Courses and Classes

The Great Courses Plus

The Great Courses Plus provides in-depth courses in over a dozen categories. One is “Literature,” which contains most of the courses for writers. Other categories, like “History,” “Music,” “Science,” and “Travel & Culture” can be sources for writers doing research. All of the over 800 Great Courses Plus courses are pre-recorded, with multiple individual lectures in each one.

It’s important to note that these courses are more like college courses, covering their topics broadly and deeply, although courses like “Effective Editing” and “How Great Science Fiction Works” do delve more into practical skills and knowledge. There’s a trailer video for each course to introduce potential viewers to its contents.

Members can access these courses via web browsers, the iOS and Android apps, FireTV, Roku, and Apple TV.

The Great Courses Plus offers a 14-day free trial period. Memberships can be purchased on a monthly ($15), quarterly ($33.75), or annual ($112.50) basis but if the membership is cancelled after the trial period, the fee will not be refunded. These prices may be introductory or temporary discounts. The site also indicates a monthly price of $20, quarterly $45, and annual $150.

Udemy

You can think of Udemy as being a Wikipedia for learning. The platform claims over 250,000 courses on a vast array of topics. A search for “creative writing” turned up over 7,000 results rated three stars or higher, with over 6,500 in English. However, filtering that down to “creative writing” cut the list to just over 100 in English, under 90 for “storytelling,” and 100 for “screenwriting and scriptwriting.” Each course may contain multiple classes and the entire course may run from less than one hour to more than 15.

Courses are priced individually. A quick scan of the creative writing course list revealed prices from free to almost $200, although at this writing, many were temporarily discounted to under $15. It’s also possible to purchase a “personal plan” for $20/month or higher, to avoid paying for courses individually.

MasterClass

The primary advantage of MasterClass is that its 200+ courses are taught by unquestioned experts in their fields. Among the writing course teachers are R. L. Stine, James Patterson, Judy Blume, N. K. Jemisin, and Margaret Atwood. That said, of course, there’s no guarantee that these best-selling authors will be excellent instructors.

Sessions by MasterClass is a “hands-on format by MasterClass where you can learn alongside the world’s best by working on projects and activities as part of a structured curriculum.” Much like a critique group, this program involves sharing work with an “engaged community” and receiving feedback, so it’s not clear how the “world’s best” fit in.

Courses include around 20 individual pre-recorded, 10-minute video lessons, and a downloadable “in-depth workbook.” These short lessons make them easier to grab when you have the time.

Individual courses may not be purchased separately, but a subscription costs $120 per year, which provides full access to all courses. While MasterClass does not have a free trial membership, it does offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.

LinkedIn Learning

LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com) is part of the LinkedIn business networking platform. As a result, the courses offered in its Creative branch focus on practical skills development, such as learning how to use tools like Photoshop or Canva, how to code in HTML or CSS, or how to work with AI. Access to the full list of courses is only available after signing up for a one-month free trial period and to LinkedIn Learning admins.

Users may not pay for courses individually once the free one-month trial ends. A monthly plan costs $39.99, or $379.88 per year for an individual license.

Coursera

Coursera partners with more than 350 “leading universities and companies to bring flexible, affordable, job-relevant online learning to individuals and organizations worldwide.” Members can view hundreds of free courses, all based on programs at the partner universities, some of which are taught in languages other than English. It also offers professional certificate and full graduate and undergraduate degree programs, which are definitely not free. The full course list can be filtered to specific areas of interest, which makes the size of the list much more manageable. Of course, there’s no guarantee that you’ll find the kind of course you’re looking for.

Coursera courses consist of individual or series of pre-recorded lectures or modules, which take from one to several hours to complete.

Algonkian Novel Workshops

This program is for authors and playwrights. It offers both in-person and online programs using a “model-and-context genre inclusive pedagogy” focused on preparing authors for traditional publishing. Their emphasis is “on providing pragmatic, evidence-based novel writing guidance.” They “firmly reject… ‘pantsing’ when it comes to novel structure, scenes, and overall development.” Attendees are given pre-session reading and other assignments and “must-do checklists.” The site states, “College MFA programs do not prep a writer for the cold reality of the current publishing climate” and is quite critical of the MFA approach generally, focusing instead on helping the student produce market-ready work.

The 16-module online Algonkian Novel Development and Editorial Program costs $299. The site provides a hard-to-find syllabus (which dates to 2021) for both parts of the program. In-person events are held in New York City; Algonkian Park, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.); St. Augustine, Florida; and Monterey, California. As of March 2025, upcoming events are priced from $895 to $1,695. These prices are also hard to find.

Algonkian also partners with a novel editing service called “Manuscript to Market” which features a two-editor, three-draft, four-phase editorial process open to all fiction genres and “upmarket/literary” manuscripts. Base price for this service is $4,589 for manuscripts up to 105,000 words, and $300 additional for every 10,000 words.

DIY MFA (Do It Yourself MFA)

DIY MFA is an MFA-like program that writers can tune to their own interests and needs. It offers craft, creativity, and productivity resources, tips on “writing with focus,” “reading with purpose,” and building a community of fellow writers and fans. Additional details are provided on the FAQ and “How DIY MFA Works” pages.

A 10-week, 10-module DIY MFA 101 introductory course ($597 if paid in three installments, $499 if paid in full) is the only one listed. Students build their own syllabus beyond it. Founder Gabriela Pereira provides an overview of the program in a 30-minute video.

The site also offers many articles, podcasts, videos, writing prompts, and more.

Gotham Writers Workshop

This program offers over 80 courses on fiction, memoir, poetry, blogging, stand-up comedy, and more. Some are specifically focused on teen writers. Some are held in New York City only; others are also available online and/or via Zoom.

The online-only short courses start at about $175, longer courses run as high as $565, plus a $25 registration fee per term, with a variety of discounts for various reasons, such as being a returning student. Individual training or mentoring is available for prices up to well over $2,000, depending on the length and purpose of the relationship. “Intensives” take place on a single day in New York City, or over a period of three weeks online.  The helpful three-page FAQ section is accessible only through the footer.

Skillshare

Skillshare is an “online learning community” that offers over 1,000 classes on creative writing, ranging in length from less than fifteen minutes to around four hours. The teachers are described as “industry leaders.” However, elsewhere the site acknowledges those teachers are “everyday creatives, entrepreneurs, and professionals.” Students or visitors will have to look at each course’s description to determine the instructor’s background and qualifications.

While it’s possible to see an overview of any particular course without signing up, visitors have to start a seven-day free trial membership to find out what a full membership costs ($13.99 per month, billed annually: $167.88). It’s hard to understand why this information is hidden. The membership is billed on an annual basis and is not refundable if the member chooses to cancel it more than 7 days of signing up, at any time on membership renewals, or on mobile subscriptions started through the Apple or Google Play app stores. The FAQs are buried in a Help section that is accessible only through the website’s footer.

 

There are around 900 classes in the “Creative Writing” category, ranging in length from less than half an hour to four hours or more.

Visitors have to start to open a 7-day free trial membership to find out what a full membership costs; that cost is not refundable if the member chooses to cancel it after signing up. “

The Write Practice

The site offers paid courses that can be purchased individually at $99 per class, but as of this writing, the last listed course was taught in November of 2024. Members can also sign up for a $49 per month “Classes” membership tier but some of these classes expire after a time and then would have to be purchased separately.

The “Feedback” tier costs $10/month. The “Author” tier, which includes this program, is priced at $119/month.

The year-long “100 Day Book” course is run three times per year and is priced at $119/month. It offers a $100 incentive to participants who hit their weekly deadlines and finish the draft. It’s also possible to select an “Audit” option for $69/month, but it does not include the coaching and $100 incentive that are available in the full program.

The “100 Day Book: Draft 2” program helps authors edit their first draft.

Individual book coaching is available for $369/month during the 100 day period. One-time, one hour individual coaching sessions are available for $250, or $200 if the author allows a recording of the coaching session to be posted on YouTube.

Course and membership tier prices are hard to find, as visitors have to start the process of joining the site before prices are revealed near the bottom of the Join page or the 100 Day Book page.

Writer’s Digest University

This program is sponsored by Writer’s Digest magazine. It offers over 100 different courses and workshops on writing in various forms and genres, pitching a book, marketing, and more. It also offers “bootcamps” and virtual conferences. New courses and live events start every week. Prices range from $20 for self-paced courses to $900.

The Writers’ Studio

A New York City-based program that provides online and in-person workshops for adults and teens. In-person classes are held in New York City; Tucson, Arizona; San Francisco, California; and Croton-on-Hudson, New York, and Rome, Italy.

Workshops run either six or eight weeks. Prices for individual courses vary from $299 to $499 each. Other, individual workshops and courses typically run eight weeks.

Students may also sign up for 20 hours of one-on-one tutoring over no more than six months for $1,975.

The site does not ask prospective students to submit a writing sample or application because they believe only “talented, receptive and hard-working students” will apply.

Writers Village University

Founded in 1995, it claims to be “the first, the largest, the best online university for writers.” The site offers “over 300 writing courses” (although the current listing included over 120) with new ones added “regularly.”

They have “MFA” and “Certificate” programs: a three-year Fiction MFA comprising six 16-week semesters, a two-year Short Story MFA, and a Creative Writing Certificate program comprising two 16-week semesters. Each consists of required core courses plus electives. Students in the two- and three-year programs may design their own program of study during the last year.

Individual classes run from 2 to 16 weeks. Students may enroll part-time and are not required to complete the “MFA” in the time periods listed.

A somewhat helpful “MFA Overview” document lays out how each program is designed to work, but it dates to 2015 and there’s no information on whether it matches the current programs.

There are no charges for individual courses. Instead, enrollees buy a 30-day trial membership ($30 for the first month, then $10 per month) or one-year membership ($99, then $69 per year to renew). These fees are not refundable. This detail is buried in fine print at the bottom of the Membership page.

It’s unclear whether this “university” is actually accredited.

The faculty includes twenty-four instructors. Some list in their biographies what they’ve published and where, and whether they have any academic degrees in writing, English, or something else. Some indicated that at the time their bio was written, they were also a student in one of the program’s courses.