Master the craft of storytelling to find your voice and become a creative writer with this free online course.

Creative writing is the process-oriented form of writing that combines imagination and innovation to tell a story. The element of creativity sets your story apart from its counterparts in the same genre. Writing requires more than telling tales of fantastical settings thronged with unique creatures: it expresses your thoughts and feelings via a compelling and memorable story that engages your readers through character, language and plot. This course teaches you how to use your creativity to think a little outside the box and put a unique twist on things. Creative writing has many genres and subgenres and a set of established rules and practices that can help writers develop their own distinctive voices. We introduce you to these elements to help you get started with writing.

The most challenging element of storytelling is often the plot, which is in turn driven by engaging characters. We show you how to create plots with suspense, sentiment and sensation and explain how to keep them moving through interesting, tangible settings. The course then explains how to build complex, vivid and unforgettable characters with compelling dialogue and action. We also examine the tools used by poets to write verse. We compare creative fiction and nonfiction writing and lay out the techniques used to create novels, short stories, dramas, screenplays and memoirs. Are you familiar with the term ‘writer’s block’? It is something that all writers face while struggling to create new work during a creative slowdown. We will demonstrate how to overcome writer's block and come up with original ideas when creativity seems elusive.

The course then establishes the role of critical thinking to help you understand how technical writing differs from creative writing. We explain how to structure business proposals, letters, emails and meeting agendas. Writing is never complete unless published. The course walks you through the process of editing and evaluating text to meet publishing requirements and finally get your work out there. If you wish to explore your creativity and realise your dreams of becoming a writer, this course is for you. We provide the technical skills you need to turn your talent into published text using a unique writing process that breaks through writer’s block. Whether you have an idea for a novel or even a half-finished manuscript in a drawer, this course helps you to find your voice as a storyteller.