What do online creative writing courses have to do with your freelance writing career? One of the great things about writing is that there is always more to learn, new techniques that you can apply within your pieces, and more styles that you can emulate.

Some of the biggest steps I have taken as a writer have come from reading particularly well written books; there is something within the pages that my brain recognizes as a key writing style and I will tend to incorporate that into my own writing without even really thinking about it.

Creative Writing: your biggest goal?

Creative writing is probably the number one goal for almost any writer, even those with well established reputations in other fields. I once read an editorial, for example, in which the writer confessed that although she had been in the newspaper business for twenty years, her computer and her desk were full of short stories, unfinished novels, and even poetry. That inner artist is still around, even for those who have made a living doing what I call “practical writing”.

Losing the creative juice

Although writing for websites and newspapers and so on will definitely help you pay the bills and make a little extra as well, it can suck the creative juices right out of you.

When I first started my business, my goal was to use the money I made to get the family through while I started my destined-to-be-best-selling novel about opportunities missed in life and the importance of being able to rebuild.

The problem was that as soon as I started to make money writing what other people wanted me to, I realized that it could turn into a real career (as far as problems go, not a big one to have). I soon started to concentrate my efforts on finding more jobs instead of coming up with ideas and plots.

A year and a half later, I realized that my ability to reach people on a gut level with my writing no longer came as naturally. Where I had once been able to turn a phrase that could start someone roaring with laughter, make them think, or put them on the edge of tears, now all I could think about was the maximum number of words that should be put into a sentence meant for an Internet audience.

In fact it has become so bad that I am starting to write more and more like the typical Internet writer; I even get my “there” and “their” confused from time to time.

Reawaken the right brain

Because I don’t want to lose the ability to write creatively, I decided that I would look around to see what I could do to reawaken that part of my brain. I happened to run into a local author I knew from university at a social event, and she suggested that I try taking a course on creative writing.

The university is in my city, so I went ahead and enrolled. I definitely learned some things that helped me to hone my writing skills, but I think that more importantly I was exposed to authors who were using their writing skills to create again, not just to sell.

Nothing local? Go online

Many writers don’t have the time or proximity to attend a university course on creative writing, but there are plenty of opportunities to do so on the Internet.

You can take an ongoing course, to stay in the flow with it. Thomson Education offers 18 month online creative writing courses. Or you can go for 6 weeks online creative writing courses with Gotham’s Writers Workshop.

Taking an online creative writing course is a great way to keep the interesting parts of your writing career alive without having to take too much time away from your practical writing. You may not ever write that novel you want to, but getting the creative juices flowing again is a great way to rejuvenate your commitment to your freelance writing career.