Studying Creative Writing on Any Schedule or Budget

If you want to be a writer—especially if you want to earn a living as a writer—you have to study creative writing. Natural talent won’t carry you far enough. 

What’s great about creative writing—as opposed to, say, neurosurgery—is that you don’t need to enroll in an academic program to develop your skills. 

You certainly can if that’s how you learn best. But if you research the writers you admire most, you’ll see that some learned the craft at prestigious universities, while others picked it up through a patchwork education consisting of books, writing groups, standalone workshops, seminars, and a ton of reading.

When it comes to studying creative writing, all that matters is that you follow the path that’s right for you. My hope is that this article will help you think through the next best move for developing your writing skills. We’ll cover:

• The different types of creative writing courses
• The skills you need to learn
• How to navigate intimidating writing workshops
• Exploring the many forms of creative writing
• Resources for self-study

That’s a lot to talk about, and you’ve got a lifetime of literary learning ahead of you, so let’s get to it.

Types of Creative Writing Courses

As I mentioned, you don’t have to get a bachelor’s degree in creative writing to build a career as an author. 

A formal education might be the path you choose if it aligns with your learning style and financial considerations. But there are a lot of ways to gain the information you need to shine in this field. 

These days, that includes taking courses in the comfort of your own home. You can find individual online courses or even attend low-residency programs at colleges and universities. In fact, it’s never been easier or more convenient to learn new skills.

So let’s take a look at the educational paths available to you.

Undergraduate Degrees

If you decide to go the post-secondary route, you can opt for either a Bachelor of Arts (BA) or a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in creative writing.

Quick side note: If you plan to write genre fiction like romance or fantasy, choose your program carefully. The world of academia tends to favor literary fiction, so make sure your chosen program will respect your path.

A BA is basically a liberal arts degree, which means you’ll learn a lot about writing while also receiving an education in the sciences and humanities. This degree is helpful if you want to learn the craft but leave yourself open to explore related professions as well.

BFA programs are less common. They put a much heavier emphasis on the art of writing. You get less of the sciences and humanities, more hands-on creative writing workshops. Most students who pursue a BFA intend to become authors, poets, playwrights, or screenwriters.

Graduate Degrees

If you already have an undergraduate degree, you might consider grad school. At this level, you’re looking at a Master of Arts (MA), Master of Fine Arts (MFA), or a PhD in creative writing.

An MA program strikes a balance between learning how to write brilliantly and studying literature. An MFA program, like a BFA program, is all about the actual writing. There are a ton of workshops and you’ll complete a book-length work by the time you graduate.

Most people who pursue a PhD are aiming for a career in academia in addition to publishing their creative work.

Standalone Courses and Workshops

If you don’t have the time or budget to pursue a creative writing degree—or if formal education just isn’t your jam—this big, beautiful world of ours is chock-full of other learning opportunities.

You can always take a creative writing course at your local community college. Check with local writing groups, libraries, bookstores, and community centers for writing workshops or seminars they might be hosting. 

And of course, you can always turn to the World Wide Web. There are online courses in all aspects of creative writing, from crafting short stories to structuring a memoir. Browse the classes available on sites like Coursera and MasterClass, or tell the Google search box what you’re hoping to find and see what it shows you.

Essential Creative Writing Skills

Of course, it’s hard to get jazzed about this whole process if you’re not sure why it stands to benefit you in the first place. Most writers choose to write because they’re good at it. They have a natural talent for storytelling or poetry.

So what can a creative writing course teach you that you don’t already know?

It really depends on the class. But here are a few key skills you’re likely to find in most of these courses.

Character Development

Bestselling authors don’t just sneeze out compelling characters. They consider everything: motivations, fears, weaknesses, inner conflicts, backstory… all of it. 

These details help them craft suspenseful conflicts and meaningful relationships that keep readers hooked and force the characters to grow (hello, character arcs!).

Of course, there’s also an art to laying this all out on the page, gradually revealing your characters to your audience and showing a logical evolution.

And this isn’t just a fiction thing. Creative nonfiction also demands stellar character development skills, and in that case, it’s even trickier; you only have the truth to work with.

Conflict

The conflict of the story is ultimately what reveals a character’s true virtues and vices, strengths and weaknesses. It’s what forces them to change and their relationships to evolve.

But do you know how to weave a character’s internal conflict in with their external conflict? Have you mastered the balance between central conflict and subplots? Between story conflict and scene conflict?

If not, that’s something to study. It’s one of the most important storytelling skills. And, once again, it applies to creative nonfiction, too.

Setting 

It doesn’t matter if you write poetry, novels, personal essays, or screenplays. All forms of creative writing require a skill for immersing the reader in another world.

