Gotham Writers' Workshop

With a 'Best of the Web' rating from Forbes, the Gotham Writers's Workshop offers a number of writing classes in 'more than a dozen forms of writing'. They are based in New York City and you can take their classes on location or online.

I took their Fiction Writing I online class a few years ago and LOVED it. I got issued log-in information and was able to explore the class before the first lecture went up. Our teacher posted these lectures weekly and what I loved about it was that I got to work on it when I wanted to. Not famed for my organizational skills, I had a nagging feeling when I enrolled that I would be frantically doing my assignments in the middle of the night before the weekly deadline to submit passed but I found the content engaging and motivating and managed to stay on top of my work easily.

I felt that the coursework was well constructed and I learned a lot. I got clear, constructive feedback from my teacher and well-meaning, though not always constructive feedback from my classmates. Overall, I loved the experience and would especially recommend it to someone who likes to work at their own pace and who can't afford to go to New York City! Gotham Writers' Workshop offers a bunch of different classes and elevated levels of some classes so if you are thinking of taking a class make sure that it's the right one for you.

Apart from any struggles with time-management, the only drawback that I can see from an online course like this might be for someone who is not used to, or sensitive about receiving feedback about their writing. When comments turn up about a labour of love that you posted for the group to critique, they are in black and white in front of you and it can be hard to judge the tone in which it is meant. When I took the course I hadn't received much feedback and although there were a few cringes, I found that it taught me to embrace and receive criticism for which I am grateful to this day.

For more information check out their site