Writing Courses

I wanted to share a little writing gem with you.  I recently went searching for some sort of writing course that I could use to help develop my writing. I am a bit limited though.  I don't have tons of money to spend, I work 40-50 hours a week and have a family.  I can't be jet setting to thousand dollar week long writing retreats or something like that.

Good news! I found a podcast on Writing Excuses (check them out if you haven't already!) with guest speaker David Farland.  He is a teacher and author who has an extensive biography that includes about a million bits of relevant experience, including best selling author, teaching at the college level, and work in Hollywood as a "story doctor," for screenplays, among other things. He mentioned his online courses at My Story Doctor and I had to check it out.

I was happy to find a beginner course that sounded like it would be a good fit for me. It was pricey (by my admittedly cheap standards :) but I've found it really worth the money.  The courses are online.  You read/listen/watch material at your own pace, and there are several on-line meetings each week that you can join as you have time.  I love that you get to talk to Dave personally and ask him any question that pops into your head.  In addition, he gives you assignments throughout, which he then provides personal feedback on.

For me this has been a great way to fit a class into my busy schedule and still get to actually interact on a personal basis with a professional writer and teacher.  I highly recommend his courses.   Take a peek. Happy writing!