Course Sales and Promotions
Enroll in online creative writing courses with Writers.com, and take the next step on your writing journey with support from our award-winning instructors and welcoming community.
You’ll get regular instructor feedback on your work, ongoing collaboration with other committed writers, and a nourishing and supportive course structure.
Learn from published authors who have spent decades perfecting their craft, and are dedicated to supporting you and your work. Don’t miss out: find the online writing course for you today!
Courses and Workshops on Sale Now:
October Courses
Death Riding Shotgun: How Awareness of Our Mortality Impacts Poetry
with Lisa C. Taylor
How can your own mortality inform your work? In this 6-week course, you'll use death to inspire and motivate your poetry writing.
The Literary Essay
with Jonathan J.G. McClure
Explore the literary essay - from the conventional to the experimental, the journalistic to essays in verse - while writing and workshopping your own.
November Courses
How to Write a Novel Query Letter (And Survive the Query Trenches, Too!)
with Briana Una McGuckin
Get your novel noticed by agents. Discover the ins and outs of the querying process, and write and revise the best query letter for your manuscript.
Food Writing: Meals And Manuscripts
with Jennifer Billock
Do you love cookbooks, cooking, or reading anything about food? This food writing course is for you. With award winning writer Jennifer Billock.
Nature’s Muse: Finding Inspiration through the Changing Seasons
with Elizabeth Winder
Galvanize your creative practice by deepening your connection to the natural world. Discover inspiration in the changing seasons, and generate fresh new writing.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Lifestyle and Wellness, Memoir, Novel, Personal Essay, Poetry, Short Story
The Checklist: Perfect Your Novel’s Opening Pages
with Carla Damron
Nail your opening pages! Apply the 11 core elements your novel opening must get right, and hook readers and agents into your story.
December Courses
The Only Submission Workshop You Will Ever Need
with Meghan Sterling
How do you get your poems in literary journals? This two part webinar shows you the ropes for getting your work published, read, and celebrated.
From Memory: Writing Fiction or Memoir from Lived Experience
with Chin-Sun Lee
In this class, you'll use a nearly infinite resource—your own memory—to craft compelling fiction or nonfiction stories.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Memoir, Novel, Personal Essay, Short Story
New Year, Novel Draft: Start the Year Off Right!
with Paz Pardo
Get one-to-one feedback on up to 50,000 words of a draft, write or revise 12,000 more, and set yourself up to have a polished draft in the new year.
Warp and Weft: Weaving Free Verse Poetry from Life
with Anna Scotti
Weave everyday events into deftly-written free verse poems in this generative, creativity-centered poetry workshop.
Write into Mystery: Writing Flash Memoir on Wonder and the Unexplained
with Joanna Penn Cooper
We often encounter wonder, mystery, and the unexplained in our everyday lives. Turn those experiences into flash essays in this community-centered course.
Get That Novel Started: A Two-Week Writing Workshop
with Donna Levin
Take the plunge! Put your ideas to paper, write and share the opening pages of your novel, and create a plan for writing a full first draft.
Poems of All Sizes: Haiku, Tanka, and Japanese Poetic Forms
with Miho Kinnas
Explore the history and poetics of Japanese poetry forms, and write haiku, tanka, renga, haiga, and linked verse poetry.
Show and Tell: How to Write Captivating Memoir and Nonfiction
with Brad Wetzler
Your true story of healing or transformation can captivate and empower your readers. Learn how to balance showing the vivid details of your own journey with telling the broader themes for readers to apply in their own lives.
Creative Nonfiction, Lifestyle and Wellness, Memoir, Personal Essay
Call of the Weird: Poetry and Nature
with Caitlin Scarano
Turn your poetic lens towards the outdoors, where we'll put to verse everything strange and wonderful about the natural world.
Creative Nonfiction: The Art of Telling True Stories
with Nicole Hardy
How do you tell your stories beautifully and authentically? Learn the fundamentals of creative nonfiction with Nicole Hardy.
Publication-Ready Prose Poetry
with Rosemary Tantra Bensko
Elevate your unique voice as a prose poet, and catch the attention of top literary magazines and anthologies.
Simple Winter Writing Circles
with Susan Vespoli
Write your way to the finish line of 2024: let go of and say goodbye to a momentous year, honor the changes in yourself and the world, and set your intentions for a new chapter.
