It’s that time of year again! No, not Halloween… NaNoWriMo is nearly upon us. I’m crap at NaNo. Like really bad! I have never finished a NaNo novel. Last year I used it to write a lot of short stories about Sprite, Spectre, Clouds, Yuffie and Fuen before the Little Fears had been born. A lot of those tales later appeared in the Little Fears tales.
For this year’s NaNo, I aim to double my writing output for a month. Writing twelve stories a day instead of six. Any free time I get in November will be spent finishing the current 7 books I have sat on my hard drive that need doodles, editing, remixing and whacking with a bangy hammer.
In the spirit of this pre-whattheheckdoIwrite-NaNo day, here are some courses for you to try on Skillshare to sharpen up your writing. The first two courses are free. Completely free. Follow the links, sign up, and go to the course page. Skillshare is just a learning platform that hosts free and premium courses. Skillshare premium costs 0.99$ for 2 months and gives you access to thousands of courses on hundreds of subjects.
Free Courses
Writing For Consistency: Finding Your Creative Voice
Ninya Tippett, Writer, Wattpad
Join one of Wattpad‘s most successful writers Ninya Tippett for a fun, bite-sized class on identifying and writing with your creative voice.
While writing is a creative art form, using a structure is essential for execution. In this 20-minute class, Ninya takes one of her top stories on Wattpad and walks through how she turned one creative idea into a full serialized story using a creative brief to organize her ideas. You’ll also learn how to identify your voice in writing that makes your work unique.
Whether you’re a writer looking for a fun exercise, or just starting out with a fun idea in your head, this class will help you turn that idea into the beginnings of a story based upon your creative inspiration.
Class link: http://skl.sh/2yfdkuf
Writing for Online Engagement: Fiction in a Digital World
Join writer and Wattpad Star Rebecca Sky for a new Skillshare class on writing fiction today! You’ll peel back the curtain on online writing and learn frameworks, techniques, and strategies for establishing, engaging, and growing a community around your work.
Key lessons cover today’s writing landscape, tips for serialized fiction, merchandising individual stories, and marketing your work to build your personal brand — all to help you find success.
Perfect for creative writers, fanfic enthusiasts, bloggers, and beginners curious about self-publishing today, this welcoming class will empower writers of every level to confidently write fiction online.
Class link: http://skl.sh/2gV5IWB
Premium Courses
The Writer’s Toolkit: 6 Steps to a Successful Writing Habit
Simon Van Booy, Author and Screenwriter
Do you dream of being a writer but are struggling with how to start? These 6 essential steps will give you the foundation you need to produce great writing.
In this 40-minute class, acclaimed novelist Simon Van Booy walks writers of all types through a simple process that makes writing approachable and fun. You will learn how to:
- optimize your space for your writing style
- create a daily writing routine
- gather and act on inspiration
Perfect for authors, aspiring writers, and enthusiasts looking for a creative outlet, these tools are meant to be revisited often to build a long-term writing process you can rely on for years to come.
Class link: http://skl.sh/2yXgb8u
Writing Character-Driven Short Stories
How do you write a great short story? In this 45-minute class, Yiyun Li walks us through prompts, strategies, and advice for writing compelling characters, turning situations into stories, and revising work into a polished piece.
Li is a professor at UC Davis, a MacArthur Fellow, and has been named a “20 Under 40” writer by The New Yorker. In addition to the class video lessons, Li shares her 4 favorite short stories, and every student will write their own 3-5 page short story inspired by an online comment, review, or obituary. (She provides a few favorites, or you can choose your own.)
Beginning writers can take this class to get started writing fiction, and experienced writers can take this class to try out new writing styles and get feedback on their work. It’s perfect for writers, bloggers, literature lovers, and everyone who loves a compelling story.
Class link: http://skl.sh/2hn5GDV
Little Fears 
Piffle!!! You write and share and make people laugh. You don’t need to finish a ‘book’. You have several your followers adore. Pepper us with your creations and the trials they have in this month of people stuffing their lives full as they try to accomplish this momentous task set for November!
You are great fun, I’m glad to have found and ‘met’ you!
LikeLike
Aha, thank you Kris. My ego always like a nice boost haha!
I’m not saying I’m bad at writing. My grammar could use work but I get my message across 99% of time. I am however bad at finishing novels during NaNoWriMo. 🙂
LikeLike
I struggle completing NaNoWriMo too. But this year — cracks knuckles — this year! I’m going to do my best to succeed. Cue motivating music I look forward to your work! You can do it. 🙂
LikeLike
The internets knuckles will collectively crack when we are midway through NaNo. 😛
LikeLike
Wishing you lots of motivation, inspiration and fun for all the doodle-ing, editing, remixing and whacking with a bangy hammer!
Thanks for sharing those writing classes. It might be that Ninya Tippett’s course is just what I have been looking for to find out if that novel will ever be written (and finished) or not.
Much Love,
Steffi
LikeLike
Haha, awww! You’ll get it finished Steffi! Skillshare’s handy for free courses. They attract a lot of big names to their site.
LikeLike
🙂
LikeLike
I am doing Nano again this year. I was able to finish one novel and I am going to add more to it and edit what I have already done. This will be a good opportunity for me.
I agree with the other comments that you make people laugh and think about things. You are a great writer. I wish you success in your editing and doodling. I love your work. 🙂
LikeLike
Good luck Julie! You’re doing better than me! 🙂
Thank you for the compliments. I think I’m good at writing, I’m just bad at finishing novels during NaNoWriMo. 🙂
LikeLike
I have never tried Nano whatever – first because I cannot every remember what it is called or figure out how to say it. Secondly because I cannot see why I would take time out of actual writing for some strange non-contest contest or whatever it is. Just keep writing.
LikeLike
Howdy Edward. Different strokes and all that! I find Inktober, WIthtober and Goretober help me to focus on a project for a month. As with NaNo, I know the community feel of NaNo on Twitter helps pull some people along to start or even finish a book. Writing’s often a lonely business and not all writers are happy being alone all the time. 🙂
LikeLike
It is your fault, LF, that I’m scared out of my wits. Sorry, not because of your blog or Halloween (Heh-heh) but because I never heard of NaNo until I read your post–and I signed up for NaNo for the very first time yesterday. I feel liked Charlie Brown about to kick the football. Arg! Best of NaNo-ing to you!
LikeLike
Aww man, dude, you’re a solid writer. I’ve read a bit of Charlie Brown. I’m certain you’re gonna kick the ball haha.
A bit of advice we’ve been putting about on Twitter. Join in the community on your fave social media. NaNo can help push people along when you have a social feeling of everyone being ‘in it together’ you know? Good luck!
LikeLike
Good luck! I always seem to be in the middle of other projects with their own schedules when NaNoWriMo comes around
Thanks for linking those courses; they look super useful!
LikeLike
You’re welcome Zanterr!
LikeLike