Why Take an Online Creative Writing Class
Pros and Cons of Learning to Write via the Internet
The Internet has opened up new opportunities for learning by connecting students across the globe. With a myriad of courses available to writers, it may be hard to know where to start. Here, three writers share their experiences in learning through online writing classes.
How to Find Online Creative Writing Classes
Talk to other writers about writing courses that they’ve taken and would recommend. Shirley Tye, a writer and speaker, says she found out about the courses she took by “electronic word of mouth” – a writer’s email listserve.
Writing courses are also advertised in writer’s newsletters and magazines or on writing-related websites. Dorothy Bentley, a freelance writer working on her first novel, first saw an advertisement in Writer’s Digest and then, by “cruising around the Internet, checking out various writing sites, [she] found the Christian Writers Guild [CWG] had a new Craftsman course.”
Local writer’s organizations may also offer short online classes; for example, members of Inscribe Christian Writer’s Fellowship occasionally share their expertise with other members via Internet instruction.
Choosing the Right Online Creative Writing Course
Writing classes are available through the Internet on a myriad of topics. Consider what the course offers and what would be the most benefit before enrolling in a course. Marcia Laycock, author of One Smooth Stone, says, “I chose [the course] because it seemed to deal with a subject that would help me with what I was writing at the time.”
Tye took three online writing classes because “the topics were new for me [and] the courses were affordable.” She also looked for recommendations from other writers. Bentley turned to online writing courses because she “had a hunger to improve in the craft of writing and live out [her] dream to write novels.” The courses she found fulfilled those goals for her.
Advantages of Online Creative Writing Classes
Online writing courses offer flexibility and the ability to study anywhere. Tye notes that this was “a big cost saving for me in travel and time.” Bentley was able to enrol in writing classes “despite [her] somewhat remote home in northern Alberta.” She also liked doing “course-work late at night or in the middle of the afternoon”—whenever it fit into her schedule.
Online writing classes also help discipline writers. Laycock explains that her course “gave specific goals and assignments that kept me accountable.” This discipline is valuable when writers begin working with editors’ deadlines.
Getting feedback on projects is also a big reason to choose an online writing course. In some courses, all students may be able to critique each other’s work, while in other courses, only the teacher or mentor provides assistance. Bentley specifically chose CWG’s course because she “wanted to have a mentor for feedback.” She liked the idea of learning from successful writers and having her work “critiqued by a pro.”
Bentley also found that learning online was “more personal and less intimidating than being in a classroom. It's easier to ask questions and get direct feedback without concerns about group dynamics.” There is be more opportunities to ask questions in an online environment where time isn’t limited as it is in a classroom.
Disadvantages of Online Creative Writing Courses
While Bentley found online classes more personal, other students find the opposite. Writers who enjoy face-to-face interactions and a traditional teaching style have to adjust to the impersonal nature of online writing classes. Laycock says, “The only drawback is that you have no personal contact with others in the group so you only get to ‘meet’ them virtually so to speak.”
For some, online learning is exactly what they want. Tye says, “I feel I got everything from the online courses as I would have from in-classroom teaching.” So surf the Internet a bit and find a course that will help you improve your writing skills online.
Online Writing Courses Help Writers Improve Skills
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