The Best Nonfiction Writing Courses to Kick Off 2022
And just like that, it's 2022. The last two years were a rollercoaster for all of us. So it's not a surprise if many feel stuck, frustrated with our writing. To make things worst, if you're a nonfiction writer, you can't use that time to escape from reality. Maybe you're writing a memoir and reliving difficult moments of your life. Or you're researching about war to write about a dark period.
Different from fiction, during your nonfiction writing you can't lose yourself in the story. The place you land is not very far from the actual events. That's why today I'm bringing this list of courses right to you.
The more you practice, the better you get in your writing. However, in moments like this, when we feel our energy drained, new courses are a great way to fill our pocket of creativity again.
In this list, you will find free and paid courses. These writing courses will help you renew your energies and kick off the year in the best way.
Memoir and Personal Essay: Write About Yourself
The first course is offered by Wesleyan University through Coursera. The course teaches how to write personal experiences interestingly, using your life as material.
It is a 4-month program with certified professors. You only pay if you want to receive a certificate, but you can also ask for financial help. The platform offers chats and forums, so you can connect to other students and meet writers from around the world.
Nonfiction Writing: Tell Your Unique Story
If you don't have four months, this course by Eileen Traux is a great choice. Eileen is a journalist who writes for well-known publications, like The New York Times and Vice.
In this course, she teaches the basics of writing a nonfiction piece. Starting with the research, refining the idea, developing a structure, and publishing the story. This paid course offered by Domestika has a certificate included in the price. The platform also has a space to talk with other students. In the end, you will do a final project and share it with the community to receive feedback from colleagues and Eileen.
The Art of Creative Writing: Learn Storytelling Techniques
Another course from Domestika. This one focuses on creative writing, but it can be helpful for nonfiction writing too. Reneé Bibby, a speculative fiction writer, has already given a dozen workshops about creative writing. The focus of this course is to create a roadmap to your piece or story. Reneé will teach how to structure your idea using storytelling techniques to make your writing compelling.
It is a great course for nonfiction writers, as even nonfiction needs to have conflict, passe, and a clear path. As a Domestika course, in addition, this one offers a certificate and has a final project that you can share with other students and the teacher.
Margaret Atwood teaches creative writing
Here, Atwood shares tips and ideas of her process of crafting the story, the characters, and the dialogue. There are classes about point of view and structure. Even with some specific lessons about speculative fiction, the other ones can still be helpful for nonfiction writers. They will help you let the story flow and get the special touch of the magic from world-building. To watch courses in MasterClass, you need to pay a membership that ranges from $15 to $23 monthly. But I mean, it’s Margaret Atwood so it’s worth it!
The Art of Creative Writing: Learn Storytelling Techniques
The last one, and also my favorite, is this original course from Roxane Gay for Skillshare.
Gay is a very skilled nonfiction writer that has published many books using her life as material. Her writing mainly revolves around her experiences with her body.
As other courses already listed, in this one, Roxane similarly teaches the basics of nonfiction, crafting a story, and narrowing ideas. The main difference and special touch of this course is the lesson about revision. We can say that this is one of the most challenging parts of the process, and it's a unique experience to hear from a skilled writer about her proceedings. Roxane also gives publishing tips, and the course offers some extra materials to keep after it finishes.
Skillshare is a platform paid monthly through a membership subscription. However, you can get one free month using an affiliate link.
So what do you think? Let us know!
