Let's Go To Class Together

I've got an invitation for you today. How about taking a class with me? Just because we live hundreds, maybe thousands of miles apart, we can still do that. We could listen to the same instructors, do the assignments, enter into discussions--all of that.

Am I calling in the Writing Fairy again? Nope. But there is a way we can all participate in the same class. A writer friend sent an announcement to the members of my online writing critique group that offered the opportunity. I read through the info and decided I had nothing to lose by taking the class and perhaps much to gain.

It's done on my own time. It's free. It's sponsored by a well-known writing program. The name of this particular class is How Writers Write Fiction  and it's hosted by The University of Iowa's Virtual Writing University. The program is called MOOCS--or Massive Open Online Courses. All you need is your computer and a desire to learn.

It's free because of grant money the university receives. The course on fiction writing runs September 26-November 21. The beauty of it is that you check in online at your convenience. There are seven sessions, one each week of the course. You will have opportunities for discussion, some writing assignments that you can then share if you so choose. There are several instructors, not just one.

Perhaps you'd like to read more about this course so you can decide if you would like to join me this fall in the online classroom. Consider this. You can go to class in your jammies if you like. You can go any time of the day or night. You can do as much or as little as you want to.

One caveat--you must register to become a member of the site and to join the class. It's not a big deal, costs nothing but a few minutes of your time. I don't know why but many people shy away from any website where they must register. Even those, like this one, that promise to keep your information private. Here they don't even require a last name. I hope you can read this page that tells more about the course than I've written here. It's possible that you may have to register to do so, but I'm not sure of that. Try the link and see.

I'd like to strengthen my fiction writing, so I'm going to try this course. If I like it, I'll probably try more. Looks like they run one each quarter of the year. So how about it? Would you like to go to class with me?