Online Creative Writing Courses Offered Free by Top Universities and Educational Websites

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Free courses are a great way to improve your writing skills. The courses shown here focus on several types of creative writing, including poetry, essay writing and fiction writing.
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Free Creative Writing Courses

Creative writing requires the application of hard work, discipline and much practice. Use these free creative writing courses online to hone your skills and become a better writer.

Open University

Open University offers a plethora of writing courses, on topics such as poetry and fiction. Read through these lessons on the website or download them as a single eBook.

Creative

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

MIT offers courses in fiction, editing and publishing, in addition to courses on writing essays. The fiction course has required reading with titles like Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Textbooks for the writing and editing course include Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers by Maasik, Sonia and Jack Solomon and Easy Writer: A Pocket Guide by Lunsford, Andrea and Frank Horowitz. The advanced essay workshop entails readings from literary magazines and the science essay course assigns eight sets of readings on topics like literary techniques and public health.

Purdue University

The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) offers free online writing lessons. Subjects include poetry and proofreading. These quick lessons can be downloaded and printed.

Yale University

Yale University offers a free online course in modern poetry. Texts include The Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry. Vol. 1, Modern Poetry, in addition to selections from the course packet, with readings from The Complete Poems of Elizabeth Bishop and Selected Poems from Ezra Pound. Students can choose from 25 audio lectures, on poets like Williams Carlos Williams, Hart Crane, Langston Hughes, and more.

The Crafty Writer

This free online tutorial offers individuals text lessons in the form of an article on topics like writing short stories, character development, poetry, and more. Lessons also recommend books for purchase.

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing

This science fiction and fantasy writing course is offered online for free by science fiction writer, Jeffrey A. Carter. A multitude of lessons are available, in a variety of subjects like language and style, creating characters, rewriting, alien creatures, conflict and plot, and much more.

Creative Writing Prompts

This website offers free writing prompts. Use this as a resource to get your writing started.

WritingClasses.com

This website offers two questionnaires for writers. Answer questions about characters in order to help your development process for writing.

Free Online Creative Writing Courses At a Glance

Course & School Program Level Format Assignments Quizzes & Exams Downloadable
Writing What You Know course from Open University Beginner Text lessons Yes No Yes
Start Writing Fiction course from Open University Beginner Text lessons Yes No Yes
Approaching Prose Fiction course from Open University Intermediate Text lessons Yes No Yes
What is Poetry course from Open University Beginner Text lessons Yes No Yes
Approaching Poetry course from Open University Intermediate Text lessons Yes No Yes
What is Good Writing course from Open University Beginner Text lessons Yes No Yes
Introduction to Fiction course from MIT Undergraduate Text Yes No Yes
Writing, Editing and Publishing in Cyberspace course from MIT Undergraduate Textbooks Yes No Yes
Advanced Essay Workshop course from MIT Undergraduate Workshop Yes No Yes
The Science Essay course from MIT Undergraduate Readings/writing essays Yes No Yes
Pattern and Variation in Poetry course from Purdue University Undergraduate Text lesson No No Yes
Proofreading Your Writing course from Purdue University Undergraduate Text lesson No No Yes
Modern Poetry course from Yale University Undergraduate Text/audiovideo lectures Yes No Yes
Intro to Creative Writing course from The Crafty Writer Beginner Text lessons Yes No No
Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy course from Writesf.com Beginner Text lessons No No Yes
200 Creative Writing Prompts from CreativeWritingPrompts.com Beginner-advanced Writing prompts Yes No No
Character Questionnaires from Fiction Writing Workshop Beginner Questionnaire Yes No No

Popular Schools

  • Online Programs Available
    1. Saint Leo University

    Program Options

    Master's
      • MA: Creative Writing - Poetry
      • MA: Creative Writing - Poetry
  • Online Programs Available
    2. Grand Canyon University

    Program Options

    Master's
      • M.A. in Communication with an Emphasis in Education
      • M.A. in Communication with an Emphasis in Education
    Bachelor's
      • B.A. in Professional Writing for New Media
      • Bachelor of Arts in Communications with an Emphasis in Interpersonal Communication and Human Relationships
      • BA in Digital Film - Screenwriting
  • Online Programs Available
    3. Liberty University

    Program Options

    Doctorate
      • PHD: Communication
    Certificate
      • CTG: Communication
  • Campus and Online Programs
    4. Full Sail University

    Program Options

    Bachelor's
      • Bachelor of Fine Arts - Creative Writing for Entertainment
  • Online Programs Available
    5. Penn Foster High School

    Program Options

    High School Diploma
      • HS Diploma
  • Gainesville, FL

    University of Florida

  • Ithaca, NY

    Cornell University

  • Boston, MA

    Boston University

  • University of Maryland Global Campus

Featured Schools

The schools and programs listed below are popular educational options, and tuition varies based on program and location

Saint Leo University

  • MA: Creative Writing - Poetry

What is your highest level of education completed?

Grand Canyon University

  • M.A. in Communication with an Emphasis in Education
  • B.A. in Professional Writing for New Media
  • Bachelor of Arts in Communications with an Emphasis in Interpersonal Communication and Human Relationships

What is your highest level of education?

Liberty University

  • PHD: Communication
  • CTG: Communication

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Full Sail University

  • Bachelor of Fine Arts - Creative Writing for Entertainment

What is your highest level of education?

Penn Foster High School

  • HS Diploma

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