free creative writing courses

free creative writing courses

The Benefits of Taking Free Creative Writing Courses

1. Introduction

From the personal enjoyment one gets from writing to getting that new job that offers a prime, quickening wage, everyone can benefit from the furthering of writing skills. Becoming a better writer can open new doors, turn new pages (pun intended), and create better opportunities for anyone who is looking to further their career in almost any field of work. The internet has allowed us to access a virtually endless amount of information on any subject, and many people are turning to online courses for the convenience these courses offer. With the recent economic downturns and job cutbacks, many are looking to further their education at little to no cost to themselves. With all this in mind, I spent time researching the benefits of taking free creative writing courses, with an emphasis of course, on the free part. There were many encouraging results from my research, and today I am going to share the positive impact that taking these free creative writing courses can have on the individual who decides to take part in this type of educational experience.

2. Enhancing Writing Skills

With every word put down on the page, students of creative writing will find an endless wealth of discoveries awaiting them. The bulk of free online courses can be boiled down to simple exercises and projects where students are free to do as they wish, a thoroughly enjoyable way to enhance skills whilst expanding one’s creative thinking. For instance, scribebase.com requested that students come up with a series of metaphors to describe love and hate. A student spends a quarter of an hour on this, and still days later may find these metaphors surfacing in their thoughts and reshaping themselves into new metaphors. This type of exercise can be seen as file copying newly learned information from short-term to long-term memory. Now, what is the difference between the student and a student who did this same exercise without a course? The student in the course will receive feedback, something paramount for improvement. A metaphor that fails to awaken some sense of understanding or emotion is a bad metaphor, and the student will be told such. With this knowledge, he will be more likely to analyze why certain metaphors are effective and others are not, and also practice metaphor creation at a later time. So it is that every exercise, no matter how simple, is an invaluable learning experience, for at every level it builds skill and awareness.

Staring at a blank page can be the most frightening thing in the world. Of course, when day’s end comes and you’re still facing a blank page, pen uncapped, you’re left to wonder whether or not you have what it takes. Most people experience this moment, whether aspiring to be a novelist, poet, essayist, short story writer, or even a journalist. The reality is that it’s hard to find your own niche, and still harder to find a voice that’s truly authentic. It is frustrating to be unable to articulate anything you’re feeling or thinking, much less doing it in a pattern that shows uniqueness and talent. Refreshingly, this moment is where all budding writers must linger for a while, for improvement can only be birthed from such a place. Now, as you find yourself in this very moment, you perhaps seek counsel and help in the matter. Online creative writing courses can be so supportive, opening up new avenues of thought for aspiring writers.

3. Exploring Different Writing Styles

You might have your own style of writing. With free creative writing courses, you can explore and learn what your style is. Whether you like descriptive writing, writing from your imagination, or writing non-fiction, there is bound to be a course which is able to aid you in your writing journey. These sorts of courses are not only very instructional, but also very exciting because you will get to explore a new technique, and bring that learning experience into your next piece of writing. A key point to mention is that when you are lectured about a new technique, for example, writing from the view of a foreign character, you will find it easier to learn and accomplish your task, rather than being left to read a sheet of paper and self-teach. The excellent news here is that the whole learning experience will be freed from inside you, for you to take to your writing pads.

4. Receiving Feedback and Guidance

Your tutors will guide you through the writing process, helping you to create a piece of work to the best of your ability. They will aid you in setting your goals and learning what you want to achieve from your writing. They will push you to succeed and do your best, as ultimately your accomplishments will reflect their teaching abilities. Learning from someone more experienced than yourself is an invaluable way to learn, and learning from someone you are paying to teach you is even better, as it is their duty to give you the best advice they can.

Writing courses will surely give you feedback on your work. For good or for bad, you’ll find out what you’ll need to do to enhance your writing. Not everyone can take criticism well, but it’s a necessary step to become a better writer. Your courses will help alleviate the need for a thick skin a bit because you’ll be receiving feedback in a constructive, friendly manner – there will be no one to scream about how horrible your work is (like they do in the real world!).

5. Building a Writing Community

A writing class that features a strong sense of community is more likely to engage students, writes English professor and teaching mentor John Lovas in “Building a Virtual Community for Composition.” When you get critique and comments from classmates at different levels of experience and ability, you can investigate how to best communicate your ideas to different people. A vibrant community recognizes the intrinsic humanity of writing and focuses on the writer rather than writing. Rivier, who has been taking classes in Santa Fe for over two years, says that the ideal writing community would be like a good psychology lab: people would help each other perform experiments, and everyone’s contribution would be a step toward a common goal. Eager to foster – instead of squelch – creative spirit, he plans to create a collaborative environment in his writing class at the College of Santa Fe.