Writing the Memoir-in-Essays
with Margo Steines
Learn how to tell your story through the memoir-in-essays, a form that allows writers to interweave the facts of their lives in interesting and evocative ways.
Move Your Writing Forward: The Art of the Bullet Journal
with Rudri Patel
Want to have a productive new year? Set up your bullet journal in this one day live workshop.
Flash Forward: A Short Nonfiction Workshop
with Anna Scotti
Welcome the new year with your most inspired flash nonfiction. Craft concise, emotionally resonant essays of up to 700 words.
January Courses
A Writerly Life: Develop a Writing Routine that Works for You
with Shelby Hinte
What does a writer's life look like? Build a productive writing habit in this course for writers of all backgrounds.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Lifestyle and Wellness, Memoir, Novel, Personal Essay, Poetry, Short Story
In Brief: Explorations in Short Story Forms
with Sandra Novack
Explore the intricate world of short prose forms. Experiment with story forms from one-syllable micros to full-length short stories, and complete six new story drafts.
Opening the Door to Poetry
with Jude Nutter
How do we use poetry to express life's marvelous complexity? Learn how to control language beyond the "ordinary" and discover the many possibilities of poetry.
Write Your Novel! The Workshop With Jack
with Jack Smith
Get a good start on a novel in just ten weeks, or revise a novel you’ve already written. Free your imagination, move steadily ahead and count the pages!
Both Fish and Fowl: The Prose Poem
with Anna Scotti
A successful prose poem reads like a magic trick. Learn how to wield the powers of poetry in the context of prose in this comprehensive prose poetry course.
Intro to Fiction Writing
with Donna Levin
What makes a good fiction story? Learn how to write compelling stories in this eight-week intro to fiction course, with Donna Levin.
Poetry Playhouse
with Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg
Journey through the rooms of your poetic life. Explore your callings as a poet, sharpen your craft, and write and receive feedback on up to 20 new poems.
Rapid Story Development: A Master Plan for Building Stories That Work
with Jeff Lyons
In this 10 week story writing class, Jeff Lyons pairs the Enneagram with story development techniques to revolutionize your writing practice.
The Magic of Flash Nonfiction
with Tamara Dean
Tell your stories quickly and stylishly in this short form creative nonfiction workshop, where you'll come away honing the magic of flash nonfiction.
Toying with the Truth: Writing the Personal Essay
with Shelby Hinte
Experiment with creative nonfiction forms and find the best way to tell your personal stories. Write a short piece each week, and choose one draft to polish.
Start Your Writing Journey!
with Joy Roulier Sawyer
Launch yourself into writing: discover your unique voice, write 5 to 10 new pieces, and build and sustain a writing life.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Lifestyle and Wellness, Memoir, Novel, Personal Essay, Poetry, Short Story, Stage and Broadcast
The Craft of Poetry
with Jonathan J.G. McClure
Poetry is alive and well. Contemporary poets can be touching, terrifying, and laugh-out-loud funny. Join us for an exploration of writing and reading poems.
Write Your World: Express Your Creativity through Article Writing, Blogging, and Essays
with Rudri Patel
Want to write your world, your way? Join us for this six-week program on article writing, blogging, and essays.
Writing Autobiographical Fiction
with Jack Smith
Learn to depart from "what really happened," and write compelling fiction from your own life experiences.
Creative Nonfiction and the Personal Essay
with Gretchen Clark
Gretchen Clark pick axes her way into the volcanic marriage of real life and fiction. Weekly writing with incisive feedback.
Observing What’s Vivid in Prose and Poetry
with Marc Olmsted
Learn how to spotlight beauty through fresh, vivid, and surprising language, in this four week mindfulness writing course.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Memoir, Novel, Personal Essay, Poetry, Short Story, Stage and Broadcast
Scene Study: Strengthen Your Writing with Compelling Scenes
with Susan Pohlman
Great stories are constructed with great scenes. Immerse your reader in your stories by learning the ropes of scene development.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Memoir, Novel, Personal Essay, Short Story, Stage and Broadcast
A Poet’s Calling Card: Writing and Composing a Chapbook
with Caitlin Scarano
The poetry chapbook gives poets the chance to make a small, artful collection around a poetic obsession. Learn how to craft yours in this 8 week chapbook intensive.
The First Fifty Pages of the Novel
with Sandra Novack
The first 50 pages sets up plot, characters, and voice, and it lays the groundwork for your book's overall structure and success. Receive critical, supportive feedback on your book's start from novelist Sandra Novack.
Write Again: Returning to the Page
with Amanda Oliver
Rediscover your writing and voice. Write new pieces, connect in community, and leave with a clear path forward.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Lifestyle and Wellness, Memoir, Novel, Personal Essay, Short Story
February Courses
Crafting the Poetry Novel for Young Adults
with Kelly Bingham
Even if you’ve never written poetry before, you can begin the rewarding process of crafting a poetry novel for Young Adults. Is there a market for novels written in verse? Are they well received? Yes, there is, and yes, they are!
Mastering the Manuscript: Completing a Full-Length Poetry Manuscript (from Start to Finish)
with Ollie Schminkey
In this generative course, you'll write the bulk of the poems you'll use in your full-length manuscript, and learn how to structure them into a collection.
The Deep Dive: Poem As Self-Discovery
with Meghan Sterling
Through poetry, we can access our deepest truths. Use the poem as a roadmap to self-discovery in this 6-week poetic deep-dive.
Writing the (Modern) Love Essay
with Paz Pardo
How do you distill the complexity of (modern) love into language? Learn how in this workshop, where you'll transform your lived experience of romance into an essay.
It Starts with Play: Get (Back) into Writing
with Janée Baugher
Harness the joy of creativity in this inspiration-focused class, where we'll uncover new ideas for writing projects and draft loads of new material.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Lifestyle and Wellness, Memoir, Novel, Personal Essay, Poetry, Short Story, Stage and Broadcast
Long Story Short: Compressing Life into Meaningful Micro Memoirs
with Gretchen Clark
Distill the spirit of your story in fewer than 500 words. Learn to craft compelling short nonfiction, and write and revise five new pieces of micro memoir.
The Healing Power of Poetry
with Joy Roulier Sawyer
Poetry heals. Journey alongside several poets whose works resonate with a variety of healing themes, and learn how to use craft elements as healing tools.
Poetry Workshop: Bring Your Poems to Life
with Rosemary Tantra Bensko
Join us for this workshop on creating powerful poems—poems that are clear and organized, fresh and moving, full of life.
Write Your Novel in 16 Weeks!
with Briana Una McGuckin
In this generative novel writing course, we'll go from writing a strong beginning to writing "The End" on your novel's first draft.
Crafting a Story or Novel Chapter Using Forward-Moving Tension
with Sandra Novack
How do writers tell stories with tension, action, and emotion? Learn how to write forward-moving tension in this 5 week fiction course.
Shape Your Stories: Write Five Styles of the Personal Essay
with Susan Pohlman
Craft powerful nonfiction essays! By exploring five exciting essay forms, you'll learn to bring the stories of your life alive on the page.
March Courses
These Fragments: From Journal Pages to Personal Essays
with Rudri Patel
Learn to harvest the raw creativity of journaling into inspired, publication-worthy personal essays.
Creative Nonfiction, Lifestyle and Wellness, Memoir, Personal Essay
Writing with Consistency and Courage
with Tamara Dean
What makes a successful writer? It's not talent, craft, or even the right connections—it's consistency and courage.
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Lifestyle and Wellness, Live Workshop, Memoir, Novel, Personal Essay, Poetry, Short Story
The Joy of Poetry: A Beginner-Friendly Workshop
with Joy Roulier Sawyer
Have you wanted to get into poetry, but don't know where to start? Learn the craft from the Joy of poetry herself in this welcoming workshop.
May Courses
Crafting Poems in Form: Rhyme, Meter, Fixed Forms, and More
with Jonathan J.G. McClure
Working within the guidelines of a fixed poetic structure can make your poetry more creative, not less. Find freedom in form in this 8 week workshop.
June Courses
The Body and Soul of Your Memoir: Shape, Focus, and Write Your Memoir
with Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg
Unearth your memoir's soul (its main focus and calling) and body (its organization and structure) as you write toward a completed draft.
