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

4.5
stars
1,864 ratings

About the Course

At the center of a good story are the characters in it. In this course aspiring writers will discover how to build and bring to life complex, vivid and unforgettable characters. We will study the choices a writer makes to bring all characters to life on the page, and we will perform written exercises in order to develop a variety of writing and pre-writing techniques, in order to create a variety of characters. We will learn how to use our own life experiences, and the people we know (and how not to!). We will develop inner (thoughts and feelings) and outer (appearance, habits, behavior) lives for our characters and see how that can lead us to richer and more interesting stories. We will breathe life into our characters and let them surprise us....

Top reviews

SS

Aug 10, 2016

I loved this course! Extremely useful and hands on. The course instructor was really impressive, both informative and empathetic, both arty and to the point. Totally admired her style of instruction.

NM

Sep 25, 2020

The course was very well-structured and challenging. The instructor is very experienced and good, thus used relevant materials for this course, be it the guests, or the assignments, or the examples.

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101 - 125 of 551 Reviews for Creative Writing: The Craft of Character

By Kelly D W

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May 5, 2016

This was a great course...so much detail and she asked to many questions that it really makes you think and then helps you to determine how to apply it to your story. Amy Bloom was very easy to listen to and learn from. The assignments were thought provoking and definitely helped me to hone my writing skills.

By Lisa D

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Jun 8, 2018

I think this is a phenomenal class that really helps you get into the head of your characters! I love all the amazing writers that are brought in through the Coursera community to teach and lecture! I really felt like I have pushed myself and learned something through taking these classes! Outstanding.

By Sebastien M

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Sep 5, 2017

This course was great for stretching me into area I was looking to improve on. I knew from my writing I needed to get out of doing certain habit because it seemed monotonous to read. Amy did a great job of jarring me from my ruts. I think this has opened up my writing a bit more also. Thank you Amy.

By Maria-Isabel C

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Feb 11, 2021

I highly recommend this course for the beginner writer. Ms. Amy Bloom is a great writer and lecturer! I really enjoyed the way she guided the course and how she presented this subject. It was easy to follow and definitely encouraged me to continue preparing myself to become a writer. Thank you!

By Matt D

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Jul 5, 2017

Amy Bloom has a way about her that makes it very easy to receive her information, to take it in and digest it. There is a bounty of excellent teaching in this course, a variety of different perspectives on how to sculpt characters that I would've probably never encountered otherwise. Thanks, Amy!

By Cornelia B

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Jan 22, 2019

Amy Bloom's way of taking you right down to the essence of things brings a debth to your understanding of creative writing and ups your work. Her focus in the course on character and how to reveal this critical part of your writing is an essential tool any aspiring writer should have. A must do!

By Carlos M

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Dec 29, 2016

I loved how Amy Bloom gives us advice about writing believable, complex and alive characters. The course was excellent in every aspect. I loved the peer-reviewed assignments, the video lectures and the interviews. Definitely, one of the most useful courses out there to learn about characters!

By Elspeth H

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Mar 21, 2016

The course was very helpful in navigating new ways to approach character building and finding their voice. Along with the other classes in this specialization, I feel anyone looking to improve on their writing should take this course to build stronger stories and write believable characters.

By Matthias N Y

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Mar 21, 2018

I leaned many things I didn't know before. Many Thanks Amy Bloom. I liked the way you were speaking very slow and softly. You have in mind the English language skill of all students, especially those from Africa. I highly appreciate your style. Thanks Mum, you inspired me to be a writer.

By Eliana H

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Nov 1, 2019

It was an amazing experience, I learned a lot with all the material. The teacher and the professionals in the interviews were really helpful to advance and of course the other students opinions in the assignments makes me improve myself as writer, thank you so much for this oportunity.

By Ibrahim N

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Nov 24, 2016

I don't know how to thank Amy Bloom for this course. Her positive aura and the help of the other writers taught me a lof things about creative approaches for creating a character and all other stuff about character creating. Thank you very much. I'll continue to the specialization.

By Melannie F I R D C

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May 28, 2020

An informative and enjoyable creative writing course with engaging writing prompts that help learners review and practice various story writing techniques and approaches.

it's good both for those learning how to write stories and those wanting to hone their story writing skills.

By Catherine C

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May 14, 2018

I already submitted a request for financial aid for creative writing specialization I don't know why it's not enabling me to access the homeworks please help me :( The financial aid was approved for this specialization why is it that they only let me access the first one??? :-(

By Jose A P M

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Jun 29, 2017

The interviews with professional writers are great! It's good to listen to people who are working with their minds and points of view and how they use that to create. Professor Amy Bloom has a great pedagogic skill. She asks the right questions and gives us great explanations.

By Annette B

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Mar 13, 2016

Another 5-star Wesleyan University creative writing course. Again, if you want to submit assignments and receive feedback from peers, this is not permitted if you're auditing the course. That aside, this course helps you consider character development on a more complex level.

By Ole D J

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Feb 19, 2018

Awesome course.

Can feel the missing pieces slowly fall together in my writing for every assignment.

So happy this and the other related courses were made available on Coursera.

Will mention the author as well as this course in my first book if I manage to get it published.

By Erin G

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Feb 26, 2021

I learned a lot of new skills in this course, not just about character development — also learned to sketch out the whole character arc and then choose which details to use in the scene, as well as which point of view best presents the character — that was invaluable!

By TS A

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May 19, 2020

The teacher was wonderful. I learned a lot from this course and I was anxious to go on. I want to thank her for her inspiration. After taking courses on Coursea for years (mostly computer related, some history), these two courses thus far have been the best of all.

By Beata S

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Dec 11, 2021

The course offers a lot of insight into building your characters for fiction writing. The assignments are a little challenging and at times may seem to be loosely related to the instruction videos, but they will work wonders in expanding your horizons as a writer.

By Sonia F

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Sep 1, 2017

I've learnt a lot on this course specifically about character. I'm enrolled for all of the courses, as they are complimentary and some of the suggestions and tricks really make the difference to how I look at writing now. Thanks to Amy Bloom and her guests!

By Hui J H

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May 23, 2019

Auditing this course was a great insight to many writers' own method and approach to the ideas of character, dialogue and voice! It was incredibly informative and I will be trying these suggestions out in my own writing exercises. Thank you team!

By Holly M

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May 30, 2018

The second assignment is a bit confusing, but check the forums and it's better described. I loved the other assignments. I wish there was a bit more "teaching" and less interviews with authors. I loved learning about dialogue and point of view.

By Chloedale C C

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Nov 20, 2016

I feel very inspired especially learning from the interviews. Even when I know I can't afford the course, just watching and listening to the videos is enough for me. The videos are educational, hinting famous stories that I would love to read.

By Victor M

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Nov 30, 2020

It's a great course with extensive writing and course material. As a budding writer, i had been struggling to navigate the Character Development aspect of Creative Writing. Currently, i can do it in a heartbeat. Would recommend it to anyone.

By Khushboo K

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Aug 24, 2020

I loved how Amy Bloom has inserted images in between the videos explaining about the craft of character. I love the eloquent description with examples that made the course easy to understand and I felt confident while doing the assignments.