Great Courses

A curated directory of standout university OpenCourseWare lectures, landmark MOOCs, and comprehensive audiovisual deep-dives in Creative Writing and literary craft. These courses move beyond introductory writing tutorials to offer rigorous craft analysis, masterclasses in narrative architecture, and deep historical and formal context.

Fiction & Narrative Architecture

• Creative Writing: The Craft of Plot (Coursera / Wesleyan University / Brando Skyhorse)
• Creative Writing: The Craft of Character (Coursera / Wesleyan University / Amy Bloom)
• Creative Writing: The Craft of Setting and Description (Coursera / Wesleyan University / Amity Gaige)
• Start Writing Fiction (OpenLearn / The Open University)

Poetry & Modern Poetics

• Modern & Contemporary American Poetry - ModPo (Coursera / University of Pennsylvania / Al Filreis)
• Sharpened Visions: A Poetry Workshop (Coursera / California Institute of the Arts / Douglas Kearney)
• ENGL 310: Modern Poetry (Open Yale Courses / Langdon Hammer)
• Poetry in America: The City That Is Shipwrecked and Emily Dickinson (edX / Harvard University / Elisa New)

Dramatic Writing, Stage & Screen

• Script Writing: Write a Feature-Length Screenplay for Film or Television (Coursera / Michigan State University / David Wheeler)
• Screenwriting: Writing a Feature Film Script (edX / University of California, Irvine)
• Dialogue and Dramatic Action Masterclass (StudioBinder Series)
• The Tools of Screenwriting Workshop Series (American Film Institute)

Literary Analysis & Craft-Based Reading

• ENGL 291: The American Novel Since 1945 (Open Yale Courses / Amy Hungerford)
• ENGL 300: Introduction to Theory of Literature (Open Yale Courses / Paul Fry)
• ENGL 220: Milton (Open Yale Courses / John Rogers)
• Creative Writing and Critical Reading (OpenLearn / The Open University)
• Writing What You Know: Personal Experience and Creative Nonfiction (OpenLearn / The Open University)

Specialized, Digital & Professional Practice

• Creative Writing: The Craft of Style (Coursera / Wesleyan University / Salvatore Scibona)
• Good with Words: Writing and Editing Specialization (Coursera / University of Michigan / Patrick Barry)
• Comparative Media Studies and Writing OpenCourseWare Curriculum (MIT OCW)
• Narrative Design and Interactive Storytelling with Twine (Digital Games Research Association / Open Materials)