So You Want to Be a Writer? Learn How—and Earn CEUs—With Online Courses
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“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” –Maya Angelou
Are you ready to fulfill the dream of writing that novel, but want to brush up on your grammar before committing pen to pad? The online resources available to a burgeoning writer are extensive and impressive, and best of all, many courses offer continuing education units (CEUs) when you create and finish your online curriculum.
Gain professional expertise for free
If you’re in the market to hone or expand your prose proficiency, UniversalClass is a great place to start. Not only does the institution offer online courses that cover myriad subjects, it also offers more than 55 courses devoted to writing. Below is a small sample of the classes available:
- Creative: Creative Writing, Humor Writing, Novel Writing
- The Basics: ABCs of English Grammar, Spelling, Writing Improvement
- Non-fiction: Journalism, Nonfiction Writing, Travel Writing
- Professional: Business Writing, How to Write Case Studies, SEO Copywriting
Most public libraries provide free access to continuing education organizations as a benefit of membership, so check with yours to see what’s available. If your library doesn’t include UniversalClass, it likely has a comparable resource. (See the list of Resources at the end of this article to find alternate institutions.)
CEUs give credit where credit’s due
CEUs are a great way to improve your proficiency in — or brush up on — a skill. According to the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET), the governing authority for continuing education, one CEU is equivalent to 10 hours of work on a qualified online course. Each course you complete through an accredited provider earns a certain amount of CEUs, depending on the course length. Often the participant will also earn a certificate upon completion, something that can be added to a resume to illustrate new and/or improved skills.
Create your optimal online curriculum
One major advantage of online courses is the ability to design your own online curriculum, then complete the lessons at your own pace. Do you want to learn more about marketing? Add Marketing 101, Advertising Writing, and Marketing Outreach to your curriculum. If you’d rather be a romance writer, sign up for Romance Writing and Paranormal Romance Writing. The lessons and assignments don’t have hard deadlines, so you can do the work on your own schedule.
Resources
Here are some sites that offer classes on diverse subjects. (Note that not all of them offer CEUs—make sure to verify before enrolling.)
“Always be a poet, even in prose.” –Charles Baudelaire
Kathy Mar 