Do you have what it takes to become not just a good writer but an excellent wordsmith? You know you love to write but you’re just not sure if what you’ve written so far is good enough to land you a nice enough writing stint.
For that matter, you are not quite sure if your process of writing is truly bringing out the best writer in you. If you’re considering a full-time career in the writing or editing field, you need more than just the passion to write.
You need a few technical know-how in order to come up with nicely-written stuff – one that’s going to land you a good-paying writing or editing job.
You can take online courses for writing and editing to get you on the right track.
Online Courses for Writing and Editing
The beauty of taking online courses is that the pressure to do better than your classmates is eased off as you do not actually have to meet them face-to-face every class just so you can complete your courses.
There are online courses for writing that briefly touch on editing and there are also online courses for each of these two. If you would like to really dig deep into writing or editing, it might be a good idea if you take a separate course for writing and another course for editing.
The University of California-Berkeley through their UC Berkeley Extension provides courses under their Writing, Editing and Technical Communication Programs of Study.
Editing Courses
With the UC Berkeley Extension program, you can choose between a basic editing course and a specialized program of study in editing.
What is the Difference Between the Two?
A basic editing course will give you a brief introduction into the world; from using style manuals to developing style sheets, to using reference books.
Courses offered by UC Berkeley Extension under the basic program include Editorial Workshop I: Introduction to Copyediting; and Indexing: Theory and Application.
On the other hand, courses under the Specialized Program of Study usually entail a series of courses under one program. In the case of editing for example, the university extension requires four courses that make up the series.
Now, under this program, Editorial Workshop I: Introduction to Copyediting is included in the series. You may also take this course as an individual course. The other three courses are: Grammar, Mechanics and Usage for Editors; Editorial Workshop II: Intermediate Copyediting; and Advanced Editorial Workshop: Substantive Editing.
Writing Courses
Writing courses under the UC Berkeley Extension program cover different specializations: novel, short story, children’s book, Science writing, travel and feature stories.
Specific courses include the following: Summer Fiction Writing Intensive, Writing the Young Adult Novel, Children’s Picture Book Writing Workshop, Forms in Poetry, Exploring Your Creative Writing Potential and The Craft of Writing.
There are also featured courses in writing non-fiction as well as featured courses in professional writing.
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- Free Online Courses for Writing (onlinecoursesfor.com)
