There are a now a number of higher education institutions worldwide that give open and free access to online course materials. These are made available for use at your own pace, and are largely about downloadable materials. Here are a few from writing and also literature courses that might interest.
Open Learn - from the Open University - creative writing:
Start Writing Fiction Looks at character, setting and genre.
Writing What You Know includes reading and writing activities geared to developing the use of
memory, observation and the senses.
Start Writing Fiction: Taking it Further established writers talking about how they go about writing, their methods, approaches and rituals. There are also activities and exercises, and interviews with writers.
Open Learn - from the Open University - literature:
Approaching Poetry this course aims to develop the analytical skills you need for a more in-depth study of
literary texts. Learn about rhythm, alliteration, rhyme, poetic
inversion, voice and line lengths and endings.
What is Poetry? this course introduces common techniques underlying free verse and traditional forms of poetry. You are also introduced to the basic terminology and practical elements of poetry.
Open Yale - literature
Modern Poetry This covers the body of modern poetry (characteristic techniques,
concerns, and major practitioners). Authors discussed include
Yeats, Eliot, and Pound, to Stevens, Moore, Bishop, and Frost, also poetry of World War One.
Open Yale - literature
The American Novel Since 1945 This course traces the formal and thematic developments of the american novel since 1945. It
focuses on: the relationship between writers and readers; the
conditions of publishing; innovations in the novel's form; fiction's
engagement with history, and the changing place of literature in
American culture.
On the other hand, a MOOC is a Massive Open Online
Course with an unlimited number of participants and online access to a
range of distance learning materials. Typically video, audio, webinar,
and softcopy resources are provided with some online forum support for
participants. Again, some very well known higher education insitutions
worldwide provide a range of these courses including in creative writing
or literature.
Participants
can join and participate as a student of lots of these courses free of
charge. Feedback on progress is usually provided in some form of large
scale basis e.g. use of multiple choice quizzes, peer or collaborative
review. So, it can be a way of gaining education from large and well
known institutions, but there is typically little or no individual
attention between tutors and students. So, you need to be computer
literate and also an independent learner who can manage their time and
study without much tutor intervention. Not surprisingly, these courses
do tend to have a high non-completion rate, as they are not for all, and
there is no selection process. So for example, you may find the time
commitment too much, or that the course content is different from you anticipated, or that the level of learning is too high or too low based on
your previous experience and knowledge.
Anyway,
mindful of all that, there are a range of these courses online that
may interest those of you who can spare the time and want a free course. Here are a few current examples in creative writing and literature that would be useful for learning about writing process:
edX -
The Art of Poetry - not a creative writing course, as in you will not be asked to write poetry, it is about looking at the craft of poetry.
Do
look carefully at the syllabus content of the individual course to make sure that you are aware
of what it is offering, at what level, and the expected workload and timings.
Happy learning.
