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Anyone can take creative writing courses online. These courses are meant for beginners who want to give a chance to their creative flair. After completing a creative writing course, students can find career opportunities in journalism, editorial, copywriting, blogging, advertising, proofreading, ghostwriting, screenwriting, and book writing. Most of the creative writing courses can be completed in a day or a few weeks. Moreover, they are available free of cost. The virtual lessons cover tips and tricks that can be useful in the creative journey of an individual. Keep reading to learn more about free creative writing courses online.
| Free Creative Writing Course Online | Value |
| Sharpened Visions: A Poetry Workshop | Best poetry workshop |
| Creative Writing | Best introductory course on creative writing |
| National Centre for Writing Online Courses | Several short creative writing courses |
| The Craft of Storytelling | To learn the art of storytelling |
| How to Write a Novel: Structure & Outline | To learn how to write a novel |
| Script Writing: Write a Pilot Episode for a TV or Web Series | Best for learning scriptwriting |
| Skillshare Online Creative Writing Classes | Several creative writing courses |
| Oxford Online Courses in Creative Writing | Diploma in creative writing |
| Start Writing Fiction | Introductory course on fiction writing |
| Free Online Creative Writing Courses | Best free creative writing courses with certificates |
This Blog Includes:
- Top 10 Free Creative Writing Courses Online
- Sharpened Visions: A Poetry Workshop
- Creative Writing Specialization
- National Centre for Writing Online Courses
- The Craft of Storytelling
- How to Write a Novel: Structure & Outline
- Script Writing: Write a Pilot Episode for a TV or Web Series
- Skillshare Online Creative Writing Classes
- Oxford Online Courses in Creative Writing
- Start Writing Fiction
- Free Online Creative Writing Courses
- FAQs
Top 10 Free Creative Writing Courses Online
Here is a list of the 10 free creative writing courses online. Some of these courses come with certifications and others do not. We have provided the fee details, course level, etc for your reference.
CalArts is offering one of the leading creative writing courses online. This Poetry Workshop covers a total of 6 modules in which students will learn about metaphor and other formulas of difference, abstraction, image, rhyme, rhythm, poetic lines, and revision strategies. The course is meant for beginners and can be completed within 8 hours. A certificate is available. However, payment has to be made for the same.
| Level | Beginner |
| Duration | 8 hours |
| Fees | Free (audit) |
| Certification | Yes (paid) |
Website: https://www.coursera.org/learn/poetry-workshop
Check out the top universities for creative writing courses
Creative Writing Specialization
Wesleyan University’s Creative writing course is one of the top creative writing courses online. This is a 5 module series that consists of topics such as Creative Writing: The Craft of Plot, The Craft of Character: The Craft of Setting and Description, Craft of Style, etc. The course ends with a capstone project that students must complete. The course is meant for beginners. The drawback? The certificate is only available post-payment.
| Level | Beginner |
| Duration | 1 month at 10 hours a week |
| Fees | Free (audit) |
| Certification | Yes (paid) |
Website:https://www.coursera.org/specializations/creative-writing
National Centre for Writing Online Courses
The National Centre for Writing is offering one of the finest creative writing course online. All of these courses are self-paced and can be completed within a short period. Some of the free courses available on this platform are First Steps in Short Form Poetry, New Ways with Short Form Poetry, How to Write Unreliable Narrators, How to Write Young Adult Fiction: Characters and Conflicts, and Writing Science Fiction: World Building. The drawback? These courses do not come with a certificate.
| Level | Beginner |
| Duration | Varies |
| Fees | Free |
| Certification | No |
Website:https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/
The Craft of Storytelling
The University of Alaska is offering another excellent free creative writing course online. This a 4-week course that helps a student learn to tell stories that the audience wants. The curriculum includes topics such as Finding good stories, Using The “Ice Road Trucker” effect, Building the dramatic arc, Designing story structures, Strategizing delivery, ending the story, etc. The course is self-paced and its audit is available for free.
| Level | Beginner |
| Duration | 4 weeks |
| Fees | Free (audit) |
| Certification | Yes (INR 9,886) |
Website:https://www.edx.org/learn/storytelling
Check Out These Book Writing Courses that Will Make Your Imagination Flow!
