Online Class: Creative Writing for Beginners
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15Lessons
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32Exams &
Assignments -
14Hours
average time -
1.4CEUs
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Video Audit
Available
Course Description
Unleash Your Inner Wordsmith: A Journey into the Heart of Creative Writing
In a world punctuated by visual and auditory marvels, the eloquence of words remains timeless. Just as an artist delicately strokes the canvas and a sculptor molds life into clay, a writer weaves dreams and realities on the blank slate of paper. And in this digital age, the dance of fingers over a keyboard becomes a symphony of creativity. Our comprehensive course is a sanctuary for both budding and seasoned writers, serving as the compass to navigate the boundless seas of creative writing.
Why This Course Resonates:
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Diverse Palette: Dive deep into the myriad realms of fiction, poetry, screenplays, and immersive nonfiction.
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Foundations & Flourishes: Whether you're penning your first word or your thousandth page, master the basics and nuances that make your writing resonate.
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A World of Forms: Understand the quintessence of diverse writing styles, from captivating memoirs and revealing biographies to incisive articles for newspapers and dynamic blogs.
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Break the Shackles: Battle and conquer the daunting demon of writer's block, ensuring your creativity flows unhindered.
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From Creation to Celebration: Not only nurture your creation but also learn the art of showcasing it to the world, understanding the avenues to get your masterpiece recognized and published.
Course Highlights:
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15 Engaging Lessons: Each lesson, a stepping stone, builds upon the last, ensuring a holistic grasp of creative writing.
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Hands-On Exercises: Post-lesson exercises designed to solidify your understanding and hone your skills.
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Innovative Assignments: Fuel your creativity with tailored writing assignments that ignite inspiration and set your imagination aflame.
This course isn't just an introduction; it's an odyssey into the enchanting universe of creative writing. It celebrates the spirit of expression, empowering even the greenest novices to seamlessly translate their thoughts into words. So, whether you're scribbling in hidden notebooks or longing to ink your thoughts for the first time, this course promises to be the wind beneath your literary wings.
Join us, and be astounded by the symphony of words you can orchestrate. Embark on this journey, and etch your own legacy in the annals of creative writing!
Course Motivation
There are 15 lessons in this course. Each lesson is broken down in order to address a form of creative writing, and to explore the tools and mechanics that pertain to it. After each lesson, you will find exercises. These are simply a way to gauge what you have learned and help you reinforce what was covered in the lesson. The exercises are mandatory, and they are what you will be graded on for this course.
About Creative Writing
Creative Writing Defined
The Different Types of Creative Writing
- Fiction . Of course, fiction is the most recognized form of creative writing since the stories begin in your imagination.
- Journals and diaries . Most people don't think of this as creative writing, but keeping a journal or diary (for personal or family history reasons) is just as much creative writing as any other form.
- Blogs . Let's face it. Blogs have changed the way we read the news and also given us insight into the things that interest us and the lives of those people who interest us.
- Articles . Articles may contain facts, but creativity is put into constructing and writing them in a way that will interest the reader.
- Screenplays . What's the funniest movie you ever watched? Did you ever think about the writer who created the screenplay?
- Nonfiction . It's the same as it is with articles. The facts inside a nonfiction book or story may be true, but a lot of creativity goes into making it fun and interesting to read. It's a safe bet that you've never read a nonfiction book that put you to sleep.
- Memoirs . Whether you're writing your own or someone else's, this is another form of creative writing.
- Poetry . Poems are probably one of the most artistic forms of creative writing, because of the imagery they evoke when written well.
The Value of Creative Writing
It's a great thing if your goal is to become a published writer, or even a well-read blogger or journalist. But that should not be your only reason for writing. The writing world is highly competitive, and it's extremely critical. Even the best-known, most popular authors papered their walls with rejection slips, or lived as an unknown for years before they rose to popularity. That said, anyone who starts creative writing simply because they think their writing is so different or special that everyone will instantly fall in love with their words is headed for heartbreak. It's a long road to that point, and it's filled with potholes.
The real value of creative writing lies in the enjoyment you get from it, as well as the enjoyment the people closest to you will get from it. You can publish you own blog and only have 20 people who read it faithfully.Guess what? That makes you successful if you enjoy writing it, and those that read it (no matter how many or how few) enjoy it as well.
Creative writing is our escape from our worlds. It's also a way to document the things that go on around us. Even a short story you write, then cram into a drawer, will have value to those who read it years from now. It will tell them a story about you, the things that were on your mind, and the world around you at that time. Think of the classic books from writers such as Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Think of nonfiction biographies like that of Ann Frank. Even if your work is never widely read or published, it will have value to those who read it now – and even more value later as a historical account.
But more than anything, as we said before, the true value of creative writing is the enjoyment that you get from it.
