30 resources · 27 free
Writing & Storytelling
Write and tell stories — articles, books, scripts, and narrative craft.
Starting to write
Creative writing for absolute beginners by Louise Tondeur: build a writing habit, write without waiting for a big idea, word sketches, sense impressions, drafting and redrafting. 35 lectures, ~48m, English. Updated 9/2020.
Copyright made easy
Taught by a licensed attorney (Chris du Toit): choose the right protection (Copyright vs Patent vs Trademark), what copyright means, how to register and strengthen protection for your work. 8 lectures, ~1h 36m, English. US copyright law only. Updated 12/2014.
Writing With Flair: How To Become An Exceptional Writer
Bestseller by Shani Raja (former Wall Street Journal editor, 160K+ students): the SCEE system — Simplicity, Clarity, Elegance, Evocativeness — with live edits, workbook, and an AI-prompting bonus lecture. ~7h intensive, English.
The Complete Content Writing Course for 2026 - 3 courses in 1
Complete content writing course for 2026 — three courses in one: blog writing, copywriting, and content strategy craft.
Purdue OWL — General Writing
Purdue University's Online Writing Lab is a free, comprehensive writing reference library. It teaches grammar, punctuation, style, and citation through structured guides with examples, plus discipline-specific writing resources for academic and professional work. Students, academics, and working writers use it to improve drafts, research papers, and workplace documents. Maintained by Purdue for over two decades, it is one of the most widely cited writing resources on the web.
Reedsy Learning Free Writing Courses
Reedsy Learning offers free, self-paced writing courses taught by published authors and industry editors. Each course covers one focused craft topic, from story structure and dialogue to character development and publishing, with short lessons and practical exercises to apply as you learn. Aspiring novelists and short story writers build fundamentals lesson by lesson at their own pace. Backed by the Reedsy publishing platform, the catalog includes hundreds of courses available at no cost.
The Write Practice
The Write Practice is a deliberate-practice surface where writers actually do the craft: timed writing prompts, daily exercises, and published learner work with community feedback. It pairs these practice sessions with craft articles on scenes, dialogue, and story structure so each session teaches as you write. Beginners through working authors use it to build a consistent writing habit. Founded by author Joe Bunting in 2011, it has guided over 100,000 writers toward publication.
Lex Fridman Podcast Transcript Archive
The Lex Fridman Podcast transcript archive publishes the full text of every episode, from long-form conversations with AI researchers, physicists and public figures. Transcripts are timestamped and linked to the video, making hours-long technical interviews skimmable as studied reading material on AI, science and philosophy. Free to read on the podcast's official site, which also hosts show notes and episode references.
MathWorld
Free mathematics encyclopedia from Wolfram Research with thousands of articles covering formulas, theorems, and definitions across all areas of math. Each entry teaches a concept with full derivations and examples, making it a reference that genuinely instructs rather than just defines terms.
Brandon Sanderson Creative Writing Lectures (BYU)
A full semester of creative writing lectures from Brandon Sanderson's BYU course, free on YouTube: 13+ classes covering plot, viewpoint, worldbuilding, character, short stories, and publishing. Each lecture is an expert-led deep-dive from a best-selling author who has taught the course for two decades. Perfect studied material for aspiring fiction writers, with new lecture years added regularly.
Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab)
The Purdue Online Writing Lab, the web's most-used free writing reference: citation and formatting guides for MLA, APA and Chicago styles, grammar and mechanics handbooks, academic, professional and creative writing resources, ESL material and exercises. Maintained by Purdue University; the standard starting point for students, writers and teachers worldwide for style and research writing.
Hemingway Editor
Free web app that analyzes your writing in real time, highlighting long sentences, passive voice, adverbs and complex phrases, then scores overall readability. It teaches concise, forceful style by showing exactly what to fix and letting you rewrite until the score improves; a paid desktop version adds export and formatting. Useful for essayists, bloggers and storytellers who learn by editing.
r/writing Wiki
Wiki of Reddit's largest writing community, containing genre guides, craft resources, publishing advice, critique group recommendations and answers to perennial beginner questions, backed by an active forum where members share drafts for feedback and discuss the craft daily. Free community knowledge for fiction and non-fiction writers at every stage of their journey.
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MasterClass Articles (Writing)
MasterClass's free article library where instructors like Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood, James Patterson and David Sedaris share condensed lessons on plot, character, voice, dialogue and publishing. Free to read without any subscription; complements the paid video courses. Valuable as quick studied material for aspiring fiction, memoir and screenwriting students.
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Writing Excuses Podcast
Award-winning 15-minute weekly podcast for writers, hosted across 21+ seasons by pros including Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Howard Tayler, DongWon Song and Erin Roberts. Each episode tackles one craft topic from story structure and character to worldbuilding and process, ending with a homework prompt to practice. Free back catalog ideal for fiction writers.
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NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month)
National Novel Writing Month's free site offering the annual November challenge to draft 50,000 words, plus structured writing sprints, pep talks, workbooks and a global community of novelists. Year-round resources and regional forums help writers set goals, plan plots and finish drafts together. Free for participants; suited to anyone who learns by doing and needs community accountability.
