Clients occasionally ask me for tips on how to improve their writing, and I usually respond by sending them to one of the following sites. These are either full or partial university courses provided for free, with no grading, no deadlines, and no final exams! They are perfect for tweaking a specific problem area, or for broadening a writer's skill set. These are the main university websites where the classes are listed, instead of a listing of each individual course.
Please leave me a comment if you have used one of these courses in the past. What did you think of the experience? I took the Open University's course Start Writing Fiction (A174_1) and I loved it! This is the class that inspired the Feistres series I am currently writing.
MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW) Writing & Humanistic Studies
The Open University Arts & Humanities
Utah State University
UMass Boston Open CourseWare (OCW) Critical Reading & Writing
Other sites:
Freelance Folder (Links)
Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)
Steven Barnes' Screenwriting Class
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
The Story of Scribe's Helper
Often our most enjoyable "work" is born out of an activity we love. I grew up surrounded by books. Both of my parents and my grandparents were bookworms. I can still recite the entirety of my favorite children's book, The House That Jack Built by J.P. Miller, but the book that truly captured my imagination and kindled a love of reading was Little House In The Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I must have been around seven or eight at the time, and what started out as a bad night turned into an amazing voyage. As punishment for a misdeed that I have long forgotten, I was sent to my room. I didn't have to turn out the light, but I had to stay in bed. I picked up a copy of the book that my parents happened to have, and that began a journey I am still on today. I have read many books on many subjects, from Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austin to Stephen Hawking's The Universe In A Nutshell & A Brief History of Time.
Everyone I know who reads as much as I do is also a writer in some fashion or form. Whether it be the occasional blog for enjoyment, freelance writing assignments, journaling, or hatching plans for that great novel or autobiography, readers often become writers. I started looking for online writing classes just to fill some extra time in my schedule, but discovered that I enjoyed the assignments much more than I expected. I am currently working on a serial based on one of the characters I developed as part of one of my writing classes.
It was about this time in my journey that I realized that perhaps it was time for me to find a new career. I like my job, and it's very easy most of the time, but I have done about as much as I can in this company. As I was studying the process for publishing books online, I realized that there was a need for inexpensive editors and proofreaders. This was a service I could provide. Out of this realization, Scribe's Helper was born.
I am still building my professional proofreading and editing resume. To facilitate this, I am currently offering to proofread and edit 10-30 pages of any work-in-progress for free, in exchange for adding the author and their book to my resume. This is a great deal, and provides first time authors with a glimpse into the editing process.
If you would like me to proof your work-in-progress, email me at sarah@scribeshelper.com.
Good luck out there!
Everyone I know who reads as much as I do is also a writer in some fashion or form. Whether it be the occasional blog for enjoyment, freelance writing assignments, journaling, or hatching plans for that great novel or autobiography, readers often become writers. I started looking for online writing classes just to fill some extra time in my schedule, but discovered that I enjoyed the assignments much more than I expected. I am currently working on a serial based on one of the characters I developed as part of one of my writing classes.
It was about this time in my journey that I realized that perhaps it was time for me to find a new career. I like my job, and it's very easy most of the time, but I have done about as much as I can in this company. As I was studying the process for publishing books online, I realized that there was a need for inexpensive editors and proofreaders. This was a service I could provide. Out of this realization, Scribe's Helper was born.
I am still building my professional proofreading and editing resume. To facilitate this, I am currently offering to proofread and edit 10-30 pages of any work-in-progress for free, in exchange for adding the author and their book to my resume. This is a great deal, and provides first time authors with a glimpse into the editing process.
If you would like me to proof your work-in-progress, email me at sarah@scribeshelper.com.
Good luck out there!
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