How do you write a bestseller? Where can you learn the craft that will engage your readers and give you confidence to take your story to market? You have to find the best writing courses.
Success comes from a combination of desire, time and skill. You have the desire – that’s the drive that got you writing in the first place. Time is a variable you control – how much time can you devote to writing and learning?
So it comes down to skill: that’s an area you can develop! Building your confidence in your own competence and craft is in your control.
What about taking a writing course? You may be struggling with exploring a new genre, have a completed draft but are unsure of where to go next, or are just beginning your writing journey.
Writing courses feel like a natural fit when you want some guidance and support.
But how do you decide what will work for you from the plethora of choices? A quick internet search offers a billion hits. How can anyone find the right fit at the right time?
There are several elements to consider as you wade through the sea of options:
- Time
- Money
- What fits for you right now
A full year with personal coaching could cost thousands of dollars but it will offer very personalized support.
A degree in creative writing would cost even more in time and money.
At the other end of the spectrum, there are free videos and articles that require you to find what you need and integrate your learning without support. The self-directed route can take years and may lead to a path that has been travelled before, but without giving you the map.
In between, there are books, seminars, conferences, mentorships and more. As you look at your favorite authors, you’ll find there is no single path to becoming a great writer.
Great writing courses will have quality instructors and lessons for guidance and a strong community for support and accountability. Fictionary Live! provides exactly that plus a safe place to take the risks and test your learning to help you create a story readers love.
What is Fictionary Live!?
Fictionary Live! is an ongoing program of editing courses courses offered by Fictionary’s amazing team of Certified StoryCoach Editors. Students gain access to a structured approach to editing. Using Fictionary’s groundbreaking StoryTeller software and live, expert guidance, you’ll have all the tools and support you need to transform a mediocre manuscript into a bestselling novel.
You’ll be invited to online working sessions with highly experienced Fictionary Certified Instructors and a small cohort of authors. The sessions are hands-on and highly practical. In every meeting, you’ll work on a specific element of your story under their expert guidance and your story will improve.
No pre-recorded videos here—we will be live on zoom, answering your questions, and helping you make your manuscript stronger.
Why Take Writing Courses for Authors?
What is the value of improving your craft with writing courses?
What can writing courses offer an author? Great writing courses provide guidance, support, feedback and a connection with others who understand and empathize with the writing life.
Whether you are just starting out or have published books under your belt, writing courses offer a place to sharpen your technical skills, to develop your ability to handle feedback and to understand what works for you.
While sharpening your technical skill is obvious in the content of writing courses, a priceless benefit of great courses is learning to handle criticism without letting it overwhelm you and praise without letting it go to your head.
Finally, a great writing course will develop your discernment, allowing you to pick what works for you and for your story.
That is why choosing the right writing course is so important.
3 Tips for Choosing Book Writing Courses
Tip 1: Fits where you are in knowledge and skill
All good writing courses will have an outline or explanation of the content and focus of the instruction.
As you choose where to invest your time and money, look for those courses that will build on the knowledge you have. Ideally, a course would offer the flexibility to help you understand what you know and see what you don’t know yet. Your instructor will get to know you and your ability; you can ask questions and get support in developing skills.
Tip 2: Fits where you are with your manuscript development
Have you got an idea that you are ready to develop into an outline?
Do you have a first (or second) draft that you are ready to examine for structure? Is your story structurally strong and you are ready to hone the sentences for publication?
Choose a course that helps you develop your manuscript where it is right now. Having your manuscript as the focus for your learning will ensure you are implementing the new techniques and skills in a way that matters to you.
That will add value to your learning and keep you motivated.
Tip 3: Find flexibility, story knowledge and kindness
Look carefully whether the course acknowledges different genres and encourages finding more than one true path to success.
Look for the offer of a framework not a formula to writing success. Look for knowledgeable instructors who teach you to give and get feedback with both clear explanations and possible actions. Finally, look for a place that promises honest critiques given with objectivity and kindness.
Ready to improve your editing skills? Take a free trial of Fictionary Live!
Introducing Fictionary Live!: The Best Writing Class of 2023
What is Fictionary Live?
Fictionary Live! is a suite of courses that meet you where you are in your journey.
Whether you are finishing your first draft or readying your manuscript for your readers, you will find a class and a course that suit you. Each course has a focus that makes it easy to choose what is right for you right now.
Additionally, you can take the courses in any order, at any time and as often as you like.
The content is prepared to develop your knowledge and skill as you work through your own writing. Weekly assignments are given and discussed within the class and the community. With that support, writers are encouraged to share writing, give feedback, ask questions and celebrate learning.
Why Fictionary Live! is the Best Writing Course
The key to these writing courses is the motivation to help you discern what is right for you, right for your story and right for your readers.
