How To Learn Creative Writing Without Taking An Expensive Course

There are four main problems with most creative writing courses:
they usually cost a lot of money
they aren’t very flexible – you have to study set topics when they tell you to
some of them have a high drop-out rate – they put you off writing when they should be supporting and encouraging you
some of them can take a year or two of intensive study, when most people would rather be getting on with some real writing, and perhaps making some money from it
We each have different ways of learning, so what suits me might not suit you. But here’s what I would do if I was starting from scratch today:
(1) I’d start by signing up for a local creative writing class for beginners – probably an evening course at a school or college. These are usually short courses, inexpensive, and the perfect introduction to the subject.
(2) Then I’d read ‘The Creative Writing Coursebook’ by Julia Bell and Paul Magrs, and do all the exercises in it (that’s very important).
This book is based on the Creative Writing course run by the University of East Anglia in the UK. Many well-known writers began their careers there, and it has an excellent reputation. For those of us who are unable to attend the real course, this is the next best thing – and much cheaper!
It’s a big book with lots of exercises, so while this might not be the fastest option, it is a thorough one. But you can work at your own pace; you can skip the parts that don’t interest or apply to you; and you can work on your own writing projects while you’re learning.
(3) Next, I’d look for an intermediate/advanced creative writing class in my local area, or perhaps in the nearest city, just to polish up my skills and meet people again after all that book learning.
(4) My next step would be to submit a piece of writing to a professional editor or critique service (they advertise in all the writing magazines). This would show me where my weaknesses were – plotting, characterisation, description, or whatever it might be.
Another good option would be to enter some writing competitions that give detailed feedback on each entry. I’d send the same piece of writing to each of them, because the judges might have different opinions. This would be cheaper than a professional critique, but it would take much longer to receive the feedback. When all the responses had been returned I’d look through them to see what the judges agreed were my weak points.
(5) I’d then look for a course that covered those specific problem areas, or find some books on those topics – again making sure I did all the exercises in them to get the full benefit.
(6) With those topics mastered, and my former weaknesses turned into strengths, I’d submit another piece of writing for professional review, or enter it for a few competitions, to find out whether it was now up to standard or if I needed further tuition.
(7) I’d repeat this process until:
the feedback said my work was of a professional standard in all aspects
or I won a notable competition, or at least a handful of smaller ones
or I started getting published regularly
or I stopped learning anything new
When I reached that point, I’d know it was time to stop learning and start writing for real.
Whatever you do, don’t just dive in and start writing without taking the time to learn how it works. I made that mistake at the start of my career, and wasted three entire years. Take a little time to learn the basics: how to structure a story properly; how to make your characters and plots realistic; how to create drama and tension; how to vary the pace; when to switch viewpoints and when not to; the proper way to set out a manuscript and submit it for publication; what editors, agents and publishers are looking for; and so on.
There’s a lot to learn, but it should be enormous fun. And there will always be other people at the same stage as you who would welcome a new friend to share their ideas and problems with. Perhaps you could form a small writing group with some of the other students from the classes you took.
If you’re looking for some friendly fellow writers to talk things over with, try the ideas4writers Facebook group – it’s totally free, and open to everyone.