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Coursera: Creative Writing Specialization (Wesleyan University)
Wesleyan University's five-course Creative Writing specialization covering plot, character, setting and description, and style, with a capstone where learners draft, revise and complete an original story. Includes peer review from thousands of fellow writers worldwide. Free to audit with a paid certificate option; aimed at aspiring short story, narrative essay and memoir writers.
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Write Your First Novel (Coursera / Michigan State University)
Free-to-audit 26-module MOOC that takes you from idea to a finished 50,000-word manuscript, with weekly writing assignments and peer reviews. You learn to pitch your concept, profile characters, outline chapters, and complete a polished draft plus agent-ready synopsis. Built for beginner fiction writers who need structure and deadlines to finish a full novel. One of the most hands-on free novel-writing courses available, taught by Michigan State University.
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Writing for Young Readers: Opening the Treasure Chest
Free-to-audit children's book writing course from the Commonwealth Education Trust, with video lectures, peer reviews, and guest appearances by world-renowned children's authors. You practice narrative elements (character, setting, plot, theme, dialogue), self-editing, and publishing options, building a 10-12 extract writing portfolio. Ideal for aspiring picture-book, middle-grade, and YA writers. A rare free structured path into children's literature.
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Grammarly Handbook
Free, searchable grammar reference covering parts of speech, syntax rules, punctuation, capitalization, and common grammar mistakes, each with clear examples and plain-English explanations. You learn to identify and fix the errors that undermine credibility in any writing. Useful for students, professionals, and non-native English writers at any level. A practical companion to any writing course or editing workflow.
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Scriptnotes
Long-running screenwriting podcast hosted by John August (Big Fish, Aladdin) and Craig Mazin (Chernobyl, The Last of Us) covering craft, the business of Hollywood, and real-world screenwriting problems. Listeners learn dialogue, structure, rewriting, and career navigation through hundreds of free episodes plus the Three Page Challenge. Essential listening for aspiring and working screenwriters. The main feed is free; premium seasons are optional extras.
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Poets.org — Academy of American Poets
Free poetry hub with thousands of poems, poet biographies, essays, audio recordings, and teaching materials, plus the daily Poem-a-Day email. You learn poetic forms, techniques, and craft by reading and hearing established and emerging poets. Great for poetry writers, students, and teachers looking for models and inspiration. One of the most authoritative free poetry archives on the web.
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TV Tropes
Massive community wiki cataloguing the recurring patterns, archetypes, and plot devices used across fiction, film, TV, and games. Writers use it to study story structure, character conventions, and audience expectations with thousands of concrete examples. You learn what readers already recognize so you can use, subvert, or avoid familiar tropes deliberately. An endlessly browsable storytelling reference for fiction writers.
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Helping Writers Become Authors
Free craft blog by K.M. Weiland, author of Structuring Your Novel and Creating Character Arcs, with hundreds of in-depth articles on story structure, character arcs, theme, and revision. You learn how to build satisfying endings, choose the right character arc, and strengthen plot-theme unity. Ideal for fiction writers who want theory-backed, actionable structure guidance. Complements the site's free downloadable writing worksheets.
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Query Shark
Archive of real query-letter critiques by late literary agent Janet Reid, line-editing actual submissions and explaining what works and what kills a query. You learn the query formula (want, obstacle, stakes), how to write hooks and comps, and what agents actually screen for. Indispensable for any novelist preparing to query agents or self-publish. The archived posts remain the best free query-letter school on the internet.
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Creative Writing Exercises
Completely free collection of writing-prompt generators and creative exercises: plot generators, character development prompts, first-line generators, and anagram word games. You practice idea generation and break through writer's block with randomized constraints. Perfect for daily warm-ups, classroom activities, and anyone stuck for a starting point. A quick, no-signup interactive toolkit for writers.
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Brevity — A Journal of Concise Literary Nonfiction
Free online journal devoted to concise literary nonfiction (essays under 750 words) alongside a substantial teaching-resources section with craft essays, prompts, and writing exercises. You study memoir and creative nonfiction technique through published model essays and craft discussions. Ideal for memoir writers, essayists, and teachers of nonfiction. Reading great short essays is one of the fastest ways to learn the genre.
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The Elements of Style (Project Gutenberg)
Free public-domain ebook of William Strunk's classic style manual — the original 'little book' later expanded into Strunk & White — covering elementary rules of usage, composition, and style. You learn timeless principles like omitting needless words and writing in a clear, forceful voice. A foundational text for anyone serious about English prose. Available free in every ebook format.
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BBC Writers — Scriptwriting Resources
Official BBC hub of free scriptwriting resources: Scriptwriting Essentials video series, scriptwriting glossary, John Yorke's 10 Questions for story development, writing toolkits, and a script library of hundreds of BBC TV, radio, and film scripts. You learn the whole script journey from idea to rewrite, and study professional scripts for free. The definitive free resource for TV, radio, and film writers, especially in the UK.
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Hello Future Me
Free YouTube channel with in-depth video essays on worldbuilding, magic systems, character writing, and story structure in fantasy and sci-fi. You learn how to build consistent fictional worlds and craft compelling protagonists through detailed analysis of books, shows, and games. Ideal for speculative fiction writers and worldbuilders. Combines literary theory with practical, actionable craft advice.
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18 more resources in Writing & Storytelling
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