Courses > Writing & Publishing

Click any title below to view a complete course description including a syllabus, instructor biography, prerequisites, and requirements.

Grammar Refresher
Instructor: Ellen Feld

Revive your lost or forgotten knowledge of English grammar and gain confidence in your ability to produce grammatically correct writing. Whether you’re a student or professional, a published or beginning writer, this course will help you navigate and master the linguistic twists and turns inherent in English grammar. Grammar is fun if you know the rules. A patient instructor will support you throughout the course, and plenty of interactive exercises will give you ample opportunity to put into practice everything you learn.

Writeriffic: Creativity Training for Writers
Instructor: Eva Shaw

Do you have a novel, essay or legacy to share in writing? Have you thought of writing, but don't know how to stay motivated? Are you stumbling with writer's block? Wonder how to capture characters and plots to make them marketable? This class will ignite your creative energies in simple, fun and easy steps. In just six weeks, you'll be a liberated, imaginative and versatile writer ready to tackle or finish that book that is inside you. The class is G-rated in content and language. In the next few weeks, you'll quickly put to use the tools published writers utilize for novels, memoirs, short stories or articles. If you've ever dreamed of hearing your writer's voice and writing what's in your heart and head, this class will make it happen.

Writeriffic 2: Advanced Creativity Training for Writers
Instructor: Eva Shaw

Increase writing confidence, beat writer’s block, manage time, negotiate writing fees, write, and live your dreams. Learn advanced methods to create and write like the professionals--whether you’re launching a career or seeking personal satisfaction through writing. In Writeriffic 2, you’ll learn to be the writer you've always wanted to be and have fun, too.

Effective Business Writing
Instructor: Ann Linquist

Do you have a nagging suspicion that a small improvement in your writing skills might also improve your career prospects? Here’s how to fill in those gaps in your business writing skills so you can reach your full potential. You may be a clerical worker, an engineer, or an executive. If you communicate with others in writing, you need this course to help you identify and eliminate problem areas. By the end of this course, you'll know the secret to developing powerful written documents-including e-mail-that immediately draw readers in and motivate them to do what you want.

Fundamentals of Technical Writing
Instructor: Janet Underwood

Learn the skills you need to succeed in the well-paying field of technical writing. You'll discover the secrets of successful technical writers, including technical writing conventions, interviewing skills, documentation management, publishing and formatting techniques, and how to get your first job as a technical writer.

The Keys to Effective Editing
Instructor: Jacquelyn Landis

Ask any published writer and you will hear that a good editor is not just helpful, but essential. If you aspire to be an editor, this course will teach you the fundamentals of top-notch editing for both fiction and nonfiction. If you’re already working as an editor, you’ll not only brush up on your skills, but will also learn about recent advances in your chosen profession. If you’re a writer, you will learn essential self-editing tools to give your manuscripts the professional look that publishers like to see.

Business and Marketing Writing
Instructor: Lisa Adams

This fun, introductory course will teach you to write or identify copy that achieves business and marketing goals. Improve your work, your knowledge, your company's image, and your chances of getting hired, promoted or applauded! Designed for writers, marketers and anyone interested in these exciting fields.

Breaking Into Sitcom Writing
Instructor: Mindy Glazer

Learn from a veteran TV comedy writer how to write professional sitcom scripts and how to break into show business. Master the art of creating a well-paced, action-packed story and telling it completely in jokes. Discover the secrets to writing dialogue that sounds real, fully serves the story, and makes an audience laugh. Avoid amateur mistakes, and get to know the business behind the business of television writing.

Write and Publish Your Nonfiction Book
Instructor: Lisa Adams

One of the great things about nonfiction book writing is that you're 10 times more likely to get published than you'd be if you wrote fiction. Whether you dream of becoming a full-time author, writing books to advance your career, or penning your memoir or family history, this fun and information-packed course will teach you how to plan, research, write, edit, and publish your masterpiece. First you'll learn how to choose a topic, appraise the competition, and immerse yourself in your subject by performing research and interviews. Then you'll get into the heart of writing and editing as we explore structure, style, and strategies for getting the work done. Finally, you'll delve into the publishing industry and learn how to write winning query letters and proposals for publishers and agents or pursue a variety of nontraditional publishing options.