Creative Writing Classes: Are They Really Worth It?

The rumors are true. You can become a successful author without a degree in creative writing.

In fact, it’s even possible to learn the craft on the cheap, scraping together insight from free articles, library books, and fellow writers. You don’t have to take a formal writing course at all.

So why do creative writing classes even exist?

Loads of reasons, actually. 

For one thing, many aspiring writers learn best in a structured classroom or workshop setting with personal attention from an instructor. 

Creative writing courses also provide opportunities to form relationships with other writers and even find a mentor. They often require you to share your writing and provide feedback on your classmates’ work, both of which teach you how to think more analytically about the craft and embrace constructive criticism.

You don’t even have to be an aspiring author to reap the benefits of these classes. 

You could be a college student looking to boost your communication skills. Or a senior hoping to share their story with future generations. Or a person who’s just looking for a fun hobby.

There are plenty of reasons to pursue formal instruction in writing. The trick is determining whether a class can help you meet your current goals and, if so, which course is right for you.

You and I are going to think through that together. We’ll talk about what you can learn in these courses, key considerations when choosing your class, and how to get the most out of it. 

You’ll even leave with some tips for overcoming the biggest challenges of writing workshops… like the part where you have to share your hot mess of a first draft with a room full of semi-strangers.

First, we need to get clear on what creative writing even is.

What Counts as Creative Writing?

Creative writing is a ridiculously broad term that can mean a lot of things. It basically covers all forms of writing that are creative, personal, and expressive rather than informative and objective.

Creative writing uses literary devices like metaphor and symbolism to create an emotional experience for the reader. In non-creative writing, factual clarity is the primary goal, which often means using direct language and avoiding emotion or bias.

For example, a novel is creative writing. A newspaper article is not.

A poem is creative writing. The user manual for your new smart toilet is not.

If you’re looking at a class that promises to teach you “creative writing,” take a close look at the description to make sure it fits your actual goals. That course could be covering any one of—or even all of—these things:

Forms of Creative Writing

There are three primary forms of creative writing. Each one has approximately half a billion sub-forms and genres, which is why it’s a good idea to be specific in your search for creative writing classes.

Here are the three main forms of creative writing:

Fiction - Any narrative that isn’t true or is even partially made up falls under the category of fiction. This includes novels, novellas, and short stories as well as scripted fiction like plays, screenplays, and teleplays.

Creative nonfiction - This includes anything that’s true but expressed creatively through the biased perspective of the author. In this category, you’ll find things like memoirs, personal essays, travel writing, nature writing, and literary journalism.  

Poetry - Poetry has so many subgenres it’s borderline impossible to define. Generally speaking, it’s an expression of abstract ideas or emotions, often using evocative sensory details and unconventional sentence structures. It may or may not have a deliberate rhythm, it may or may not rhyme, and it might even tell a true or made-up story, stepping its bold little foot into the territory of narrative essays or fiction.

Where to Find Creative Writing Classes

Once you know which specific creative writing skills you’d like to develop, how do you find the class that’s right for you?

Turns out, there are a ton of places to look. 

If you want to take an in-person course, you can see what the local community college has to offer. You might also be able to find creative writing classes at a local community center or attend a workshop hosted by a writers’ group.

There are also absolute buckets of online writing courses. Browse the options available on sites like Coursera, Udemy, MasterClass, and Gotham Writers Workshop. Or Google exactly what you’re looking for and see what comes up.

You’ll discover that you have a ton of options. The next challenge is narrowing them down.

How to Choose the Right Creative Writing Class

Once you realize just how many creative writing courses are out there, you may feel a bit overwhelmed. How are you supposed to know which one is right for you?

Start by asking yourself these seven easy-peasy questions:

1. What Do You Want to Write?

Do you want to write fiction? Nonfiction? Poetry?

Whichever one it is, are you able to narrow your preferences down even further? 

Let’s say you know you want to study fiction writing. Is it because you dream of being a novelist? Because you have a great screenplay idea? Or maybe you want to be a novelist, but you’d like to learn the fundamentals by writing a short story first.

Don’t be afraid to get even more specific. For example, if you’d love to learn how to write fantasy, see what fantasy writing courses are out there. 

You may find options that are too specific for where you are in your journey. If you’re still not clear on how to craft a character arc or create unforgettable characters, it might not be time to worry about developing magic systems. 

But maybe a class on fantasy story development will be more beneficial than a more generic fiction writing class.