Run by instructors certified and knowledgeable in Fictionary and in deep story structure, these courses offer guidance, support, feedback and a community of writers that believe in kind honesty – so much tougher to give but easier to get than brutal honesty. Within these courses, you will find the motivation to keep moving to your success by showing you ways to use your precious time and your drive to write in combination with growing competence.
6 Weeks to Outline a Novel
Starting a new novel can be daunting. Whether you have an idea or just a character, creating an outline can develop your ideas into a story…but how do you know it will be a strong story?
This course offers a flexible structure developed out of the three act structure and the Fictionary Story Arc structure.
These overarching structures are used to develop an outline starting with only the protagonist, story goal and stakes. In 6 Weeks to Outline a Novel, students will be taught a framework that will unleash creativity and keep the positive energy flowing.
In just 6 weeks, you will:
- Follow a framework with flexibility to fit any genre
- Be given opportunity to ask questions and share your ideas in a safe environment
- Finish with a full outline and enthusiasm to get writing this book
6 Weeks to Outline a Scene
Even with a full outline and lots of energy, writers may hit a block for developing a scene.
6 Weeks to Outline a Scene is the remedy for that block.
In this course, you will discover the way to explore other writers in your genre to find the elements that you love as a reader. More than just discovering them, you will be given techniques and skills to put your discoveries you’re your own work.
In just 6 weeks, you will:
- Learn to read as a writer through personal research
- Share learning and discoveries with classmates and the community
- Examine the deep structure of a scene
- Be given practical strategies to integrate your learning into your writing
6 Weeks to Edit a Novel
You’ve done it.
In your hands (or on your computer) is the full draft of your novel. What now?
Wouldn’t it be great to know it is a structurally strong story that readers will love? To have a revision plan that includes all the things you already do well and the places that the story could be even tighter?
6 Weeks to Edit a Novel, the flagship course in Fictionary Live!, is the place to be.
In just 6 weeks, you will:
- Find the scenes that help you know you have the base for a story and use Insights like the Story Arc to see how your story flows for the reader
- Use the 38 Fictionary elements to create a personal revision plan based on your growing knowledge of story
- Learn to think like an editor and to give yourself practical, actionable advice; really, to find your creative editor voice
- Get support to become a great editor for your book and to create a strong, motivating revision plan
6 Weeks to Revise a Novel
In front of you is a detailed revision plan, all you need to do now is put it into practice. 6 Weeks to Revise a Novel offers examples and hands on practice to develop your confidence as you muck about with your story.
In just 6 weeks, you willow this course addresses those problems
- Be guided through the implementation of your plan ensuring every area is explored and conquered
- Use your strengths to find natural, for you, ways to improve your story for your readers
- Get guided, hands-on practice with the support of your instructor and fellow students
- Develop confidence in your voice as a writer
Best Writing Class FAQs
How do I Know Which Story Writing Course is Right for me?
Choosing writing courses that are right for you is tough. But the right one is the one that meets you where you are, both in your technical knowledge and skill.
It is the course that helps you develop your manuscript from where it is and leads naturally to the next step in the process. The course must match what you need in terms of time and money invested and offer you the support you need to keep growing.
There are so Many Courses on How to Write a Book… How Can I Choose?
Find writing courses that build confidence and curiosity.
A course that allows you to explore and integrate your learning. A course that makes you excited to attend and confident you can handle the next steps.
What Makes a Book Writing Class Good?
Good is subjective, but a good writing class should develop your voice, not try to make you a copy of others or force you to follow hard rules.
The course should teach you to see what makes a great story.
It will offer a balance between helping you with technical knowledge and allowing creativity.
A great course will offer a community of support and quality instructors. It will be open to everyone and won’t ask for a writing sample or application. Instead, it will provide a shared vocabulary for concepts to help communicate clearly.
Finally, it will build on kindness to create a safe place to share, to try new things and to take risks with your writing.
Conclusion: Best Writing Courses
Writing courses offer you a way to know what you know and discover and learn what you don’t know. Sometimes, we resist what we need to learn. A writing course with a strong instructor and community can help you see a potential area for growth and lean into the learning.
Whether you decide that the new discovery is perfect for your story or a detour you decide not to take, having a support team that includes instructors, editors, writers and fellow travellers on the writing journey will make that road a little brighter – and your story even stronger.
Find your readers, write your best stories, and try Fictionary Live! to brighten the path with a guiding light and occasional fireworks.
Article Written by Lisa Taylor
Stories are powerful. Through my experience as an educator and librarian, I’ve explored how stories work and supported writers in finding their voices and honing their craft.
As a Fictionary Certified StoryCoach Editor, I offer a thorough, objective structural story edit that honours your voice, recognises and celebrates your skill, and offers clear, actionable ideas on ways to make your story shine even more. You can reach me through the Fictionary Online Community.