A Writer's Guide to Descriptive Settings - Learn to tap into the world you know in order to establish a realistic sense of place in your writing. You'll develop your eye for detail, and you'll find out how to collect the information you'll need to infuse your works with believable characters, memorable settings, and detailed descriptions. This hands-on course is filled with a variety of valuable exercises that will help you hone your skills of observation, interviewing, collecting oral histories, remembering details and descriptions, reproducing dialogue and diction, using figurative language, developing realistic characters, and more. By the time you finish this course, you'll be well-prepared to create truly unique works filled with vivid and meaningful observations of the people, places, foods, customs, and events in not only your local community, but also in places that exist only in your memory.
Beginning Writer’s Workshop - If you've dreamed of writing creatively, this course is a great place to start. Get a taste of the writing life, improve your writing skills, and discover new ways to stretch your creative muscles. This isn't school as you know it. It’s an in-depth writing experience filled with challenging hands-on exercises, expert advice, and plenty of direct support and encouragement.
Write Fiction 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.
Advanced Fiction Writing - Do you have a story idea or manuscript you'd like to prepare for publication? Or are you a published author who wants to polish your writing skills? In this course, you'll explore all the topics a writer needs to create a successful manuscript, including story structure, plot, character, dialogue, setting, suspense, conflict, action, viewpoint, tense, and even how to get published.
Craft of Magazine Writing - Turn your dreams into bylines and help yourself to a bright future as a magazine writer. If you're a determined new writer, this class will provide you with the skills you need to get published.
Writeriffic 1: Creativity Training for Writers - Banish writer's block forever with these tricks from the published writer's toolbox. This course liberates the inventive bolts of genius that are inside everyone. If you've ever dreamed of hearing your writer's voice, this class will make it happen.
Writeriffic 2: Advanced Creativity Training for Writers - Writing and Publishing Description: 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.
Writing for Children - Join a published children's author and discover how you can touch the hearts of children by creating books for them. In this highly interactive, hands-on course, you'll take pen to paper and begin work on your first fiction or nonfiction manuscript. In the process, you'll explore the changing world of children's literature and understand the various formats--from baby's first books to novels for young adults. You'll get insights from guest authors and editors to gain a better understanding of the needs of today's market. By researching the genre and recognizing niche players, you'll open doors of opportunity, many of which you may not have previously considered. By the time you finish this course, you'll have all the tools and resources you'll need to continue to grow as a writer for children.
Pleasures of Poetry - If you want to write poetry, this course will help you to create your best possible work. You'll learn the formal elements of the craft, become aware of how particular forms work, and explore many avenues for possible poetry topics. Interactive exercises will help you to create at least one poem with formal elements, and you'll receive instruction and commentary in a constructive and nurturing environment. If you're serious about becoming a published poet, you'll also learn how to prepare a manuscript for publication and where to send it for the best possible results.
Write Your Life Story - Writing the story of your life can heal, inspire, and entertain. Only you can do it. This course leads you quickly through the process from idea to complete manuscript, helping you write like a pro.
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 are already working as an editor, you will 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.
Travel Writing - Explore your world for fun and profit as a travel writer. You can write about the exotic lands half a world away or what's happening in your own backyard. You can sell your experiences in articles or in travel books.
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.
Intro to Internet Writing Markets - The Internet has created a whole new world of opportunity for writers. If you’re already a professional writer or just dream of becoming one, this course will help you discover a wide variety of new markets for your work.
Mystery Writing
- From Dan Brown to Dennis Lehane, mysteries are hot items on today's bestseller lists. Using vivid examples from bestselling mystery novels, this course will teach you the techniques you need to become a successful author. Topics include three-act structure, the difference between plot and story, theme, premise, characters and viewpoint, plus much more. Develop your original story idea and then brainstorm with the instructor and your fellow students in each lesson's discussion area.
Romance Writing Secrets
- Learn how to write and sell romance novels. Facilitated by a bestselling, multi-published romance author, this course will guide you on your road to writing your first romance and getting it published. Topics to be covered include: character chemistry, the power of emotions, the art of romance, and handling love scenes. Plus, you'll get the inside scoop on what it takes to get published in today's romance market. This step-by-step course will put you well on the road to writing for love and money.
Breaking Into Sitcom
Writing - 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 amateurmistakes, and get to know the business behind the business of television writing.
Business and Marketing Writing
- This fun 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.
Publish It Yourself: How to Start and Operate Your Own Publishing Business - Convert manuscripts into extra income by starting your own publishing company. Avoid common pitfalls that can slow the growth of your publishing enterprise. Learn how to format your works in a way that will save you hundreds of dollars. Find out everything you need to know to profit from your own publishing company: how to plan and design a cover, select paper, register your works, choose a printer, price your products, acquire barcodes, market your books, establish distribution channels, fulfill orders, and more.
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 trial and error. 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.
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.
Writing for ESL - Would you like to learn how to write more effectively? Many ESL learners have excellent training and skills in their native languages but find their academic or career progress slowed by the challenges of writing in English. This course will take you through each step of the writing process, showing you how to generate, focus, and develop your ideas. A thorough grammar review will also help you refine and perfect your writing. By the end of this course, you will be able to produce writing that is clear, logical, cohesive, and free of grammatical and punctuation errors.
Introduction to Adobe FrameMaker 7.1 - If you want to be a technical writer, you need to learn Adobe FrameMaker, the gold standard for publishing technical documentation. In this practical, hands-on course, a seasoned professional will show you how to take advantage of FrameMaker's renowned ability to handle large, complex documents for both print and online.
A to Z Grantwriting - A to Z Grantwriting is an invigorating and informative seminar specially created for executive directors, organizers, board members, community volunteers, development officers, and individuals who want to learn a 'bird's eye' view of the grantwriting process and learn how to: research and develop mutually beneficial relationships with potential funding sources, organize a grantwriting campaign and keep track of all funding sources, requests and donations, Prepare complete proposal packages, and dissolve crisis management and submit one hundred proposals a year in ten hours a week.
Writing Effective Grant Proposals
- Learn to prepare grant proposals that get solid results for your favorite organization or charity. Over $200 billion annually is available for worthy causes and most people don’t know how to prepare the application that will deliver needed funding. Avoid the mistakes that get applications for wonderful projects tossed into the wastebasket! Learn how to write professional proposals that actually succeed.
Advanced Grant Proposal Writing
- Do you know the best way to present information
in a grant proposal? An experienced grant writer details how to research and write winning proposals that get funded.
Learn what to do--and, more importantly what not to do--on every part
of your proposal. Gain a full understanding of the criteria funders
use to determine whether your grant proposal gets funded or rejected.
Become expert at ferreting out corporate, foundation, and
government grantmakers, and learn how to tailor responses
to information found in the peer review criteria. Discover a number of significant finishing touches that can give your
project the edge over others & make your proposal
more competitive: the best type of paper to
use, which buzzwords to include, which fonts work best, and which
types of graphics and formatting techniques.
Effective Business Writing -
Do you have a nagging suspicion that a small improvement in your writing skills might also improve your career prospects? Don't let small gaps in your business writing skills prevent you from reaching your full potential. It doesn't matter whether you're a clerical worker, an engineer, or an executive. If you communicate with others in writing, this course can help you identify and eliminate problem areas. By the end of this course, you'll know the secret to developing powerful written documents that immediately draw readers in and keep them motivated to continue until your very last, well-chosen word.