On that note, if you want to focus on genre fiction (like fantasy, sci-fi, romance, horror… that kind of stuff), make sure you take a genre-friendly class. Some creative writing classes—especially in academia—focus on literary fiction and get a little snooty about the commercial stuff.

2. What are Your Goals?

Think about why you want to take a creative writing class in the first place. What do you hope to get out of this?

Common motivations include:

• Exploring creative writing as a hobby
• Building the skills necessary to become a successful author
• Unwinding and having fun through self-expression
• Leaving a legacy
• Learning how to write books that sell
• Becoming more involved in the writing community
• Sharpening specific creative writing skills, like character development or prose

Based on your goal, which writing courses are likely to help you the most?

Most class descriptions provide a breakdown of the objectives for the class, indicate what kind of assignments or major project you’ll complete, and lay out the topics you’ll cover. For many online courses, you can even read reviews from past students.

All this information can give you a clear indication of what the class can (or cannot) do to help you on your journey.    

3. Do You Want to Learn Online or in Person?

If you prefer online writing courses, you’ll have way more options to choose from. You can also learn from the comfort of your own home and enjoy the opportunity to connect with writers from all over the country… maybe even all over the world.

Depending on the way the class is set up, you might also have a flexible schedule. Some online courses feature pre-recorded video lectures and exercises you can do on your own time. The downside is that you can’t easily connect with your fellow learners and may not get feedback on your work.

Other online creative writing classes have live sessions and assignments with real deadlines, so there’s less flexibility but you can still enjoy the ease of a twenty-foot commute.

In-person classes are great because they help you build relationships with fellow writers in your community (or close enough). They also promote a deeper, more focused commitment. Not only do you have to block out the time and show up, you also physically remove yourself from the distractions of your personal life.

There are pros and cons to both options. Only you can decide what makes sense for you.

4. What Skill Level Does This Course Demand?

If you already have some knowledge of writing fundamentals, you’ll be bored senseless in a class that teaches you what symbolism is and how to use dialogue tags.

You’ll also be miserable in a class that’s way over your head.

Once again, the course description should help you deduce whether this course will be tough enough to advance your writing skills without being so challenging that you can’t keep up. When in doubt, email the instructor and ask if their class is right for someone of your experience level.

5. What Do You Know About the Instructor?

Is the instructor published or working professionally in your area of study? What are their strengths as a teacher? Does this seem like the right person to help you reach your writing goals?

Whenever possible check out reviews or ask previous students what they say about their class and teaching style. Just because an instructor gets great work out of their students, that doesn’t automatically mean they’re the best guide for everyone.

If your only objective is to have fun exploring a new hobby, you probably don’t need the “look to your left, look to your right, only one of you will survive this class” instructor.

6. What Do You Know About the Other Students?

You don’t need to get your hands on the class roster. I just mean, what do you know about the type of people who typically take this particular writing course?

What are their goals? How advanced are their creative writing skills? Are they creative writing majors in a competitive academic environment? Newbies who are just trying to get a sense of what the writing world is like? Aspiring indie authors eager to encourage one another?

Also, how many of them are there? Whether you’re hoping for more focused guidance from the instructor or kiiiiinda wanna blend into the crowd, class size is something to consider. 

7. How Much Does It Cost?

Depending on how extensive they are or where you find them, creative writing courses can cost anywhere from a little to a whole, whole lot. Before you get attached to any specific class, search your soul (and your bank account) and decide how much you’re ready to invest in building your writing skills.

The right answer is whatever answer is right for you.

What to Expect in a Creative Writing Course

Okay. You’ve enrolled, you bought a new notebook, you’ve got your four-color pen… now what? What can you expect from your creative writing course? 

Seeing as how this grand world of ours is full of so many different types of creative writing and different writing classes and different writing instructors, I can’t give you a super specific answer.

But I’ll do my best to provide a general overview of what you might experience in a very typical writing class.

What You’ll Learn

I know I seem pretty obsessed with course descriptions at this point, but that really is the best place to look if you want to know what topics your instructor will cover.

Other than that, here are some concepts that are commonly covered in the following creative writing classes:

Fiction

In a standard fiction writing class, you’ll likely go over all the essential building blocks of a story. That includes plot structure, character development, conflict, setting, and theme.

You might also have an opportunity to dive into the prose itself, working to perfect more detailed skills like dialogue, scene description, and pacing.

If you study any form of script writing (playwriting, screenwriting, or teleplay writing), you may also learn formatting rules and how to write action, especially if it’s a beginner class.

