The Art of Creative Writing (OpenLearning)

Offered by OpenLearning,
The Art of Creative Writing (OpenLearning)

Have you always dreamed of starting a book but have never had the courage? Have you started a book but are becoming hopeless? Do you enjoy creative writing? Do you want to polish your skills at creative writing? If you answered yes to any of those questions, this course is got you! It will get you started on the basics of writing a story, including character development, setting, plot, editing, and more.

Whether you want to be a serious writer, are a serious writer, or want to do creative writing as a hobby, this course will enlighten you and guide you through your story, and set you on the path of success!
Module 1: Finding the right idea
-Students can get inspiration for story ideas and/or think of story ideas
-Students can find their writing style
Module 2: The Blind Amnesic (creating a setting)
-Students can create and describe a setting
Module 3: Who are you?
-Students can create interesting characters
-Students can use this character's voice in their story
Module 4: Putting it all together
-Students can effectively create a plot
-Students recognize how to lead their readers through a plot the readers actually want to read
Module 5: Getting it just so...
-Students recognize the importance of rewriting and editing
-Students can edit their work
Module 6: Critics and Peers
-Students can give meaningful and helpful feedback for other's work
-Students understand how to collaborate on a story

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Writing Skills for Engineering Leaders (Coursera) Coursera
Rice University

Writing Skills for Engineering Leaders (Coursera)

Engineering leaders must write extensively for their jobs, and their writing needs to be professional, reader-focused, and error-free. What leaders write in particular can affect productivity and the bottom line, so the written communication that leaders create must be clear and concise. In this course, you’ll learn essential writing skills that you can apply in your daily activities on the job as an engineering leader.

Nov 9th 2026
4 Weeks
Writing in the Sciences (Coursera) Coursera
Stanford University

Writing in the Sciences (Coursera)

This course teaches scientists to become more effective writers, using practical examples and exercises. Topics include: principles of good writing, tricks for writing faster and with less anxiety, the format of a scientific manuscript, peer review, grant writing, ethical issues in scientific publication, and writing for general audiences.

Nov 2nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Academic and Business Writing (edX) EdX
University of California, Berkeley,BerkeleyX

Academic and Business Writing (edX)

An introduction to academic and business writing for English Language Learners, focusing on grammar, vocabulary, structure, editing, and publication. College Writing 2.2x providesan introduction to academic and business writing for English Language Learners. In this course, students focus on understanding the demands of different styles of writing, andwork to improve grammatical correctness, vocabulary development, and revision and editing skills.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
A Beginners' Guide to Writing in English for University Study (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
University of Reading

A Beginners' Guide to Writing in English for University Study (FutureLearn)

Learn how to use English for study at university or college and develop your writing skills, vocabulary and grammar. Academic writing can be very different from other types of written English. This course has been developed to help you learn the basics of academic writing and develop your English language skills.

Self Paced
5-12 Weeks
Start Writing Fiction (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
The Open University

Start Writing Fiction (FutureLearn)

Get started with your own fiction writing, focusing on the central skill of creating characters, with this hands-on course. Discover the rituals and approaches that successful fiction writers use. On this online course, established writers – including Louis de Bernières, Patricia Duncker, Alex Garland, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Tim Pears, Michèle Roberts and Monique Roffey – will talk about how they started writing.

Self Paced
5-12 Weeks
English Whit #1 Using Sentence Connectors (OpenLearning) OpenLearning
UNSW Sydney - University of New South Wales

English Whit #1 Using Sentence Connectors (OpenLearning)

English Whit #1, Using Sentence Connectors, is the first in a series of online learning resources designed to demonstrate some of the learning and teaching styles at UNSW Foundation Studies. The learning sequence in this Whit is part of the Academic English curriculum in our Standard Foundation Program.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Creative Writing: The Craft of Character (Coursera) Coursera
Wesleyan University

Creative Writing: The Craft of Character (Coursera)

At the center of a good story are the characters in it. In this course aspiring writers will discover how to build and bring to life complex, vivid and unforgettable characters. We will study the choices a writer makes to bring all characters to life on the page, and we will perform written exercises in order to develop a variety of writing and pre-writing techniques, in order to create a variety of characters.

Nov 2nd 2026
4 Weeks
English for Effective Business Writing (Coursera) Coursera
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology - HKUST

English for Effective Business Writing (Coursera)

This course aims to improve your Business English writing skills by developing your use of vocabulary, grammar, understanding of different business writing genres, and your ability to write professional business documents. Skills learned in this course will be used in the cross-cultural communications course and help prepare you to produce the professional business documents in the Capstone project.

Nov 16th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Writing for Young Readers: Opening the Treasure Chest (Coursera) Coursera
Commonwealth Education Trust

Writing for Young Readers: Opening the Treasure Chest (Coursera)

This course is for curious students and aspiring authors with a passion for writing for young readers. Participate in a dynamic online community of writers as you experiment with your own writing and develop your voice. This course will guide you with a combination of video lectures, online readings, peer reviews, and guest appearances from world-renowned children’s authors. As you work through the writing exercises, you will give and receive feedback from your peers and gain tools and techniques for improving your writing.

Nov 16th 2026
5-12 Weeks
English Composition I (Coursera) Coursera
Duke University

English Composition I (Coursera)

You will gain a foundation for college-level writing valuable for nearly any field. Students will learn how to read carefully, write effective arguments, understand the writing process, engage with others' ideas, cite accurately, and craft powerful prose. Course Learning Objectives: summarize, analyze, question, and evaluate written and visual texts; argue and support a position; recognize audience and disciplinary expectations; identify and use the stages of the writing process; identify characteristics of effective prose; apply proper citation practices; discuss applying your writing knowledge to other writing occasions

Oct 26th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Writing and Editing: Structure and Organization (Coursera) Coursera
University of Michigan

Writing and Editing: Structure and Organization (Coursera)

This second course in the Good with Words: Writing and Editing series will help you become an effective architect of information, both with your sentences and with your paragraphs. You’ll learn that the traditional advice to “Show, don’t tell” is incomplete and that skilled writers actually switch back and forth between showing and telling.

Nov 2nd 2026
4 Weeks