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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Creative Writing: The Craft of Plot by Wesleyan University

4.7
stars
4,725 ratings

About the Course

In this course aspiring writers will be introduced to perhaps the most elemental and often the most challenging element of story: plot. We will learn what keeps it moving, how it manipulates our feelings, expectations, and desires. We will examine the choices storytellers make to snag our imaginations, drag them into a fictional world, and keep them there. We will learn how to outline and structure a plot, discuss narrative arc, pacing and reversals and reveal the inevitable surprise: connecting the beginning, middle and end....

Top reviews

LB

Nov 15, 2018

Great information about plot and scene structure. The information about revision was entirely new to me - thank you! The exercises were good and difficult in a good way that helped me hone my writing.

SD

Jul 13, 2020

It seems easy at the start; give it a week or two and you will be very surprised -- with yourself and your reaction to the feedback.

The instructions are easy to follow, the insights are priceless.

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1226 - 1250 of 1,595 Reviews for Creative Writing: The Craft of Plot

By Kaneria j R b

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May 17, 2020

janvi

By mohamed m

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May 12, 2020

goood

By Ryheb Y

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Apr 12, 2018

Great

By REEM M K A

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Jul 19, 2023

good

By 涂志远

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Jan 28, 2023

很有帮助

By Deleted A

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May 22, 2021

good

By trangdthsa140215

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Apr 5, 2021

good

By wisdom f

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Oct 10, 2020

Good

By Favour O

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Oct 10, 2020

Nice

By Aniketh D

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Jun 18, 2020

nice

By Nay W L

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May 8, 2020

nice

By Sameer

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Oct 5, 2018

bj

By David W

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Oct 14, 2022

e

By Sara R

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Oct 12, 2022

By Renz M

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Jun 26, 2021

By LanNTHSS150024

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Jun 5, 2021

By Javairia N

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Sep 13, 2020

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By Henry W

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Aug 23, 2017

T

By Anais D

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Sep 20, 2021

Me gustó el curso. Si te lo tomas en serio puede ser muy enriquecedor y gratificante. Uno de sus puntos más fuertes, me temo que, también, es aquel en que más flaquea. El poder tener una retroalimentación por parte de los pares del curso es muy enriquecedor, tanto para la persona que la recibe como para la persona que la hace. A mí, personalmente, me motivó mucho saber que había gente leyendo mis cuentos, que tenían opiniones sobre mis personajes y que podían reportarme si habían disfrutado o no la lectura. En consecuencia, fui mejorando la calidad de mis escritos en cada entrega, ya no solo preocupándome de que tuvieran la estructura básica, que el curso pedía como requisito, sino también en hacer algo que lograra suscitar alguna emoción en mis lectores.

El punto débil de esta dinámica es que algunas de las opiniones recibidas son realmente mediocres. Incluso en mi última tarea, que para mí fue la más importante, recibí retroalimentación de una persona que simplemente colocó "Yes" en todas las casillas. Para las personas que tienen la mala suerte de recibir estos comentarios, significa una experiencia muy frustrante después de haberle dedicado tiempo y empeño a su trabajo. No sé si la solución a este problema tendría que ver con fiscalizar las retroalimentaciones o alguna implementación de otro orden, pero, hasta que se solucione, es sin duda el aspecto más decepcionante del curso.

Aún así rescato la oportunidad que entrega Wesleyan University con este curso. La información es entregada de manera muy clara y precisa, y, en general, es un gusto para cualquier escritor encontrar un espacio de tan fácil acceso para seguir aprendiendo sobre este bello arte.

By Swagata M

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Jun 14, 2021

The course content is excellent, so is the instructor. As a beginner, I learnt too many things from this course about the craft of creative writing. From the ideas of plot, character and storylines, it successfully explains to its learners the proper ways to create a scene, constructing reliable characters and finally developing the story by concocting successive scenes. The assignments are so intelligently crafted that they help the learner accomplish all the goals promised by the course.