You’ll have a lot of writing assignments. Some creative writing classes are structured to help you complete a project, in which case your assignments might build towards writing a script, novel, novella, short story, or children’s book.

You can probably expect a lot of reading assignments, too, as your instructor will want you to see how published authors have mastered the skills you’re learning.

Creative Nonfiction

In this type of course, you’ll most likely learn how to find the narrative arc in a true story, zero in on a theme, and tell a compelling tale without abandoning reality. 

In some classes, you might also explore ethical issues surrounding nonfiction writing or dive into advanced topics like incorporating research and blending personal stories with societal issues.

As for assignments, it’s the same deal as if you were learning fiction. You’ll probably read work by the greats, do some writing of your own, and end the class with at least one good personal essay or the beginnings of a great memoir.  

Poetry

In a poetry class, you can expect to cover different poetic forms (haiku, sonnet, all that jazz) and learn a truckload of literary devices. You’ll probably dive into elements like meter, rhyme, and rhythm.

Try not to be too shocked when I tell you that you’ll also write poems—like, a ton of poems—and read even more. 

Class Structure

As for the way the class is structured, your course will land somewhere on the lecture-to-workshop spectrum. Allow me to explain.

In some creative writing classes, you mostly listen to the teacher teach, do some assigned reading, and turn your writing assignments in to be graded or critiqued by the instructor.

Actually, there are online creative writing classes where you don’t even do that much. 

MasterClass courses, for example, are completely self-directed, with pre-recorded video lectures and workbooks you go through on your own. You don’t share your work with the instructor because the instructors are people like Margaret Atwood, and Margaret Atwood is very busy doing other things.

On the other end of the spectrum are writing workshops, where there’s a lot less teaching and loads more writing. In this scenario, you and your fellow students spend most of your class time sharing and providing feedback on one another’s work.

Then, of course, there are creative writing courses that land somewhere between the two, with a little sharing, a little lecturing, and hopefully a lot of learning.

Specialized Creative Writing Courses

Another thing you might notice on your quest to find creative writing classes is that some of these courses get very specific. There are plenty of advanced skills you can learn to take your writing to the next level, boost your qualifications in a specific area, or improve your odds of making a living off your words.

Let’s take a quick look at the kind of specialized classes you might find as you search for creative writing courses. 

By Skill 

Rather than learning the basics of a particular form of writing, you can take classes that invite you to focus on a single skill or element.

You might learn how to craft a compelling plot, develop characters with psychological and emotional depth, or write for a specific audience.

You can also find a course that will help you develop non-writing skills that will still make you a better writer, like developmental or copy editing.

By Genre

As I mentioned before, it may be worth looking for creative writing classes that are specific to your genre. Each genre comes with its own tropes, conventions, and reader expectations. You can embrace or subvert them, but you can’t do either if you don’t know them.

You might find more generalized courses like “How to Write Mysteries” or more specific ones like “How to Build Romantic Tension.” 

The Business

Then there are the courses that focus less on the craft of creative writing and more on the business of it.

If you hope to publish traditionally, you might look for classes on writing query letters, creating book proposals, or navigating the publishing industry as a whole.

If you plan to self-publish, you can find courses on writing to market, developing a marketing plan, the entire self-publishing process, or any of the other six thousand things indie authors have to think about.

This kind of education can be extremely helpful if you hope to make a living from your words.

Seizing the Opportunity to Build a Community

Writers need other writers. Your peers can inspire you to stay on course, share resources and opportunities, and possibly even connect you with gatekeepers when you’re ready to publish. 

Most importantly, they understand the journey you’re on. That might not seem like a big deal now, but you’ll see the benefit of it when you’re standing there in your salsa-stained sweatshirt, trying to explain to your helplessly confused spouse that you’re freaking out because your protagonist derailed your entire third act by making a choice that wasn’t in the outline.

Yeah. Writing gets weird. Your people can help you get through the weirdness, and writing courses present great opportunities for finding your community.

Here’s how to make it happen:

Connecting With Classmates

The tricks for making friends in a creative writing class are the same as in any other context. Make friendly conversation before and after class and during breaks. Share ideas or resources that might be helpful.

Focus on connecting with people you’d genuinely like to be friends with. The relationships that help you the most in the long term will always be the ones that start from a real connection.

Also keep in mind that a creative writing class is a vulnerable place, especially if it’s a workshop where everyone is sharing early drafts.

