Dear Milli: Help! I’m an editor and a technical writer and have managed to frighten my inner writer into the depths of a deep, dark, musty coat closet, where she survives on the occasional crust of bread and sip of water. There are characters in my head—I fall asleep thinking about them every night lately—and I have an idea for a world that I’m really enthusiastic about, but all of it is flat as a pancake when I try to write about it. I’m so frustrated! May I please take your course? Thanks!

—Beth Brooks, Editor & President, Paraphrase, Inc., Clinton, New Jersey

IF YOU’RE FEELING blocked or creatively jaded, we can help. If you’ve been longing to write but never quite had the nerve the start, then this course is the ticket to adventure you’ve been waiting for!

Our creative writing course is an 8-week festival of fun. Features of our course include

* Orientation, a separate mini-course, to help you settle in and make the most of your eight weeks

* 18 assignments designed to unleash your creativity and put the fun back into writing

* Guidance on avoiding self-sabotage (a common but deceptive pitfall for creative types)

* Pacing tools to help you finish all 18 assignments and graduate on time

* Bonus e-book exclusive to this course, Face Reading for Writers, which is used in one of the assignments

* Special support section: “16 Ways to Get in the Mood to Do Your Next Assignment”

* Your own student blog (inside the course, so not visible to the outside world) in case you want to do some extra writing

* Eligibility to enroll in our graduate course, where you can sustain the momentum you’ll gain in this course

WHEN DOES THE COURSE START?
WHAT HAPPENS DURING THE COURSE?

There’s no official start date; enroll any time you’re ready. You’ll take this course as an individual rather than as part of a class.

So . . . how can you know whether you’re ready to enroll? This section on how our course is paced will help you decide. As you read, think about whether you’re willing to carve out writing time every week for 8 weeks.

* There are 18 writing assignments—but no strict word count. You determine how much you write for each assignment.

* During Week 1 and 2, students are typically keen to do some extra writing. That’s when we expect you to do three (straightforward and fun) assignments per week.

* After the second week, students sometimes meet their inner resistance and have to try a little harder. We bump you down to two assignments per week for the remaining six weeks.

* Your graduation date will be 8 weeks from the day you submit your first assignment. After that date, your login will expire. Just as in school, having a deadline can be very motivational!

* We’ll provide you with various tools to help you pace yourself—including an assignment checklist and training on how to avoid pacing blow-outs.

* You can request an extension if you need one, providing its for legitimate reasons; eg. illness or an unexpected work trip. We usually don’t grant extensions just because you’re busy. Being too busy to write is one of the enemies this course is trying to help you overcome—so please make sure you have TIME TO WRITE before you enroll.

Our aim is to help you learn to write on a regular basis, which is one of the keys to overcoming writing paralysis. The other golden key is having fun, and fun is built in to our curriculum.

If you follow our expert guidance you’ll do great. During orientation (which is after you login) we’ll provide you with the secrets for success. Success means enjoying the writing, finishing all 18 assignments and graduating on time. You can do it!