How to Write a Novel: Structure & Outline
The University of British Columbia is offering the course ‘How to Write a Novel: Structure & Outline’ The program is best for those who want to learn the fundamentals of story structure. The curriculum includes topics such as Character and World-Building, The Big Architecture: Story and Structure, Three-Act Structure and Scene Design, Troubleshooting Common Problems, and Transition to Writing. The program includes a writing assignment and a final task that students must complete.
| Level | Beginner |
| Duration | 6 weeks |
| Fees | Free |
| Certification | Yes (paid) |
Website:https://www.edx.org/learn/novels/
Script Writing: Write a Pilot Episode for a TV or Web Series
Michigan State University is also offering a free creative writing course online. The course is best for those who want to learn scriptwriting skills for a TV or web series. A total of 5 modules are available in this course. Students will learn everything from developing a TV concept and writing the pilot episode to polishing their script. Any basic word processor is sufficient to take this course. Students will need to dedicate 1-2 hours of study, and 30+ hours of active project work.
| Level | Beginner |
| Duration | 21 hours |
| Fees | Free (audit) |
| Certification | Yes (paid) |
Website:https://www.coursera.org/learn/script-writing
Skillshare is another great platform offering free creative writing course online. People can choose a creative writing class based on their interests. All of these courses are taught by experts in the field. Some of the available courses include Copywriting For Beginners: How To Write Web Copy That Sells Without Being Cheesy, Character-Driven Story Development for Your Novel or Screenplay, and Storytelling 101: Character, Conflict, Context & Craft, among others. No certificate is available after course completion.
| Level | Beginner |
| Duration | Varies |
| Fees | 7 days of free trial |
| Certification | No |
Website:https://www.skillshare.com/en/browse/creative-writing?sort=popular&page=1
Oxford Online Courses in Creative Writing
The Oxford University Department of Continuing Education is offering one of the best free creative writing course online. Students can choose from a short online course in creative writing and a Diploma in Creative Writing. The short courses have live-time weekly classes. The credit earned from this course is transferable toward the Certificate of Higher Education – a part-time undergraduate course. On the other hand, the Diploma in Creative Writing can be completed in 2 years. It covers 4 areas of literary activity. For example, prose, drama, etc.
| Level | Beginner |
| Duration | 2 years part-time (diploma) |
| Fees | Free |
| Certification | NA |
Website:https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/about/online-courses-in-creative-writing
Start Writing Fiction
The Open University Start Writing Fiction course is a free creative writing course online. The program is meant for those who want to learn the strategies for writing fiction. The curriculum includes topics such as character development, setting, and genre. This is an introductory course that requires 12 hours of study. A certificate of participation is available post-completion of the course.
| Level | Beginner |
| Duration | 12 hours of study |
| Fees | Free |
| Certification | Yes |
Website:https://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/creative-writing/start-writing-fiction/
Free Online Creative Writing Courses
Alison is one of the top websites offering free creative writing course online. These courses are meant for beginners and can be completed in a few hours. Some of the creative writing courses available on this platform include Understanding Poetry Writing, How to Write and Publish a Novel, Creative Nonfiction Writing, Screenwriting, and Writing for Young Readers. The course comes with free certifications.
| Level | Beginner |
| Duration | 2-5 hours per course |
| Fees | Free |
| Certification | Yes |
Website:https://alison.com/tag/creative-writing
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FAQs
The British Council is offering a course called ‘Creative Writing for Adults – Module I’. This course is completely online and can be completed within 9 weeks. A B2 English level is needed to take this course. The fee is INR 10,000.
There are several free writing courses for beginners. For example, Sharpened Visions: A Poetry Workshop by CalArts, and Wesleyan University’s Creative Writing course. Alison also offers several free writing courses for beginners.
Harvard University only offers 1 free online creative writing course. This is called the ‘Rhetoric: The Art of Persuasive Writing and Public Speaking’. This is an introductory course that requires the student to dedicate 2 – 3 hours per week. The course audit is free.
Hope this blog provides you with all the important details, for more information about such courses, visit our online courses page.
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