My experience with “Creative Writing Bootcamp: Start a Brand New Story” was both rewarding and challenging. This course is ideal for writers and aspiring authors, whether you’re a beginner or an experienced writer. But really, it can be suited to anyone, as it provides valuable insights and tools to generate ideas, view the world differently, and enhance your storytelling skills. Myla Goldberg’s engaging teaching style encourages fresh perspectives, making it suitable not only for writers but for visual artists and anyone seeking creative inspiration as well.
Table of Contents
What is the "Creative Writing Bootcamp"?
“Creative Writing Bootcamp: Start a Brand New Story” is an engaging and dynamic course offered on Skillshare. Presented by Myla Goldberg, a bestselling author, the course consists of 14 lessons with a total duration of 58 minutes. This course is designed to help writers unleash their creativity and generate compelling story ideas. It aims to guide learners through a series of exercises that will help them view the world from fresh perspectives, create relatable characters, and develop engaging dialogues. The course aims to inspire you to break free from conventional writing boundaries and craft stories that resonate with readers.
Who is Myla Goldberg?
Myla Goldberg is an accomplished and bestselling author known for her works such as “Feast Your Eyes,” “The False Friend,” “Wickett’s Remedy,” and “Bee Season,” which has been adapted as a film. Beyond writing, Myla Goldberg leads fiction workshops both in New York City and online, sharing her knowledge and passion for storytelling. Her unique teaching style blends creativity and humor and offers a fresh perspective on creative writing.
Who is this course's target audience?
This course is designed for writers and aspiring authors seeking to boost their creative writing skills and find new inspiration for their stories. It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner writer excited to learn more about creative writing or an experienced writer aiming to overcome creative obstacles and explore new approaches because this course is suitable for learners of all levels. Myla Goldberg’s fun and engaging teaching style, paired with practical exercises, provides valuable information for anyone with a passion for storytelling and a desire to unlock their creative potential.
What topics does Myla Goldberg cover?
- Introduction: In this section, Myla provides an overview of the course and what to expect from the lessons.
- Where Do Ideas Come From?: You will learn techniques for generating creative story ideas in this section.
- Writing Your Least Favorite Person: This section is about learning how to write from the perspective of a person you might not like.
- Creating an Empathy Venn Diagram: In this section, Myla teaches you how to develop empathy for your characters and write with depth.
- Eavesdropping for Inspiration: You’ll discover how to use real conversations as inspiration for your writing in this section.
- What Did That Feel Like?: This section is about capturing emotions and sensations effectively in your writing.
- Creating a Conversation: You will master the art of writing engaging and authentic dialogue in this section.
- Building a Character: In this section, you will learn the basic questions you need to ask yourself to create compelling characters for your stories.
- Writing Real-Feeling People: Dive deeper into writing characters that feel authentic and relatable in this section.
- Being a Tree: Myla teaches you how to use memory to write vivid and immersive settings for your stories in this section.
- Creating a Setting: Develop settings that come alive in your writing with the insights provided in this section.
- Writing What You Don’t Know: You’ll learn to disregard the notion of “writing what you know” and expand your creative horizons.
- Final Thoughts: Myla wraps up the course and encourages you to keep on writing and expanding the exercises in the course.
What I liked about the course
Myla’s approach. I loved that it was both practical and fun. Myla’s teaching style made every lesson enjoyable and dynamic. The exercises in each lesson allowed me to get my hands on the concepts learned right away, giving me a better understanding of them.
Getting out of my comfort zone. The course pushes students out of their comfort zones and encourages them to think from different perspectives, a lesson that was particularly valuable. Myla’s emphasis on viewing the world through the eyes of a child or a tourist made me rethink my approach to life, and writing about someone I dislike, though challenging, made me further develop my empathy abilities.
The course’s straightforward and easy-to-understand explanations. Myla’s clear communication style makes complex concepts accessible to learners of all levels.
Myla’s perspective on personal fiction. She encourages students to use their ideas and experiences in their writing. Her distinction between making it personal versus autobiographical left me thinking of ways to improve my writing using her approach.
What I didn't like about the course
While I understand the value of stepping outside one’s comfort zone, I found it quite challenging to write from the point of view of a person I didn’t like. It was a valuable exercise, but it was personally difficult.
The course lacks formal techniques. If someone is seeking a more structured and organized approach to creative writing, this course may not align with their preferences. The techniques introduced in the course tend to blend into one another without a clear step-by-step process, making it more of an empirical exploration.
The unconventional approach of the instructor might not be suitable for everyone. Some learners may find Myla Goldberg’s teaching style to be chaotic and unconventional. While I appreciated this aspect, it may not appeal to everyone.
These are just minor drawbacks in an otherwise engaging and insightful course.
How much does the course cost?
Courses on Skillshare can not be bought individually – they can only be accessed by signing up for a Skillshare membership. The good news? Skillshare offers e-student.org learners a full month free trial if you use our link (if not using our link, there is normally only a 7-day free trial). As virtually all Skillshare courses will take you less than a month to complete, you can in effect take this or any other Skillshare course for free – or any number of courses that you can finish in a month.
Once your free trial is over, the cost of Skillshare is $165 per year, which averages out to $13.75 per month. This gives you full access to all 34,000+ Skillshare courses. But if you're not happy to continue, you can easily cancel any time before your free trial ends – just go to your payment settings in your account.
If you have no need for a free trial, you can instead get %30 discount on your first year by using this special link instead. With this link, your first year will be just $115.50, averaging out to $9.63 per month. Note that this offer is only valid for new accounts, so it can't be combined with the 30-day free trial.
Conclusion and recommendations
In my opinion, “Creative Writing Bootcamp: Start a Brand New Story” by Myla Goldberg on Skillshare is a great choice for learning different approaches and perspectives when it comes to creative writing. The course provides valuable lessons on the creative writing process and helps you generate new ideas, explore different perspectives, and improve your storytelling skills. Myla’s dynamic and engaging teaching style pushes you out of your comfort zone and encourages you to view the world with a fresh perspective, which I found incredibly interesting.
The idea that everything you write makes you a better writer is one of the best lessons of the course, and I believe she is right. You can only gain experience in an activity by doing said activity, and I plan to apply this notion to my writing and also to other areas of my life. I would recommend this course to anyone interested in the art of storytelling, whether you’re a writer, visual artist, or simply looking to expand your creativity. It has the potential to transform your storytelling abilities and help you see the world in a new light. Don’t be afraid to escape from your routine every now and then to find inspiration!