The only reason I am giving it 4 stars is the quite unsatisfactory experience of having my assignments reviewed by peers. After working hard on an assignment, it feels quite unfair when a peer gives a point with one-word answers or often without stating any review/feedback/comments explaining how my writing was. The system of peer-reviewed assignments itself needs to be reviewed by Coursera authorities. The best option would be the instructors themselves giving reviews. An alternative could be Coursera appointing a separate panel/group of reviewers able and accomplished in the field. Without honest and effective reviews, learning always remains incomplete.

Otherwise, the course gives excellent motivation and training in the craft of creating writing.

By Wanda J

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Jun 23, 2017

I enjoyed this course very much. The professor's lectures were easily understood and followed, and the guest speakers made each module much more clear. My only problems with the course were actually not with the course itself, but rather with the way the course is presented. Some things have been changed since the last time I took a Coursera course, namely the discussion forums, and personally I don't like the change. (Maintaining the same discussion forum, rather than having a new one for each successive group of learners. ) Learners are already being presented with a lot of information which, in some cases, can be difficult to grasp, and now they are also being asked to search through the forums to find someone they can ask for help, who may or may not still be around. Between that and trying to figure out where/who to ask for reviews so that you can get a grade for your work, it's a bit frustrating, All in all though, it's a good course.

By Yuko M

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Sep 21, 2017

Great course with clear instructions mostly by watching a video (with text). I truly enjoyed this course and how thorough it was. I especially like the structure of the video--introduction, example, and interview with a novelist. Contrary to the course description, it's not meant for non-fiction writers. It's meant exclusively for aspiring novelists. I would recommend this course if you are a beginner. Intermediate or advanced students would find this too basic. It's beneficial mostly if you want to earn a certificate and mention it on your resume. If you're looking for a comprehensive course, I would look elsewhere because the course only touches the surface. Workshopping lacked constructive input from peers so if you're looking for peers to review your work, don't count on it. Teachers don't critique your work either. But, overall, course is well made, clear and a great boost for aspiring writers (beginner stage, though).

By Julio B

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Oct 13, 2020

Among the best online introductory plot courses you're like to find. Brando Skyhorse is an outstanding teacher and writer. And the guest lecturers were outstanding as well.

As a teacher myself, I thought some of the assignments needed some tweaking, but, overall, they were solid exercises. And the students seem lovely.

Suggestions:

1) Make it a LIVE WORKSHOP style class. It would make for a lot of fun. Of course, you'd need the teacher present and interacting with the students, and that might prove problematic and impractical.

2) Make a certain level of English language proficiency a prerequisite for enrolling in the course. This is probably impractical as well given the open access nature of the course, but it would make understanding the stories less challenging. Still, I love the open access aspect of this offering, because I love interacting with students from around the world, both as a student and lecturer.

By Jay K S

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Jan 24, 2022

I really enjoyed this course. I feel that I learned some valuable lessons. Top takeaways for me are:

1) include an action in the first paragraph

2) ABDCE

3) 21 point editing checklist

The one improvement I would suggest is including the rubric with the assignment. A couple times during the course I was not clear on what the assignment was, and I left out simple things. For instance, on the last assignment, I did not include two questions for my reviewers. This is because I misinterpreted the assignment. I thought I was supposed to get one or two "trusted reader" to help me with the editing process and give them the two questions rather than include the questions in the assignment submission. I did not learn I was wrong until I read the rubric to review other people's assignments. By then it was too late for me ta add the questions to my assignment.

By Elizabeth P

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Aug 8, 2020

I learned a lot about the basics of creative writing through this course. If you're thinking of writing, but you're not sure where to start, or if you have been writing a while but need more direction, this is a great course to take. The instructor, Brandon, explains the concepts in a way that's easy to understand and uses examples from common literary works. My only problem with the course is the peer review system. It's a great opportunity to reflect on your own writing while reviewing others' work, however I feel that not many people took advantage of this opportunity. I've had some good feedback, some not so helpful, and some people who just put a single letter "z" in the feedback answer boxes just to get through the peer review section. Maybe implementing a minimum word count for the peer review would help.