Online Writing Classes

[OJazzy1]

I would love to take some writing classes but since I am a SAHM to a toddler I would need to do it online but I don't want to end up just taking some hack class, especially if I am going to pay for it! So I was wondering if anyone had a suggestion of where I should look in to taking these classes.

TIA!

[Drummer's Wife]

What about a college writing class from your local community college? This is what I am taking online currently and I have learned quite a bit and have had a lot of writing practice. Mine is essay heavy, of course, but we do a lot of grammar and otherwise that would be helpful to any type of writer, IMO.

[allgirls]

I'm looking into this one.

[Mamja]

I considered doing something similar, but I really can't afford a college class right now. So I have been looking into some schools that offer course material online, for free. You don't get things graded, and can't talk to a professor, but it's a good way to get ideas and learn new things. Here's an example, from MIT.

[OJazzy1]

Thanks ladies!

[rainbowmoon]

I did the Writer's Village classes for 8 years or so off and on. They are great and worth the money. (Very cheap actually). Though they might be considered "hack" by some as they are not for credit of any kind and taught by volunteers. But I thought they were very good and I've done tons of them! They have lot's of different genres too and literally hundreds of classes.

Ariel Gore has some great classes too.
http://www.arielgore.com/

[lisavark]

I'm in the middle of this class right now. I can't say enough good about it. The author, Holly Lisle, is a professional writer with 32 novels published (and working on her 33rd), so she's really got the art of coming up with novel ideas and writing through to the end down to a science. This course is pretty much her entire method for writing a novel. It's really, really professional--it includes how to come up with ideas that you love, how to maintain interest and excitement through the middle, how to surprise yourself while you're writing, and how to write queries and synopses and all that marketing stuff, among many other things. So far I'm over halfway through the course but only 12,000 words into the novel I'm writing for it, but...wow. I have actually shocked myself several times already with the book going in directions I didn't expect (but that I love). I have never had so much fun writing a first draft before.

She also has a lot of free resources, articles, and writing exercises on her website here.