online classes - Writers Forum

maverick101 · 02-20-2006, 05:39 PM

I've been looking into taking a online writing course. Can anyone point me in the right direction as far as which ones would be the best? I was looking at www.winghill.com

Thanks
Jason

mammamaia · 02-20-2006, 08:14 PM

i can't point you to the best, but i can tell you how to avoid the worst...

the one you mentioned doesn't impress me... there's not a hint of what it will cost, that i can find anywhere on their site... seems you have to give them your personal info before they'll tell you how much their fees are... not a good sign, imo...

be sure to check out any course you're interested in at editors and preditors and google for feedback on them from happy/unhappy customers...

VictoriaE · 02-21-2006, 11:44 AM

What kind of course are you looking for? I'm currently at the end of my 1st online course for magazine writing and it is truly fantastic.

http://www.lindaformichelli.com/course/

Stewart · 02-21-2006, 02:19 PM

It should be noted that Michael Mirolla, course tutor for Winghill, is a self-published author with 2003's Berlin: A Novel, his only full length prose mentioned on the site. No doubt he has all the answers...

mammamaia · 02-21-2006, 05:28 PM

to be fair, i don't think teachers of writing have to be well-published authors, connor... after all, if they were, when would they have time to write their own work, and why on earth would they be teaching for a living?...

the two most respected screenwriting how-to tutors, for instance, haven't any major movie credits under their own belts, but they are the best in the business at teaching others how to write marketable scripts...

many folks can teach a subject well, even though they don't do what they teach, for a living... few professors of english and creative writing in colleges and universities, i'd guess, have any books on the best-seller list... yet, they help turn out those who will, one day...

for a couple more f'rinstances, i taught all my 7 kids how to swim, but can't swim a stroke, myself... and i could coach 2 of my daughters in piano practice very well, while not able to read a single note of music or play any instrument beyone 'heart and soul' and 'chopsticks' on the ivories... how?... in re swimming, i know how it should be done, even though i'm afraid of trying it myself and as for the piano, i have a good ear and have been a great lover of music all my life...

that said, the proof is in the pudding and i'd be wary of any writing tutors who couldn't show they can write well themselves, whether or not they've been majorly published... so, in that guy's case, i'd check out his book and see how well/poorly it was written, before accepting him as a tutor...

maverick101 · 02-21-2006, 08:39 PM

As far as the kind of writing, I'm working on a novel. It's a thriller/mystery.

Jason

zaoshang · 02-23-2006, 02:51 PM

I took the F2K in 2004, and found it very helpful. It takes 6 weeks. And it's free!

http://writopia.net/f2k/

ReikiMeg · 03-05-2006, 02:06 PM

I did the Gotham Writers' 10 week short story class. http://www.writingclasses.com/

My experience wasn't very good. It relied a lot on student participation and the other students didn't participate as much. By week 5 the class was pretty dead and I didn't feel myself getting anything out of it that I couldn't read in a writing book or even here! So, if you're in the process of comparing sites, there's one.