25 Writing Classes, Courses, and Workshops you can take Online
Quick note: I have not taken all of these courses, though I have taken a few. Listing these writing workshops is not an endorsement. I was simply doing research to find a particular type of class that I was looking for and have slowly gathered multiple resources over time.
Knowing where you are in your writing journey will help you to pinpoint the writing workshops and writing classes that will help you the most. Whether you’re looking for a free class, a class on a specific topic, or something by an association vs. somebody working as a successful indie author, you’ll have a nice group of writing courses to choose from.
The resources listed below are clean links. I am not affiliated with them in any way, shape, or form and make no claims. I do not get a commission for sending you there. This is simply a helpful resource list.
I’ll include a bonus at the end which can help you locate a conference in your area with a super, easy-to-use search tool. Be sure to look for it.
The first batch of writer classes and online writing workshops:
The resources are listed in no particular order.
Writer’s Digest – a well-known writing magazine offers workshops, boot camps, and classes. You can see their offering of classes here.
Reedsy – offers multiple free classes that run over 10 days. Here’s one on writing that you might want to check out. While you’re there, poke around and look at their resources.
Joanna Penn of the Creative Penn has a popular writing podcast, along with a series of writing books. She also writes fiction. You can find her writing fiction course here.
Gotham – they offer both in person classes and online courses. When you’re looking for a workshop, you’ll find that they segment their classes via genres, plot, characters and more. This allows you to target a specific topic that you want to work on. Here’s their fiction course catalog.
Michael Hague – He’s one of my favorites. I took two of his streaming courses (One was on Grabbing the Reader. The other was about romantic comedies) and they were so valuable. I’m a big fan. You can find his list of classes here.
LitReactor – Pretty cool when you can boast Chuck Palahniuk essays and a glowing review by him on your site. They have a bunch of his essays, but you need to be a member to check them out. Also, you can find a list of their upcoming writing classes here.
H.R. D’Costa (I love her writing books) – this writing class is about story structure and would be a great foundation.
John Truby has audio classes available. I adore his book “Anatomy of Story” and think it’s a top-notch resource. When people ask what books you’d recommend, this is always one of them that I list. You can find his classes here.
Another batch of writing workshops:
The Writer’s Studio – you’ll find classes both online and in person. They are well-rounded, and as per their calendar, their courses meet 1x a week for an 8-week period. You can find their list of online writing workshops here.
Not to be confused with The Writer’s Studio listed above, this is The Writing Workshop. They offer in person and online classes as well. By taking the online workshops, you can save a little bit of money. You’ll find their information here.
C.S. Lakin – She has an Emotional Mastery for Fiction Writers course. I’ve read many of her tips and a couple of her books. She’s the real deal and good at what she does. Here’s where you can check out her class.
Creative Indie – Derek Murphy has both free and paid courses available for indie authors– everything from writing to publishing to cover creating.
24 Pearl Street – this is a pricier option, but this is a non-profit Fine Arts Center in Providence. It’s definitely worth checking out their options. Of the courses I saw listed for 2020, most were in the $500 range.
Inked Voices – offers a wide range of pricing options and classes. One of the things about this site is that if you become a member, you get discounts on their writing classes. You can learn more about their offerings here.
Coursera – In another post about writing tips, I mentioned Udemy. This is another site which offers courses on multiple topics. Don’t forget places like Lynda and TED Talks as well for sources of help or inspiration. As for Coursera, you can find a list of their fiction writing classes right here.
Another site in the similar vein is Skillshare. You’ll find multiple topics, but when it comes to writing courses, you can find their creative writing classes here. Be sure to check them all out.
One more batch of writing courses and classes
Dean Wesley Smith – He’s been writing for a long time and has quite an assortment of courses offered. I often hear about his Depth in Writing workshop and how great it is. It’s on my list to take eventually. You can see his full list of writing classes and lectures here.
Catapult – offers online writing classes. When I peeked in, most classes started around the $200 range. There was a varying amount in price, but you can see their full list of writer courses and prices here.
Mark Dawson – (I’ve taken his ads course. Expensive, but thorough and always updates the information.) There’s a course that covers getting started on your writing journey right here. That’s a great place to begin. He’s solid, thorough, and comes highly recommended by many.
Adam Croft’s – Indie Market Mindset courses are an affordable option. You can find them here. I’ve taken his free course on Vellum which is for formatting books. It was easy to understand and thorough.
Lisa Cron – author of the book “Wired for Story” – which was fabulous, also has a class that I took. It was amazing and offered me the chance to grab a lot of notes. Great stuff.
Last Batch of Writing Workshops and Classes
Susan May Warren – has a large list of courses at her Novel Academy. I have the year access pass, and it’s been great. Seriously, there is so much value here, I’m glad to have found it. While she writes fiction, she also penned some non-fiction books, which is how I found her. I knew she was good at explaining things, so I joined up and trusted my gut. Great choice. There’s so much information, you won’t regret it.
This article on Study.com shows a list of 10 universities that offer free online writing courses! Be sure to check it out.
Alessandra Torre – I have a couple of things to say about Alessandra. She’s a class act and the real deal. I met her during her conference at InkersCon in Dallas, Texas last year. She put together a great weekend, and really wants to help writers thrive. She also has a couple of writing courses. I took her marketing course, which was detailed, easy to understand, and awesome. Highly recommend her classes. Here’s one on writing.
Well-known writer, Marie Force, has a course on writing a series. I’ve taken one of her courses, and she was helpful as well as thorough. You’ll find her writing a series workshop here.
The Bonus – Find a Writing Conference Easily
Okay, here’s the bonus I was speaking about. If you’re looking for a good way to find writing conferences based on location, there’s a search engine for it at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs.
I did a search query with filters and was able to find fiction writing conferences east of the Mississippi to narrow the list. Here’s what the results look like.
I hope this list of writing workshops, courses, and classes helps get you pointed in the right direction. No matter where you are in the writing journey, keep learning, creating, and growing.
Until next time, Deb
You can return to the main page to look at other useful posts, such as editing a book, writing tips and more.