When you offer feedback to your fellow writers, be kind and constructive. On the flip side, notice which of your classmates know how to be helpful without scoffing at your efforts. That combination of positive and enriching is absolutely essential for a long-term writer friendship.

Staying Connected

The next challenge is staying in touch with these people after the course ends. There are many ways to do this.

Tell the person or people you want to stay in touch with that you want to stay in touch with them. Swap phone numbers or email addresses if you haven’t already.

You could also invite someone to meet up for lunch or coffee in the near future.

You could arrange to be critique partners for one another on your current project. Or simply agree to be accountability partners, checking in with each other once a week to see how things are going.

If you really clicked with your classmates, you might consider creating a writers’ group. This happened with an online essay writing class I took once. We continued sharing personal essays and giving feedback for about a year after the course ended.

If all of these options overwhelm you, start small. Become social media chums. Engage with their content. As you become more comfortable, send them a private message asking how their latest work in progress is going. Build the relationship actively but gradually.

Common Obstacles 

I promised to go over some of the trickier or more intimidating aspects of creative writing courses. These are the little obstacles that crop up when you’re suddenly in a position of having to share your work or craft masterful writing on someone else’s schedule.

It can be overwhelming, but it’s all survivable. And, as is the case with most overwhelming things, these challenges will build character and better prepare you for a writing career, if that’s what you’re after. 

Writer’s Block

Writer’s block is that thing where all your creative gears seem to come to a grinding halt. You can’t think of a single story idea or figure out what happens next or even write one coherent sentence.

It’s a frustrating problem that gets even tougher when you have to have ten pages ready to share with the class by Friday. 

So how do you get past it?

The best move is to first identify what’s really going on. Your imagination might be frozen because you’re afraid your story will suck. Or maybe you can’t quiet your inner critic or you’ve got a lot going on in your life and your brain can’t handle another job right now.

You can find a ton of exercises to work through these issues in this article. In the meantime, one of the best ways to get through writer’s block is to simply let it be bad. Let yourself write garbage, if that’s how it has to be. You can fix it once it’s on the page.

Fear of Feedback

Not exactly stoked to have a bunch of people you just met tell you what’s wrong with your story? None of us are, my friend. 

Nevertheless, receiving constructive criticism is crucial for improving your skills. Plus, if you plan to build a writing career, you’ll be receiving loads of feedback on your work for the rest of your life. Creative writing classes can help you ease into this jarring scenario so you can be a real pro about it when you receive notes from agents, editors, and readers.

We actually have a guide on managing this fear, too, so I’ll just give you the short version for now:

Focus on becoming a better writer rather than proving that you’re a good one.

You might already be fantastic. But you can always be better, and if that’s your goal, you’ll be able to appreciate feedback for the gift that it is.

Meeting Deadlines

Creative writing almost always takes longer than we think it should. In fact, the more you learn, the longer you’ll probably spend on your assignments. 

I recommend scheduling your writing time in advance. Block out writing sessions and stick to them.

Not only does this help you prioritize your writing rather than leaving it to the last minute, it also trains your brain to enter the creative zone when your official writing time rolls around. That helps you get the work done faster.

You can find more tips on creating an effective writing schedule here, advice for building a writing habit here, and tricks for writing faster here.

Keep Learning Beyond Creative Writing Classes

You won’t learn all the creative writing skills you need in a single class. You won’t even learn them in a single lifetime. 

Great writers pursue education continuously. But that doesn’t mean you have to spend all your walkin’ around money on online writing classes. 

You also learn the craft by reading the authors you admire, studying the way they structure their stories and shape their prose.

You learn by sharing your work with critique partners for feedback and by examining their work—an exercise that trains you to think more analytically about what makes a great story great.

You can read books and articles on writing. You can attend conferences and seminars and literary events.

And you can hang out with us here at Dabble.

We’ve got loads of free articles and other resources in DabbleU. We’ve got a free ebook that walks you through the entire process of writing a novel. We’ve got a free newsletter that delivers hot tips right to your inbox.

All of this is available to you even if you don’t use our super rad, all-in-one writing tool.

And if you do?

So glad you asked. Premium Dabble subscribers also get access to a bonus, information-packed newsletter and exclusive workshops. (You can get a sneak peek of one here.)

Not a Dabbler yet, but always been a little curious? Click this link for a free trial. That gets you access to all Premium features for two weeks. You don’t even have to enter a credit card!

Consider it a free education.