting. You can register at any time. See our Private Courses page for registration details.
*Private Class | Shadow Writing
Your unconscious can drive your writing or block it. Gloria Kempton will guide you in coaxing your shadow out of hiding.
About Our Online Writing Courses
We've been offering writing classes online since 1995 to all kinds of students. Whether you're completely new to the Internet (back then, everyone was) or more experienced learning online, our writing courses will be a great fit for you.
Online Course Platform
We offer our classes through an online course platform called Wet Ink. It's designed to be simple and usable for people without a technical background. You'll be sent instructions for joining your class in Wet Ink on the day it begins.
Weekly Assignments
Most classes are structured around weekly assignments: once each week, the teacher emails or posts a lecture to the list that includes a writing assignment, and the students complete the assignment and send it to the list. This means that the teacher and all students in the class see all completed assignments.
The instructor writes his or her feedback on the assignment and sends it back to the list, and students are encouraged to offer feedback on each others' work.
Additionally, some classes are set up as workshops, and are organized around feedback on student manuscripts.
There are no specific times that you must be online. This allows you to work on the class material at your convenience: it's the ideal way to take a class.
Class Discussion and Connection
The list also hosts class discussions about lessons, assignments, and writing in general. The more interaction among students, the more valuable and enjoyable the class. We offer guidelines to keep dialogue supportive and beneficial, and no negative or abusive behavior is allowed.
Writing can be a lonely pursuit, and it's often difficult for writers to make contact with each other. Part of our reason for being here is to change that. We encourage class members to develop ongoing correspondence in which they can share their work. Often a sense of community forms, and some groups have continued to work together long after the class is over.
With the odd "anonymous intimacy" of the Internet, it's easier to take chances in your writing, and to be honest and thoughtful in your criticism of others' writing. First-time students in our online writing courses are often surprised how much they learn, and how much they enjoy the experience.
If you have further questions, browse the Writers.com FAQ.
What Sets Our Online Writing Courses Apart
At Writers.com, we have 25 years of experience offering the best writing classes online. Many elements set our courses apart:
- Our instructors are gifted, experienced teachers who are writers themselves. They also care about their students and the progress they make. Any good "school" or workshop can teach you the craft of writing; we offer personal attention and inspiration as well.
- Each instructor develops his or her own courses. Unlike other online writing schools, we have no prepared, prepackaged classes randomly taught by just anyone who has the time to teach it. You know exactly who your teacher will be before you ever register, and you'll receive feedback from that teacher on your writing.
- We accept a maximum of 12 students per class in most classes. You will never be a face in the crowd in a Writers.com class.
- We take your work seriously, but we also have fun. Some of our classes are rigorous and intense. If you want to be a professional writer, you need a tough, but supportive, environment. We have that. But we also offer other classes that are a chance to experiment, learn for the sheer joy of learning, explore new ideas, and discover new pathways.
- Our classes fit into your daily life – no matter what time zone you are in.
- If you are able to visit websites, you can participate fully in our classes. The course software is simple to learn and designed for learners of all kinds across the globe.
- Writers.com is operated by a small, dedicated staff of human beings who genuinely want to help you meet your writing goals. Having a technical problem, or finding that a course isn't the right fit for you? Contact us and we'll work it out, person-to-person.
Join one of our writing courses, and experience the Writers.com difference for yourself!
Our Online Writing Class Format in Detail
Most of our courses take place on an online learning platform called Wet Ink. We also offer some workshop-style courses through Zoom, which will be clearly marked in the course description. The details below are for our Wet Ink-based courses.
When you enroll in one of our online writing classes, we'll send an email confirming your participation. On the start date of the workshop, your instructor will send a welcome letter explaining how to access the Wet Ink classroom.
You'll access the entire course within Wet Ink, including:
- Reading lectures
- Starting or joining discussions
- Submitting assignments each week
- Commenting on other students’ work
- Receiving direct weekly feedback on your work from the instructor
When the course wraps up, we’ll send you a questionnaire about your experience in the course.
You won't need to be online at a particular time or day. In general, you should plan to check in with the course at least a few times each week.
Thousands of our alumni have returned to study with us again, and some have been with us since the beginning in 1995. We hope you’ll become part of the Writers.com community, too.
Questions about our online writing courses, our community, or anything else? Email us at writers@writers.com, please!