College credit is now available with certificate programs! Enroll now before prices increase Oct. 26.
Online Creative Writing Programs
Refine your writing skills, explore new genres, and discover the right online creative writing program for your goals.
Interlochen Online offers a wide selection of online creative writing programs in fiction, nonfiction, scriptwriting, and other genres for writers in grade 2 through adulthood. Develop new skills in inspiring courses, dive into a specific genre or style in certificate programs, or focus on your unique interests in private lessons.
Why Take Creative Writing Online?
Do you have a short story, novel, or memoir you’ve been longing to write—but aren’t sure how to bring it to life on the page? Do you yearn to define your unique voice, explore beyond the limits of form and structure, or revise your works for college applications, competitions, or publishing opportunities? Have you been wondering how to transform your ideas into scripts for plays, movies, or narrative podcasts?
Whether you’re a complete beginner or a seasoned writer, Interlochen Online’s writing programs can help you pen the next chapter of your creative journey.
Under the guidance of instructors from Interlochen Center for the Arts—a global leader in arts education that has nurtured dozens of best-selling authors and poets—you’ll create new works and meet other writers from around the world in an environment that sparks creativity and connection.
In this inspiring and encouraging community, you will:
- Receive personalized feedback from published authors, essayists, poets, and playwrights
- Create, workshop, and revise original fiction and nonfiction works with other writers
- Earn college or high school credit to transfer to thousands of institutions nationwide
Find Your Fit
Our three program types—courses, certificate programs, and private lessons—are thoughtfully designed to maximize flexibility and growth. Each option allows you to develop meaningfully as a writer on a schedule that works for you.
Four-Week Courses
- 5 hours of instruction per week
- Open to students in grade 7 through adulthood
- Personalized feedback from expert instructors
- Ideal for students looking to get started in creative writing or exploring a specific genre
Available courses:
- Creative Writing Techniques: Fabulist Fiction
- Creative Writing Techniques: Nonfiction
- Fantasy Fiction Writing
- Hybrid Writing
- Introduction to Creative Writing
- Introduction to Poetry
- Introduction to Scriptwriting: Screens, Plays & Podcasts
- Short Fiction Writing: Improving Structure
- Short Fiction Writing: Making Stories More Vivid
- Writing Your First Novel
- Writing Your Memoir
Certificate Programs
- Three four-week courses—a total of 60 hours of instruction
- Open to students in grade 6 through adulthood
- Personalized feedback from expert instructors
- Earn high school or college credit while honing your skills in multiple creative writing genres
Available certificate programs:
Private Lessons
- 50-minute sessions
- Open to students ages seven and up
- One-on-one interaction from one of Interlochen’s expert creative writing instructors
- Offered on an a la carte basis
- Ideal for advanced students or those preparing works for college applications, competitions, or publications opportunities
Meet Your Mentors
Our faculty are more than just teachers—they’re also published authors with active careers as essayists, memoirists, playwrights, screenwriters, poets, and more. Here are some of the incredible writers you can work with through Interlochen Online.
Note: This gallery may feature previous instructors.
Learn
Each week, you’ll explore a thoughtfully designed learning module composed of video segments and guided instruction. You can complete the entire module in one or two sessions, or work on it a bit each day.
Connect
Throughout the course, you’ll enjoy rich opportunities to interact with your instructor and classmates. You can also participate in an optional weekly video meeting, which gives you a chance to learn from your instructor and engage with your peers in real time.
Create
You’ll use your newfound knowledge to create meaningful projects, invigorate your daily writing habit, and enhance your craft. You’ll walk away with portfolio-ready works, sharpened skills, boosted confidence, and a deepened passion for creative writing.
Write Your Next Chapter
Ready to share your stories with the world? Join our dynamic community and amplify your unique voice.
Complete the form and receive an exclusive Introduction to Creative Writing study guide from Interlochen Online.
