Boosting Intellect and Creativity! Explore the amazing world of writing - in all its forms & genres
We would like to suggest a way to focus on your Creative Dimension AND your Intellectual Dimension with an amazing online platform offering writing courses in a variety of genres. Writers.com is one of our favorite places to explore our expressive and creative explorations. And their affordable programs make it easily accessible any time we are feeling the need!
The following information is from Writers.com
"At Writers.com, we’re passionate about the art and the craft of storytelling. And we want to help others with their practice of writing, whether the goal is clear communication, personal fulfillment or heartbreaking works of staggering genius.
Online classes let us cherry-pick the best teachers – all published, working authors – and bring them to computers across the globe. We’ve taught students working on cruise ships and volunteering for remote non-profits, and even one wintering-over high in the Arctic. As a result, we’ve built a vibrant, international community of writers, from beginners discovering their way to seasoned professionals who want to deepen their work and opportunities.
Direct weekly feedback fuels this process. Each student receives personalized attention, tailored to his or her level. Nothing improves writing faster than well-tuned edits and advice. Except practice, of course. And we’ll make sure you get plenty of that too, building momentum and good habits to endure long after your class ends.
Founded in 1995, Writers.com was the first writing school on the Internet. We’ve had decades to fine tune our approach, customer service and course offerings. And it shows: over a third of our alumni return to study with us again."
And here are just SOME of their courses beginning in August! Go to their Course Calendar for a full listing of all their upcoming courses. Enjoy the journey!
"Poetry has long served as a healing balm for the soul—an exploration into beauty, balance, humor, wisdom, and love. Indeed, recent neurological research confirms yet another positive aspect of reading and writing verse: poetry is good for the brain.
In this course, you’ll journey alongside several poets whose works resonate with a variety of healing themes, and receive tips on choosing poems that are good springboards for your future writing. Our in-class reading is designed to help center and balance you, while the prompts in response will encourage writing that offers personal insight and wisdom.
In addition, we’ll also discuss basic principles of developmental poetry therapy, and how you might use this approach to write through normal life cycle events, such as birth, career, marriage, divorce, and death. You’ll also receive healing poetry homework that will continue to provide you creative nourishment throughout the week. No previous experience is needed for this poetry immersion." - Writers.com
"Of all of the characters you’ve met on the pages of novels you’ve read or movies you’ve viewed, which ones do you remember? What makes those characters memorable? What makes you care about them? What makes you believe that a real person could act like they act, that any one of those characters could even be a real person?
What causes you to want to spend time with any of them—long enough to read the entire novel, sit there through the entire movie? Especially with the dark characters?
The answers to these questions are complicated, and that’s because human beings are complicated. Like any new writer of stories, when I first started writing, as I tried to get to know my characters, I created elaborate charts, made long lists of traits for each of them, asking questions like, What’s your favorite food, color, and rock band, etc. But these charts and questions failed to take me to the depths of who my characters were at their core.
Over the last 20+ years, as a writer and writing coach working with thousands of writers including those in jails and prisons, I’ve learned a few things, and now I use systems like the Enneagram, Archetypes, and Jungian psychology to create characters with rich back stories and the kind of depth that I always hope will engage readers in such a way as to make them curious enough to stay with my stories from beginning to end. I’d like to share what I’ve learned with you, not just for developing your fictional characters, but also the real people in your memoirs. Together, let’s work to bring your characters to life so that they move and breathe and talk all over the page." - Writers.com
Comics for People Who Can’t Draw!
"Comics are great! They’re enjoyable to make, quick and easy to read, and people love to share them. But when I talk to writers who are interested in comics, they often point to the same roadblock that keeps them from experimenting with this fun and innovative form.
“But,” they say, “I can’t draw!”
I’m here to tell you that your fine art skills have very little to do with your aptitude for making comics. And how you (yes, YOU!) can make comics without any drawing ability at all.
In this workshop, we’ll identify main goals of comics artists and talk about the fundamentals of using art as communication. We’ll discuss ideas to work around gaps in artistic skills while still producing work that is visually compelling. We’ll also identify and practice ways you can leverage what you have to create a readable style that’s uniquely yours.
This workshop is for anyone with an interest in comics, and no special equipment or drawing skills are required!" - Writers.com
"Many students have attended this program multiple times, completed novels, and come back to write more books. Because this fiction workshop is entirely submission- and feedback-oriented – with no formal lessons or assignments – students learn from the feedback of their colleagues and the teacher.
And they also make strides by reading other students’ work, giving feedback, and reading the responses of their peers. Class members are encouraged to submit up to 2,000 words a week, roughly equivalent to 10 manuscript pages. They can upload their work any time during the week and read the submissions of the others, responding with honest, helpful criticism. Instructor Shelley Singer reads all submissions and sends her critiques to the group. There’s usually a lot of back and forth, discussion and chat, which students may or may not have time for—but it’s there if they want it." - Writers.com
Be well
Stop.Breathe.Focus.Move.Flow.