And it’s not just about using figurative language and sensory details to convey a clear image, though that is important.

It’s also about using your setting to set a tone, create an emotional experience, reveal a theme, and even heighten a conflict. 

Structure

If you study poetry, you might learn how to structure sonnets. If you study mysteries or thrillers, you might learn the Fichtean curve. If you study screenwriting, you’ll definitely learn the three-act plot structure.

Whatever you write, you’re bound to discover several different ways you could structure your work, and the format you choose will influence the way your readers experience your story.

New writers often mistake structure as a threat to creativity. Is it really creative writing if you just plug your story or poem into some cookie-cutter formula?

First of all, yes, because even that takes a lot of work and outside-the-box thinking.

But even if you opt to abandon familiar structures to do your own thing, you need to know what rules you’re breaking and why your writing is better for it.

Theme

Creative writing always means something. No matter what the words on the page say, there’s a deeper message. A theme. And as a writer, you need to know how to draw out that theme without hitting your reader over the head with it.

Many creative writing courses touch on this, teaching you how to reveal theme through symbolism, conflict, imagery, dialogue, and even character development.

Language

Last but most certainly not least, there’s language. How can you use words to spark curiosity, fear, urgency, delight, and anger?

How do you pace your prose so its rhythm holds your reader’s attention instead of wearing them out? What does it mean to have a purple patch or clunky dialogue? When is a metaphor a cliché?

We think we’ve mastered our native language until we take our first creative writing course. Then we learn new and thrilling ways to turn words into a powerful and precise tool for self-expression. 

Navigating Writing Workshops

We’ve talked a lot about what you can learn and where you can learn, but we have yet to cover what the typical creative writing course actually looks like. 

You can explore that exact topic in this article. The basic gist is that these classes can take many forms, but they’re usually either lecture-based or workshop-style.

That is to say, either someone’s teaching you writing techniques while you take notes and complete assignments (lecture) or you learn creative writing by doing a ton of it and swapping feedback with your fellow students (workshop).

For many writers, attending a writing workshop is both more effective and more intimidating than taking a lecture-style course. After all, you’re putting your work out there for immediate critique almost from day one. And it’s not like your classmates quietly slip you written feedback. They share their thoughts in a course discussion.

That’s why it’s important to remember that you’re all facing down the same fears. Everybody’s vulnerable, and you can get through this process together—not to mention get the most out of it—by following a couple key principles:

1. Be open. 
2. Be kind. 

That’s it.

When you’re receiving feedback, remember that you’re here to learn creative writing skills. Every critique you’re offered is a gift intended to help you towards your goal. Be open to new ideas and express gratitude for new perspectives.

When it’s your turn to give feedback, offer specific insights rather than general judgments. For example, “I think the exposition slows the pacing of your first scene” rather than “It was slow and boring.” 

And don’t forget to say what works. Knowing our strengths is as important to our learning process as knowing our weaknesses.

Exploring Different Forms of Creative Writing

As you set out to learn creative writing, I recommend focusing first on the style you plan to write. 

If you want to write screenplays, find classes that will teach you how to format a script and develop plots for the screen. If you want to write fantasy, prioritize creative writing courses that will help you succeed in your chosen genre.

But once you’re comfortable in your own realm, don’t be afraid to dabble in other forms, too.

If you’re an essayist who’s drawn to poetry, look for affordable online courses or attend a one-time workshop. When you experiment with other forms of creative writing, you often pick up skills that unexpectedly enhance your own area of focus.

At the very least, you’re almost guaranteed to experience a creativity boost.

Resources for Self-Guided Study

All writers should master the art of self-guided study. Even if you choose to take formal creative writing courses now, being a professional means committing to lifelong learning. 

So how do you do it? How do you design your own creative writing curriculum?

The first step is to know yourself. Take an honest look at your latest projects and determine which writing skills could make the biggest difference in your overall quality of work. Then seek out resources that can help.

There are loads of books on the craft of writing. (Here are some of our favorites.) There are also plenty of blogs tackling all aspects of the authorship journey, including the blog you’re in right now.

Joining a writing group is another great way to keep building your skills. If it works with your budget and schedule to attend a writing conference, those gatherings offer opportunities to advance your knowledge of both the craft and business of creative writing while building relationships within the literary world.

And of course, there’s always Dabble. 

Browse the hundreds of free articles in DabbleU. Join us in the Story Craft Café to talk writing, swap critiques, and participate in word sprints. Sign up for our weekly newsletter, packed with writing tips and prompts. Check out our YouTube channel, where you’ll find author interviews and conversations about the writing life.

If you have a Dabble Premium subscription, you can also enjoy access to online writing workshops, deep-dive newsletters, and the opportunity to submit your own work for a Feedback Friday critique.

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