Free Online Course by Coursera: Creative Writing: The Craft of Setting and Description

Coursera Platform is offering a free online course on the theme of Creative Writing, The Craft of Setting and Description.

Course background:

In this course aspiring writers will be introduced to the techniques that masters of fiction use to ground a story in a concrete world. From the most realist settings to the most fantastical, writers will learn how to describe the physical world in sharp, sensory detail. We will also learn how to build credibility through research, and to use creative meditation exercises to deepen our own understanding of our story worlds, so that our readers can see all that we imagine.

Course duration:

Approx. 11 hours.

Course topics:

• Week 1: Persuasive Settings: Why Description Matters:

Writing a great short story is like conveying a dream. As we will see from studying one famous master, a "persuasive" setting is necessary in order to build mood, character, and even plot.

• Week 2: If You Build It, They Will Come:

Pack your fiction with "vitamin-rich" detail. Looking at the work of both masters and students, we will discuss how funny, meaningful, and powerful details can be.

• Week 3: Credibility and Research:

Create settings both familiar and unfamiliar to you, while avoiding common missteps. You will be guided through several meditation exercises as you practice "imaginative research".

• Week 4: Realities:

Setting and description works in realist and non-realist fiction, as well as across literary genres. Consider how to write about your own "primal landscape".

Course costs:

This course is a part of the larger Creative Writing Specialization on Coursera, in which learner can enroll for free and gets:

1. Unlimited access to all courses in the Specialization including: Watching lectures, trying assignments, participating in discussion forums, and more.
2. Canceling option at any time: No penalties - simply cancel before the trial ends if it's not right for you.
3. $49 USD per month to continue learning after trial ends: Go as fast as you can - the faster you go, the more you save.
4. Certificate when you complete, that you can share on your resume, LinkedIn, and CV.
5. Learner who can’t afford to pay required fees is eligible to apply for financial aid, that allows him/her to get everything a fee-payer learner gets.

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