Please select a course:
Click any course title below to view a detailed course description, requirements, syllabus, and other details:
Write Fiction Like a Pro
Do you have an idea for a novel or short story burning in your mind, but can't seem to get it on paper? This is a common experience for anyone who tries to write fiction using creative intuition alone. What you need is a structure to guide you. In this course, you'll develop your own original story, beginning with your passion and theme. From these you’ll discover your characters, their flaws, and the inner struggles that will bring them to life. Then, you’ll structure your story, from start to finish. Once you have mastered the techniques taught in this course, you’ll be prepared to . . . write fiction like a pro.Writeriffic: Creativity Training for Writers
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
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.The Craft of Magazine Writing
Ever read a nonfiction magazine article and said, I can write better than that? With this fun, interactive class you can learn the ropes from a pro and turn your dream of becoming a freelancer into a bright future as a magazine writer. It's fun, it's easy, and a great source of extra income whether you’re retired, planning for the future or staying close to the kids. If you're a determined new writer, or if you haven't written for magazines in years, this class will jump start your career. You'll learn plenty of powerful brainstorming techniques designed to practically write every article for you.Fundamentals of Technical Writing
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.Writing Great Technical Documents
Do you write technical documents? Would you like to learn how to write them better? This course will teach you how to polish your writing and improve the effectiveness of your technical documentation. You'll learn how to choose the right words, write powerful sentences and paragraphs that flow, use technical terms, improve your grammar and punctuation, use graphics, and format your technical documents to get results.The Keys to Effective Editing
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 Marketing Writing
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.Write Your Life Story
It’s your story. It’s time to write it so you can tell history, share your secrets and successes, and better understand yourself. Learn what it takes to write essays, a legacy letter (sometimes called an ethical will), a memoir, an autobiography or the story of a loved one’s life in simple, easy steps that will get you ready for whatever you want to tell. It’s fun, it’s exciting and it’s your truth. The step-by-step process begins with capturing ideas and ends by providing all the tools to tell the stories in your life.Beginner's Guide to Getting Published
Your success in the writing game will be determined by the amount of credibility publishers attach to you and your work. This course, taught by a published author, will help you gain that credibility. You'll discover powerful shortcuts most other writers still haven't learned after many years of trying to get published. This course will help you properly format manuscripts, write irresistible query letters, and submit your work to the publishers who want it. If you really want to be a writer, this step-by-step course will give you all the tools you need to get published--again and again and again.You Can Write for Television
We were all raised on television, but have you ever thought about writing for it? In this hands on, project-oriented course you will learn more than just the mechanics of television writing, you will actually have the opportunity to write sample scripts for your favorite TV shows. Try your hand at writing sitcoms, hour-long dramas, and even television movies. You may even want to create your own series. You Can Write For Television will teach you everything you need to know!Write Like a Pro
Writing a successful novel, screenplay, business report, or non-fiction book is far easier when you work from a well thought-out story outline. Under the guidance of a professional Hollywood writer and author, you will learn how professional writers use story outlines to 'blueprint' a structure for any story. Once you have mastered the special story structure techniques taught in this course, you will be prepared to…write like a pro.Crafting Your Short Fiction
Learn how to write and sell terrific short stories from a published author and professor of English. This fascinating and intelligent course takes you through the story creation process and teaches you everything you need to know to write and successfully market your own short stories.Correcting Oral and Written Errors
This course will address common oral and written errors in a non-threatening and, for the most part, in a non-grammatical manner. The ample examples and explanations, as well as the chatty tone, will help you avoid embarrassing mistakes and frustrating moments of indecision. The course will address four principal areas of common errors: usage, punctuation, spelling, and pronunciation & slang. Once you complete this course, you'll instinctively speak and write with assurance that your word choices, punctuation, spelling, and pronunciation are correct.Travel Writing
Sell travel writing without leaving your home town? Absolutely. That’s a secret few travel writing professionals will tell you. In this class, it’s just one of the tools to launch a successful travel writing career. Whether you’re writing nonfiction or fiction and yearning to capture the landscape and feelings that are translated into novels or for the magazine writer who longs to write on travel, this class will help you translate what is seen, heard, tasted, touched, smelled, and felt (intuitively and physically) into publishable articles, books, and novels. You'll understand the writing styles and methods needed to sell material in today's competitive market (including the how-to's of technical aspects of lead paragraphs, descriptive passages and the uses of interviews, quotes, and facts). By the end of the course, you'll have the ability to write for the travel market. So pack your sense adventure, organize your determination, and put your keyboard in a comfortable position. If you have a desire to write and a yen to travel, you're a perfect candidate to become a travel writer. Let's get going. Topics include popular styles and types of travel writing that are the friendliest to new writers. Other topics of the workshop include how to write query letters, how to produce articles, essays and books, trends in types of articles and books, grammar and writing skills refreshers, and marketing information.Your Screenwriting Career
Learn how to write and sell professional-quality screenplays from a Hollywood veteran. Master the secrets to selecting a genre, building strong characters, writing memorable dialogue, and developing powerful storylines. Avoid common formatting mistakes that mark you as an amateur and gain the marketing skills you’ll need to sell your screenplay.Pleasures of Poetry
If you want to write poetry, this course will help you create your best possible work, whether you’re looking to be published or simply wish to craft a beautiful poem as a gift for a friend. In this course, you will discover formal elements of craft, explore poetry topics, learn how to prepare a manuscript for publication, and receive guidance in a constructive and nurturing environment.Research Methods for Writers
Attention all writers! Learn how to efficiently and effectively conduct research for any writing project: fiction, nonfiction, business . . . even term papers and dissertations. Research has progressed far beyond a visit to the library. Today, myriad sources provide almost anything a writer might need to know on any subject. Learn how to identify and access every information source imaginable.Introduction to Internet Writing Markets
Discover the thousands of lucrative publishing opportunities that await you on the Internet if you understand Internet marketing! Want to write e-zine articles that sell? Create a blog? Put online advertising to work making money for you? In this course, you'll learn how to do all of that. You'll find out about Internet writing markets, current marketing research, Internet trends, and the future of the Web. There's a niche for every writer on the Internet, and not only will this course help you find yours, but it will also help you learn to query and submit your writing electronically, understand electronic submission guidelines and online contracts, and much more. Get ready to publish whatever you want, whenever you want, and make good money in the process!History of Women Writers
Learn how women writers from the 12th through the 19th century expressed themselves through literature. You will gain a better understanding of the history of women and women's writing by studying such notable writers as Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, George Eliot, George Sand, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Sarah Orne Jewett, and Kate Chopin. This course will immerse you in a warm and supportive academic environment in which you can freely discuss the influences of history on women writers and their works.