Sunday, June 13, 2010

On Writing Fantasy: Online Writing Classes

Sorry for the delay of the article this week. Here’s my article for online classes on writing.

Summer is a time of year that can give people some free time to pursue other things. Writing is a profession that takes time, perseverance and knowledge. A writer must constantly pursue research and learning of new subjects to help generate new ideas and feed their imaginations. This is even truer for Fantasy authors that create whole new worlds for their books. Online classes are a good way to learn new knowledge for research and increase a writer’s creativity. Classes come in a variety of subjects, are reasonably priced, and self paced for a writer to gain new knowledge without a lot of time consumption. There are several places on the expanding Internet to take these classes.

A free site for online classes is Suite University (http://www.suite101.com/suiteu/). Divided into several schools, classes can be found in topics under religion, writing, literature, etc. These classes are taught by knowledgeable people who know their subjects. The classes can be taken as an individualized self paced version. A wide variety of subjects helps writers find information they can use in their writing. For instance my class on Fantasy Literature can help Fantasy writers learn about the different subgenres. My class is found at: http://www.suite101.com/course.cfm/17284/seminar

Virtual University is an online class company (http://www.ksurf.net) that has been around for a long time. They have classes in the areas of computers, self help, general interest and others. They have been expanding their subjects recently. One new class is on Screen Writing. The classes are taught by knowledgeable people, some with Masters degrees. A lot of information can be learned in a short time. The courses on forensics and serial killers are informative. This is a good site to learn new things.

Another good site for online classes is Course Bridge. Designed for adult learners, they have classes of general interest, spirituality and useful ones on writing. Fantasy writers would especially find the class on Medieval castles helpful to their writing. New courses are added all the time. Their courses provide a lot of information for a fair price. This site is found at: http://www.coursebridge.com I teach a class on Fantasy Writing here too at: http://coursebridge.com/html/courses/writing/CBWFF01.asp

Some writers have their own classes that they develop and teach. Holly Lisle is a Fantasy author with several published books and years of experience in writing. At her web site can be found several classes and resources to help aspiring writers learn the craft. Her Thinking Sideways course is popular and helpful. Many of her writing E-books are informative too. Her site can be found at: http://www.hollylisle.com

A site of interest for writers is Fathom. This is a site run by several colleges like Columbia University that used to have online classes. The site (http://www.fathom.com) is now an archive, which contains information in several different subjects. There is a lot of good information to learn for ideas.

Writers must seek new knowledge to help their creativity and bring their stories to life. Time is important to writers, which is devoted to writing. They do not have time to travel for classes. Distance learning through online classes is a boon for authors. Classes can be taken from home or anywhere an Internet connection is available. Learning new things helps in the writing process by providing more knowledge and ideas for writers. Online classes will continue to help writers expand their experience for powerful new stories.

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