The Chronology of Mind: From Journal to Poem or Prose
with Barbara Henning
Gather material through writing and experimenting with journaling, researching and taking notes to develop into poems or prose works.
About Our Online Writing Courses
We've been offering writing classes online since 1995 to all kinds of students. Whether you're completely new to the Internet (back then, everyone was) or more experienced learning online, our writing courses will be a great fit for you.
Online Course Platform
We offer our classes through an online course platform called Wet Ink. It's designed to be simple and usable for people without a technical background. You'll be sent instructions for joining your class in Wet Ink on the day it begins.
Weekly Assignments
Most classes are structured around weekly assignments: once each week, the teacher emails or posts a lecture to the list that includes a writing assignment, and the students complete the assignment and send it to the list. This means that the teacher and all students in the class see all completed assignments.
The instructor writes his or her feedback on the assignment and sends it back to the list, and students are encouraged to offer feedback on each others' work.
Additionally, some classes are set up as workshops, and are organized around feedback on student manuscripts.
There are no specific times that you must be online. This allows you to work on the class material at your convenience: it's the ideal way to take a class.
Class Discussion and Connection
The list also hosts class discussions about lessons, assignments, and writing in general. The more interaction among students, the more valuable and enjoyable the class. We offer guidelines to keep dialogue supportive and beneficial, and no negative or abusive behavior is allowed.
Writing can be a lonely pursuit, and it's often difficult for writers to make contact with each other. Part of our reason for being here is to change that. We encourage class members to develop ongoing correspondence in which they can share their work. Often a sense of community forms, and some groups have continued to work together long after the class is over.
With the odd "anonymous intimacy" of the Internet, it's easier to take chances in your writing, and to be honest and thoughtful in your criticism of others' writing. First-time students in our online writing courses are often surprised how much they learn, and how much they enjoy the experience.
If you have further questions, browse the Writers.com FAQ.
Our Online Writing Class Format in Detail
Most of our courses take place on an online learning platform called Wet Ink. We also offer some workshop-style courses through Zoom, which will be clearly marked in the course description. The details below are for our Wet Ink-based courses.
When you enroll in one of our online writing classes, we'll send an email confirming your participation. On the start date of the workshop, your instructor will send a welcome letter explaining how to access the Wet Ink classroom.
You'll access the entire course within Wet Ink, including:
- Reading lectures
- Starting or joining discussions
- Submitting assignments each week
- Commenting on other students’ work
- Receiving direct weekly feedback on your work from the instructor
When the course wraps up, we’ll send you a questionnaire about your experience in the course.
You won't need to be online at a particular time or day. In general, you should plan to check in with the course at least a few times each week.
Thousands of our alumni have returned to study with us again, and some have been with us since the beginning in 1995. We hope you’ll become part of the Writers.com community, too.
Questions about our online writing courses, our community, or anything else? Email us at writers@writers.com, please!
What Sets Our Online Writing Courses Apart
At Writers.com, we have 25 years of experience offering the best writing classes online. Many elements set our courses apart:
- Our instructors are gifted, experienced teachers who are writers themselves. They also care about their students and the progress they make. Any good "school" or workshop can teach you the craft of writing; we offer personal attention and inspiration as well.
- Each instructor develops his or her own courses. Unlike other online writing schools, we have no prepared, prepackaged classes randomly taught by just anyone who has the time to teach it. You know exactly who your teacher will be before you ever register, and you'll receive feedback from that teacher on your writing.
- We accept a maximum of 12 students per class in most classes. You will never be a face in the crowd in a Writers.com class.
- We take your work seriously, but we also have fun. Some of our classes are rigorous and intense. If you want to be a professional writer, you need a tough, but supportive, environment. We have that. But we also offer other classes that are a chance to experiment, learn for the sheer joy of learning, explore new ideas, and discover new pathways.
- Our classes fit into your daily life – no matter what time zone you are in.
- If you are able to visit websites, you can participate fully in our classes. The course software is simple to learn and designed for learners of all kinds across the globe.
- Writers.com is operated by a small, dedicated staff of human beings who genuinely want to help you meet your writing goals. Having a technical problem, or finding that a course isn't the right fit for you? Contact us and we'll work it out, person-to-person.
Join one of our writing courses, and experience the Writers.com difference for yourself!