Creative Writing Ideas

There are many, many, free writing courses online, ranging from open courseware at various universities, to articles claiming to be courses that describe the subject rather than actually teach you how; giving you little opportunity for involvement. I did some research, and so far, I found what I consider to be some real quality courses. They are really comprehensive and seem easy to follow. These range from screenplay writing, to technical writing, to fiction, and more.

Remember, all writing is creative in my book. If you’re creating something, or figuring out a new way to express something, that’s creativity. So here is what I’ve found so far. While most of these are higher level courses geared toward college students, I’m sure there are also high school students out there who would benefit. I hope you find it really useful!

1. Steven Barnes’ 9-Week Introduction to Screenwriting Course at lifewrite.com. This is an in depth course, which he’s taught for many years at UCLA. You can follow it online or download the whole course. No registration is needed.

2. Purdue University online writing lab, is a wonderful resource free to everyone. They offer instruction in “creative writing” topics  such as Patterns and Variations in Poetry, as well as technical, business, proofreading and grammar lessons. And this is only an overview, ANY writer should get to know this site.

3. Wikiversity offers some good technical writing courses including audience analysis, researching information, and the mechanics of technical writing itself .

4. Writer’s Village University currently has a free workshop on Character Building, no registration is required for this course, however you do have to become a member for a fee, to access other courses.

5. The American University in Cairo has an excellent free course called “How to Write an Essay in Ten Easy Steps.” This goes way beyond the basic five-paragraph essay descriptions you frequently see. It explains each of the ten steps in depth from how to research your topic, to analyzing the information, and writing the actual essay. Plan to spend a few hours here. Then look around the rest of the site because there are some other useful gems for writers here.

While homeschooling my son, as an art and writing project we made a writing box. We filled it with strips of paper, each containing a writing prompt, cut from a pre-printed page of prompts that I made on the computer. We used a paper mache box that we painted with acrylic paint and collaged with bits of decorative papers with a writing theme. We also used mini scrabble tiles and rubber stamping to complete it. The folded prompts were placed inside. My son would choose  one at random from the box when needed.

You could do this project just for fun, and perhaps put inspirational quotes, fortune cookie messages (start saving), or funny sayings inside. What else can you think of?

Have fun and Happy Writing!

Writing can take you on amazing adventures limited only by your imagination. Any thing or any place you can dream of can come to life on paper. I began reading at an early age and I would devour page after page in order to transport myself to other worlds. While a well written story does allow for the reader’s own imagination to be engaged, it is still limited somewhat by that of the author’s. While I’ve had some of the most wonderful adventures in other peoples stories,  new worlds opened up for me when I realized I could create even more adventures by writing.

How to do it? Just dream of the places you would like to see, or people you want to meet, or any kind of adventure you would like to have, then write it! Worrying about spelling, grammar, and what other people think is NOT allowed. This is your story.

Use these prompts to write about your…
1. Favorite hiding place as a child
2. Favorite summer vacation
3. Favorite amusement ride
4. Favorite food
5. Favorite smell, sight, sound, etc
6. Favorite place to visit
7. Favorite animal
8. Favorite story