Courses and Classes (DEV)
Course Subjects
Class/Course lengths
Course Cost
Individual tutoring
Locations
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 January 2026, upcoming events were priced from $895 to $1,695. These prices are listed on the “Listed and TBA Events, Programs, and Retreats” page.
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 for every 10,000 additional words.
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Established 2019
158 membersCoursera
Coursera partners with more than 350 “leading universities and companies to bring flexible, affordable, job-relevant online learning to individuals and organizations worldwide.”
Coursera courses consist of individual or series of pre-recorded lectures or modules, which take from one to several hours to complete.
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 from accredited universities, which cost $9,000 or more. Most of these programs are purely online, although a few may require some on-campus residency time.
The site offers three paid tiers for individuals.
- The “Single learning program,” $49 – $79 per month, allows users to focus on a specific topic or earn a credential from the university or “industry partner” that created the course
- “Coursera Plus Monthly,” $59 per month, lets users complete multiple courses and earn credentials. It includes a 7-day free trial and allows cancellations at any time.
- “Coursera Plus Annual,” $399 per year, provides a substantial saving compared to a full year of the monthly tier.
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. As of this writing, the “Arts and Humanities” category listed only four courses specifically relevant to prose writers, plus two related to song writing.
DIY MFA (Do It Yourself MFA)
DIY MFA is an MFA-like program that writers can tune to their own interests and needs—with one exception: the program is aimed toward traditional publishing rather than indie. However, as site “instigator and founder” Gabriela Pereira makes clear, it’s good for all authors to understand that side of the business, even if they don’t plan to go there.
The site 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 (https://diymfa.com/community/what-is-diy-mfa) and “How DIY MFA Works” (https://diymfa.com/about/#how-it-works) pages.
A 10-week, 10-module DIY MFA 101 “foundational” course (https://members.diymfa.com/101-course/; $597 if paid in three installments, $499 if paid in full) consists of permanent access to its video lessons supplemented with audio recordings, slides, worksheets, and transcripts through a private course website. Five group discussion calls allow participants to “ask questions and connect with other writers.” A private Facebook group provides similar opportunities outside of the course structure. Because of that structure, potential students must enroll during fixed registration periods.
Students build their own syllabus beyond the basic course. Pereira provides an overview of the program in a slow-paced but thorough 30-minute video (https://members.diymfa.com/sdsd/diy-your-mfa). This video is actually the third in a series. The first two cover breaking through creative blocks (https://members.diymfa.com/sdsd/creative-manifesto/) and techniques for improving your writing process (https://members.diymfa.com/sdsd/iteration/).
The site also offers many articles, podcasts, videos, writing prompts, and more. Potential enrollees can get a free “DIY MFA Starter Kit” in exchange for their email address.
Gotham Writers Workshop
This program offers over 90 courses on fiction, memoir, poetry, blogging, stand-up comedy,
and more. Five are specifically focused on teen writers. Some are held in New York City only; others are also available online and/or via Zoom. Students enrolled in online courses can access course material for the current or previous weeks at any time. Students enrolled in Zoom courses must be able to log in at the appointed time, usually once a week for up to three hours.
The online-only short courses start at about $185, longer courses run as high as about $550, plus a $25 registration fee per term, with a variety of discounts for various reasons, such as being a returning student. Refunds are available only up to two days before a class starts. Credits for future classes, good for one year, are available only if the student withdraws before the Week 2 class meets. This overall information is buried in the FAQs, with course-specific prices listed in their descriptions.
AI-generated material is not allowed as student work or critiques. Any such work will be removed but the submitter will be allowed to remain in the course.
Individual training, mentoring, and manuscript doctoring is available for prices up to nearly $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.
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. Beyond the trial period, courses are available only to LinkedIn Premium members or “enterprise” (corporate) account members.
Users may not pay for courses individually once the free one-month trial ends. Subscription price information is almost impossible to find without signing up for the trial membership.
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. New courses are launched “each month.”
“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 members have the time. Smartphone, TV apps, and streaming options are also available and lessons may be downloaded for offline viewing.
Individual courses may not be purchased separately. The “standard” subscription costs $120 per year, which provides full access to all courses but only on one device with no offline viewing. Subscriptions offering more options cost $180 and $240 per year. While MasterClass does not have a free trial membership, it does offer a 30-day money-back guarantee. After that period ends, the remainder of the annual subscription is not refundable.
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 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.
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.