Creative Writing for Beginners: Bringing Your Story to Life
A course by Shaun Levin , Author and Creative Writing Teacher
Learn how to sketch with words and use the details of your imagination to write a memorable story
Learn how to sketch with words and use the details of your imagination to write a memorable story
An impactful story—like any artform—starts with a gathering of ideas and scenes. Out of these pieces, we begin to shape our own personal narrative and develop compelling stories. Shaun Levin is a published author and creative writing teacher with over twenty years of experience, and in this course, he shows you how to delve into your imagination to find everything you’ll need to become a prolific writer, no matter where you are.
Discover a series of practical exercises intended to sharpen your voice as a writer and develop a complete written piece inspired by a subject you are passionate about.
What will you learn in this online course?
15 lessons & 11 downloads
- 99% positive reviews (1.6K)
- 57,489 students
- 15 lessons (2h 2m)
- 11 additional resources (2 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: English, Turkish
- English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
What is this course's project?
Write a story ready to share online or submit for publication about something you are passionate about. Use a series of techniques to sharpen your voice as a writer, and see how to edit and rewrite your work from start to finish.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
For writers of all levels who want to learn new ways to develop their ideas into stories, and go back to the basics of observing, describing, and finding inspiration in everyday life. This course is also suitable for creative writing teachers who want to explore practical and surprising ways to approach the blank page.
Requirements and materials
No previous writing experience is necessary, only a willingness to delve into your imagination and express your ideas.
As for materials, you’ll need pens, pencils, and two or three different sized notebooks.
Reviews
A course by Shaun Levin
Shaun Levin is a writer and creative writing teacher from South Africa who is based in Madrid. He also lived and wrote for many years in Tel Aviv and London. His writing has always been prompted by reading and closely examining the books he loves. He went on to study literature at university and soon started to get his stories published in magazines and anthologies. His passion for books has led him to a parallel career in bookbinding and producing handmade books.
Shaun has over twenty years of experience teaching creative writing in colleges, schools, art galleries, and other settings. He has published several novels and short story collections, including Alone with a Man in a Room, Seven Sweet Things, and Snapshots of The Boy, as well as three guides for writers taking on book-length projects, The Writing Notebooks. Today, Shaun continues to teach creative writing and work on his next novel and collection of short stories.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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About Me
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Influences
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What We Will Do in the Course?
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U2
How to Slow Down and Start Writing Immediately
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Materials
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Techniques to Write Everywhere
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Techniques to Approach a Single Subject
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Techniques for Sketching with Words
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When You Get Stuck
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U3
How to Create Impact and Surprise in Your Stories
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How to Look at a Strawberry
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The History of Your Feet
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What’s More Important, the Facts or the Story?
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Our Final Story
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U4
How to Shape a Story
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Editing and Rewriting
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Share Your Work with the World
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Final Tips (Future Projects)
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FP
Final project
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Creative Writing for Beginners: Bringing Your Story to Life
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What to expect from a Domestika course
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Learn at your own pace
Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.
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Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
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Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
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Certificates
PlusIf you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.
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Get front-row seats
Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.
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Share knowledge and ideas
Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.
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Connect with a global creative community
The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.
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Watch professionally produced courses
Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.
FAQs
Domestika's courses are online classes that provide you with the tools and skills you need to complete a specific project. Every step of the project combines video lessons with complementary instructional material, so you can learn by doing. Domestika's courses also allow you to share your own projects with the teacher and with other students, creating a dynamic course community.
All courses are 100% online, so once they're published, courses start and finish whenever you want. You set the pace of the class. You can go back to review what interests you most and skip what you already know, ask questions, answer questions, share your projects, and more.
The courses are divided into different units. Each one includes lessons, informational text, tasks, and practice exercises to help you carry out your project step by step, with additional complementary resources and downloads. You'll also have access to an exclusive forum where you can interact with the teacher and with other students, as well as share your work and your course project, creating a community around the course.
You can redeem the course you received by accessing the redeeming page and entering your gift code.
jcandye
I'm a writer who has lost the joy of writing. I took all the advice that says, "Just get it down as fast as you can," and "You have to treat it like your job," and there went the whole reason I started writing. This course took me back to when I first started writing; slow, intentional, and immersive. I highly recommend this for anyone who wants to learn creative writing in an intentional and fun way. Don't lose your joy, but if you do, this can help you get it back <3
monica_atzeni
Shaun è un comunicatore ed un insegnante molto bravo per i miei gusti, questo è già il secondo corso domestika che seguo con lui perché riesce a sviluppare creatività nei miei pensieri con i suoi preziosi suggerimenti e mi piacciono le storie che scrive e come ha influenzato la mia scrittura.
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brandi.willey
PlusThis course really helped me as someone with zero experience in creative writing. I have continued my writing and revisit these exercises regularly.
rashmy.sita
PlusJ'ai déjà aimé dès la présentation de ce cours. Le professeur explique super bien et le cours est génial merci beaucoup.
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mrsyanzonuae
PlusThis course motivated me to write again. I did not get bored watching all the short lectures.