Course Lessons
Lesson 1: Introduction to Creative Writing
This course teaches you the basics, and gives you the skill sets you need to start creating your written works of art.Lesson 2: Exploring Creative Writing
People write for many reasons.Some write for their own personal enjoyment. Others write as gifts to others.Lesson 3: Secrets of Creative Writing
When you learn to use the tools that professional writers use, you truly master creative writing.Lesson 4: Elements of Short Story and Fiction Writing
In this lesson you'll learn components you need to write a narrative.Lesson 5: Dialogue
Dialogue is defined as a conversation between two or more characters or people.Lesson 6: Point of View
The point of view that you choose in your writing will depend on what you want to accomplish, your story itself, and how much influence you want a character to have over each scene.Lesson 7: Writing Nonfiction
In this lesson, we're going to focus on the three types of nonfiction that appeal to most creative writers.Lesson 8: Writing Poetry
Poetry is a beautiful art, and it's an art that you're going to learn about in this lesson.Lesson 9: Writing Articles, Blogs, and Journalistic Pieces
What you learn in this lesson can be used to write articles for article banks, blogs, or newspapers, both online and off.Lesson 10: Writing Dramas, Scripts, and Screenplays
Writers who write dramas are often called screenwriters, and sometimes scriptwriters, because the words they write will often be acted out on stage, instead of just read from a book.Lesson 11: The Importance of Editing
Editing is the process of arranging, revising, and preparing work for publication.Lesson 12: Overcoming Writer's Block
Writer's block is a phrase that's used when someone who wants to write can't.Lesson 13: Unlocking Your Creativity
This lesson is full of creative writing prompts you can use to unlock your creativity to produce ideas, then flesh them out once you come up with them.Lesson 14: Resources for Writers
Most people who write on a regular basis want to publish their work.Lesson 15: Publishing Your Writing
You're going to learn the various ways you can build a name for yourself and publish your work, as well as the best ways to make money from your writing.
Learning Outcomes
- Describe the creative writing process.
- Define elements of short story and fiction writing.
- Demonstrate dialogue.
- Demonstrate point of view.
- Demonstrate writing nonfiction.
- Demonstrate writing poetry.
- Demonstrate writing articles, blogs, and journalistic pieces.
- Demonstrate writing dramas, scripts, and screenplays.
- Describe the importance of editing.
- Describe techniques overcoming writer's block.
- Recognize new ways to unlock your creativity.
- Describe ways to publish your writing.
- Demonstrate mastery of lesson content at levels of 70% or higher.
Additional Course Information
- Document Your Lifelong Learning Achievements
- Earn an Official Certificate Documenting Course Hours and CEUs
- Verify Your Certificate with a Unique Serial Number Online
- View and Share Your Certificate Online or Download/Print as PDF
- Display Your Certificate on Your Resume and Promote Your Achievements Using Social Media
Student Testimonials
- "I have a B.A. in Creative Writing and let me tell you, this course was both incredibly helpful and very fun. I have honestly learned more from this course than most of my college classes. The assignments were engaging and immensely helpful. I went in thinking this course would be a refresher for me, but I am genuinely blown away by just how much I have learned." -- Kaitlyn W.
- "This course was helpful for me. I learned a considerable amount about writing in general as well as gaining insight into the creative aspect. I thoroughly enjoyed every assignment, in particular, that they were assessed, marked, and issued with comments. The turnaround time for the assessments provided was exceptional. I was encouraged by the regularly updated grading and having a report card for reference. The course content provided me with what I was wanting and more. Recommending your course will be a pleasure for me and I will take on another in the, not too distant future. Many Thanks." -- Peter P.
- "I found this course very helpful. I learnt a lot about the different types of writing and which forms/genres I hope to pursue. The writing prompt exercises were especially helpful, as they are a good practice to keep yourself writing when you can't think of any original ideas yourself." -- Lisa K.
- "I really enjoyed this course! I have loved writing my whole life, but I still learned a lot about different writing techniques and styles. I loved receiving the positive feedback from my tutor too. I found some of the writing assignments appropriately challenging and they forced me to put into action what I was being taught...Thank you for all of the work that went into creating this course!" -- Michaela D.
- "It really helped with positive feedback from the instructor and her quick response to my assignments." -- Deborah D.
- "Thank you so much, I feel like I've gained a lot from this course. I definitely consider it a great starting point for me to build upon and hone my craft further. Thank you, and you'll most likely see me in another writing course soon." -- Michele C.
- "I really enjoyed doing this course and the help and advice from the instructor." -- Tammy P.
- "The instructor was very fair and very timely in getting my assignments/exams back." -- Mary lee S.
- "The instructor is a blessing and was so encouraging." -- Daphne B.
- "The instructor was extremely prompt in grading assignments and provided valuable feedback." -- Randy E.
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