archie reviews… online writing courses!

A while back, I shared news about a free online writing course.
Since then, I’ve been keeping a list of some others to share at a later time.
That time is now.
*Cue dramatic music*

Some of you may know from visiting the resources page that I am an avid supporter of all things cash-free, whenever possible. I certainly wish for people to be compensated fairly – not only because I know well the reality of underpaying artists – but when content is posted by their creators to be shared and enjoyed freely, well, that’s very nice indeed!

Basically, as long as there is some educational component to the content, with some broad manner of assessing the knowledge learned at the end, then that qualifies here.

Keep in mind that this is free, so quality does vary, but overall it serves as a good jolt of encouragement for anyone wanting to sharpen their pencils and minds.

But I am focusing on the top ones I would legitimately recommend you spend your time.

So without further adieu, here are my top picks for free online writing courses!

Count me down from 5!

5. Skillshare’s Creative Writer Toolkit

So I’m sort of cheating right from the start – woops – because Skillshare is sort of like the Netflix of online learning, offering almost too much content for a reasonable cost of $10ish monthly subscription (and then you can just share a password with other writer friends, which is what I do). Keep in mind that instructors on the site come in all sorts so you will definitely enjoy and loathe some more than others.
But, there are some teaser videos that are indeed free to watch so best to start with those and see if you like it. Then, you could ‘technically’ sign-up for the 2-month free trial and cancel it before you are ever billed anything – so that’s free!

4. The Open University’s Start Writing Fiction

All about overcoming writer-ly doubts and just starting already by learning to identify your strengths and weaknesses as a fiction writer. Also, content related to exploring essential storytelling how-to in characterization and setting.

3. The Open University’s Writing What You Know

The focus here is on how to draw upon life experiences and how to pay attention to small details, as well as hear from other published authors on how they have used their own personal lives to build a foundation for their novels. Cool stuff!

2. The Open University’s What is Good Writing?

I chose this one as the top among OU. Its emphasis is on essay writing and non-fiction writing, but it is really about learning how to make your writing as clear as possible. Maybe that’s a weakness or a pleasure of my own, so I enjoyed it!

1. Khan Academy’s The Art of Storytelling with Pixar

Any lesson from Pixar in storytelling should suffice to pique your interest, but a free series of videos by different artists and creative minds at work there is a clear winner. I’ve included 3 sample videos just to show the depth of quality in their lessons.