Outstanding writing skills are an asset to anyone looking to write a book, take the next step in their writing career, produce an award-winning web article, or get the freedom to work from anywhere.
However, online course , you’ll need to hone your skills before tapping away at your keyboard.
Thanks to revolutions in the educational landscape, there are many free online courses to help you polish your skills and become a better writer.
Today, you’ll learn about these 4 outstanding free online writing courses for beginners:
- Writing With Impact (LinkedIn Learning)
- Secret Sauce of Great Writing (Udemy)
- The Writer’s Toolkit (Skillshare)
- Start Writing Fiction (Future Learn)
1: Writing With Impact (LinkedIn Learning)
The Writing With Impact course offers you the opportunity to learn how to craft engaging, powerful, and persuasive content. It’s also a great refresher for writers looking to stay up to date on the latest skills.
You’ll not only learn how to craft better sentences and paragraphs but also how to structure your writing for maximum impact. By the end of the course, you’ll be able to write short, clear, and purposeful pieces.
Your instructor for this one-hour on-demand course, Tom Geller (writer, journalist, and communications consultant), will cover key topics including:
- Meaning of writing with impact
- Learning about your readers
- Understanding how people read
- How to write short and clear sentences and paragraphs
The course includes supplemental reading resources and chapter quizzes to help you learn more effectively, enjoyably, and efficiently. Upon completion, you will receive a shareable certificate.
Besides learning how to Write With Impact on LinkedIn’s official website, you can also study offline with the LinkedIn Learning app for Android or iOS.
2: Secret Sauce of Great Writing (Udemy)
You’ve probably spent time in front of a screen, punching out some words, and realized no one would read them.
If this is the case, then the Secret Sauce of Great Writing is the course for you!
The course is designed to teach you how to write your message such that it captures the attention of your reader from the very first sentence.
You’ll discover how other authors use the 4 components of excellent writing (simplicity, clarity, elegance, and evocativeness) to craft compelling copies.
Renowned journalism tutor, Shani Raja, will guide you through the course. The ex-Wall Street Journal senior editor has taught hundreds of thousands of students how to make their writing sparkle.
The course is structured into 9 topics, covering distinct components of outstanding writing:
- The secret sauce of flair
- The four crucial ingredients
- How I discovered the sauce
- The power of simplicity
- Clarity exercises
- The power of elegance
- Elegance exercise
- The power of evocativeness
- Evocativeness exercises
This self-paced course uses learning techniques such as direct messages from the instructor and continuous writing exercises to ensure active participation.
★★★★★ I liked that a lot! The instructor did a perfect job in explaining and giving real-world examples. I liked that a lot.
Joseph W. Learner
All you need to enroll is a laptop and internet connection. After finishing the course, you’ll receive a certificate of completion.
3: The Writer’s Toolkit (Skillshare)
If you’re struggling to write well because of bad habits (such as not reading, lack of a writing plan, not receiving constructive criticism well), this course will assist you in developing successful writing habits.
Simon Van Booy, best-selling and award-winning author, will walk you through the six critical stages to developing an effective writing routine:
- Make your own pace
- Find your medium
- Read inspiring works
- Set your conditions
- Stick to a routine
- Sketch to stay inspired
The table below lists some of Van Booy’s best books:
| Book | Year of Publication |
| Pobble’s Way | 2010 |
| Gertie Milk and the Keeper of Lost Things | 2017 |
| Why We Need Love | 2010 |
| The City of Windy Trees | 2009 |
| The Sadness of Beautiful Things: Stories | 2018 |
Apart from video lessons, you’ll be assigned a project in which you’ll have to employ at least one of the above steps in your writing.
You can enroll for this course by visiting the Skillshare website or downloading the Skillshare app on your Android or iOS phone.
4: Start Writing Fiction (FutureLearn)
Anyone who thinks fiction writing can’t be taught is mistaken.
While there are no definitive rules to follow for fiction writing, many widely-used techniques can help you kick-start your writing journey, improve your writing, or craft an amazing story.
In this course, you’ll learn from established fiction writers such as Monique Roffey, Louis de Bernières, Michèle Roberts, Patricia Duncker, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Alex Garland, and Tim Pears.
The course covers:
- How to read as a writer
- Character creation in fiction
- Character sources for different stories
- How to present characters in stories
- Writing practice (observation, research, creativity, and editing)
- Workshops ad peer-reviewing
This self-paced course lets you explore a writer’s notebook, learn how to develop unique writing ideas through research and observation, and get inspired to write.
★★★★★ Great course! This course was fantastic. It was informative, challenging, and inspiring, I’m so glad I did it.
Janice M. Verified Learner, USA
Get Started…
We all want to hone our writing skills, master our craft and succeed in our writing careers.
However, many of us don’t want to go back to school and pursue an MFA in creative writing.
Thankfully, there are many free online courses that teach you how to write effectively and market your work, all from the comfort of your home.
Whether you’re a novice writer or just need to brush up on your craft, these courses will help you get the most out of your writing.
Here are some other free online courses for beginners in 2022:
- Writing For Online Engagement (Skillshare)
- Writing with Flair (LinkedIn)
- Writing What You Know (The Open University)
- Creating Content that People Love to Read (Skillshare)
Share on Facebook:
