Learn how to write and publish stories using character, plot, setting and theme with this free online writing course.

This free online writing course from the Commonwealth Education Trust is an excellent introduction for new or aspiring writers and includes interviews with top authors. Successful authors David Hill and Maria Gill provide a comprehensive overview of the writing and publishing processes, from jotting down ideas in a journal, to revising and editing your stories, to making a publishing pitch at a conference. The course includes helpful resources such as reading extracts, examples, checklists, links and a plot chart. In addition, there are carefully prepared assessment questions in each module, to help you learn.

The course begins by giving valuable lessons on the types of writing that can be achieved, whether it's poems, stories, picture books, plays or non-fiction, as well as the benefits to children of writing stories. Next, you will learn about choosing the right genre for your writing, whether it's fantasy, realistic, historical or adventure and tailoring your stories to the particular audience you're targeting. The course then describes all there is to know about writing the elements of stories, i.e. character, plot, setting, theme and language. Maria Gill then introduces the important processes of editing, proofreading and publishing your work and shares her personal experience as a successful author and publisher.

Finally, the course presents the different publishing options available, such as traditional publishing, self-publishing and digital publishing. Here you will learn the importance of working with a range of professionals in the industry, so that your work can become an actual book on a shelf in a bookstore or on a digital device such as Kindle. This course will be of great interest to anyone who wishes to learn more about writing forms and genres, especially for writing to young reading audiences. So, why wait? Learn how to improve your professional writing skills today!