8 Best Novel Writing Tutorials Online

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Are you looking for the best novel writing classes online? Then you’ve come to the right place! Below, we’ve listed the best online courses out there! We’ve included both free and paid courses suitable for all abilities to give you a variety of options.

But first, let’s answer an important question – what is novel writing?

Novel writing is the art of writing a novel – a piece of long narrative in literary prose. It is designed to entertain and tell a story, usually consisting of a chain of events which includes a cast of characters, a setting and an ending. To write a good novel, you need to develop excellent writing skills and have a wonderful imagination. For the reason, “novel writing” is also sometimes synonymous with “creative writing”.

Sounds good, right? To learn how to write fantastic novels, you don’t need to spend hours at University studying. What you need is a matter of talent, persistent, luck and to complete an online class that covers everything you need to know to write beautiful novels. Suitable for those of all levels, I have spent the time researching the best online novel writing and creative writing classes out there. If you’re looking to progress your novel writing skills, either for a writing career or to improve your creative skill set, there will definitely be one for you.

 

1. How To Write A Book: Novel Writing: How to Write A Novel Step by Step: Creative Writing Beginners (Skillshare)

  • Level: Beginner
  • Completion time: 1h 10m
  • Cost: 14-day free trial
  • Certification: No
  • Number of people who have completed the course: 2,279
  • Course rating: N/A

In this Skillshare course, complete beginners will learn how to write a book. From covering essential elements to how to get a book published, this course will teach you everything you need to know.

In just over an hour, you’ll cover a huge range of topics. To start, you’ll cover the novel writing essentials. You’ll then take a look the backbone of a book, how to tell it like it is, what every book must have, novel writing development, what to do once your book is written, and much more!

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to tell your stories in such a structured and careful way, that your readers will want to turn those pages and find out what next!

 

2. Write a Bestselling Novel in 15 Steps (Writing Mastery) (Udemy)

  • Level: Beginner
  • Completion time: 3h 39m
  • Cost: $49.99
  • Certification: No
  • Number of people who have completed the course: 12,731
  • Course rating: 4.7/5 (out of 2,504 ratings)

Suitable for anyone with the desire to write or revise a novel, you’ll learn how to plot an entire novel in this Udemy course.

Taught by Jessica Broody, a number 1 bestselling author, this course will give you the tools to understand what makes a novel successful! You’ll learn how to craft a compelling “novel road map” and outline for a new novel. You will also obtain a deeper understanding of plot and story structure. To really make sure your novels are a success, you will then develop an effective revision plan and determine how to fix and problems.

By the end of this class, you’ll be able to write novels that send their stories in a new, attention-grabbing, direction.

 

3. Novel Writing for Beginners: How to Write Your First Draft (Skillshare)

  • Level: Beginner
  • Completion time: 1h 26m
  • Cost: 14 day free-trial
  • Certification: No
  • Number of people who have completed the course: 1,623
  • Course rating: N/A

Taught by Nia Hogan, who is a three-time self-published author with years of experience, this course will teach complete beginners how to write the first draft of their novel. You will cover the key elements of a story, including the six fundamental areas for planning your first novel. You will also discover how to create your own unique storyline, how to effectively structure and create a sellable fiction piece and how to overcome any obstacles in your writing journey!

After completing this course you will have all the information necessary to write your first draft and you will be able to turn your ideas into a reality! If you’ve always dreamed of starting a novel but have no idea where to start, then this class is the one for you!

 

4. Creative Writing Specialization (Coursera)

  • Level: Beginner
  • Completion time: Approx 6 months to complete
  • Cost: Enroll for free
  • Certification: Yes
  • Number of people who have completed the course: 83,638
  • Course rating: 4.7/5 (out of 4,026 reviews)

Offered by Wesleyan University, this course will teach you to craft a story like the fantastic writer that you really are! Taught by experts from Wesleyan Univeristy, this specialization covers elements of three major writing genres: short story, narrative, essay and memoir. You will master the techniques that good writers use to compose a bracing story and ensure that your characters are memorable and in an interesting setting!

Once you’ve spent the six months finishing this course, you will be able to craft an original story that will absorb your readers interest from beginning to end! You will go from being an aspiring short story writer to an established novelist!

 

5. Novel Writing Workshop (Udemy)

  • Level: All levels
  • Completion time: 4h 58m
  • Cost: $69.99
  • Certification: No
  • Number of people who have completed the course: 12,996
  • Course rating: 4.6/5 (out of 1,555 ratings)

Suitable to all aspiring writers, young or old, experienced or just getting started, this course will teach you a thing or two!

Taught by Steve Alcorn, who is an author and the founder of ‘Writing Academy’, you will learn how to turn your idea into a novel and create a premise that sells. The course will explore viewpoint, voice and tense. You will then go on to look at how to discover dramatic element and develop interesting characters. Towards the end of the course, you will take a look how to write effective scenes, how to add conflict, mystery and suspense and how to develop a marketing plan!

 

6. Novel Writing: Creating Loveable Characters in 5 Easy Steps (Skillshare)

  • Level: Beginner
  • Completion time: 18m
  • Cost: 14 day free-trial
  • Certification: No
  • Number of people who have completed the course: 2,091
  • Course rating: N/A

This very short course is designed to help those who have always wanted to write a novel, but have never known where to start, find their feet and get the ball rolling.

Anna Kay is passionate about sharing her extensive knowledge and experience to help people feel empowered. She believes that creating really loveable characters is vital to the success of a novel… and in just 18 minutes, she’s going to show you how to do this! You will cover 5 easy steps to creating really loveable characters that your reader will be able to empathize with. These five steps are: 1) make your character human; 2) give your character a goal; 3) give your character a conflict; 4) allow your character to develop; and 5) let your character wander.

 

7. Write Your First Novel (Coursera)

  • Level: Beginner
  • Completion time: Approx 127h
  • Cost: Enroll for free
  • Certification: Yes
  • Number of people who have completed the course: 63,849
  • Course rating: 4.2/5 (out of 135 reviews)

Offered by Michigan State University, this course will teach you how to write your first novel. You will learn how to form a basic idea into a structure and discipline that will allow you to create, write and complete a full novel that is ready to submit for publication.

Taught by writing experts, you’ll learn how to break down your creative endeavor into components. You’ll first learn how to create an idea for your novel and how to create character profiles. You’ll then write each of your chapters with the course instructor, so that you can insure you are writing to the highest of standards!

 

8. The Foundations of Fiction (LinkedIn Learning)

  • Level: All levels
  • Completion time: Approx 6h 20m
  • Cost: 1 months free-trial
  • Certification: Yes
  • Number of people who have completed the course: 16,649
  • Course rating: N/A

Suitable for all levels – from accomplished novelists to first time writers- this course will teach you everything you need to know about how to write excellent fiction.

In this course, Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell dive into each of the key ingredients that make up great fiction and share tips that can help you conceive and write compelling novels, memoirs, short stories or screenplays. Taught in an expert manner, you will learn how to develop compelling characters, how to write dialogue and how to decide on the right point of view for your fiction tale. After finishing this course, you will have the skills to create fantastics stories and write your own novels!

 

Conclusion

So, there you have it… the 8 best online novel writing tutorials.

There is an abundance of online classes available to help you get your writing skills up to scratch. Some are for advanced writers, whereas others are for writing newbies who want to progress their novel writing skills.

However, they are all the crème de la crème of novel writing courses. So, it doesn’t matter too much which one you pick. You just need to ensure that whichever class you pick is suitable to your skill level, budget and time frame.

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