Writing Without Fear: Using Life Writing to Free the Writer Within You

Have you ever struggled with writer's block or the dreaded "fear of the blank page?" Or would you like to make writing a more enjoyable, less frustrating endeavor?

Christopher Mitchell will show you how to overcome these writing frustrations as you learn how to turn your memories into memoirs in this course jam-packed with great information. 

In "Writing Without Fear: Using Life Writing to Free the Writer Within You," he introduces the five stages of the writing process: prewriting, drafting, revision, editing, and publishing.

For the class project, you will write a memoir that can be shared with fellow students if you feel comfortable doing so.

Throughout the course, you will learn tried-and-true techniques that will jumpstart any writing hobby or project.

In this course, you will:

(1.) use the writing process to develop and write a memoir;

(2.) discuss prewriting techniques to overcome writer's block and let writing come naturally to you;

(3) utilize "sloppy first drafts" to begin shaping your memoir;

(4) discuss and utilize revision techniques to better understand the need to "re-see" the draft;

(5) edit for clarity and understanding;

(6) consider ways to publish your memoir: perhaps on a blog or as part of a family history project.

The writing process has five stages that we will work through. You should upload any part of the project you feel comfortable sharing with others.

Christopher is an experienced writer and writing instructor with more than ten years of hands-on, classroom teaching experience. Join him today in this eleven-video, 55-minute course and learn to overcome these common writing fears and frustrations. 

The reviews are in. Have a look at what others are saying about the course:

(1.) "This is the best writing course I've yet to see. I believe that it will not be surpassed. Why? It has step-by-step procedures which do not thwart or inhibit the creative process. They act as the gentle nudge I sometimes need, to just keep writing. Seeing that there can be systemization, of a sort, in writing takes away much of my own fear. My fear was in the "what if" realm, mostly concerning writers' block or losing momentum or energy. It was like I feared becoming afraid more than being afraid.

I am very impressed with the combining of the technical with the aesthetic and how one does not overcome the other deleteriously. Instead it combines into a brilliant and synergistic approach to writing which I've never seen or thought of before. It is the direction and instruction I was sorely lacking but I wasn't even aware of it.

Thank you, Chris for your brilliant and professional course. It is literally outstanding." -- Chuck S.

(2.) "Thank you for such a great course. As an academic, I've been fearful of creative writing for a long time, for many of the reasons you identify in your videos.

I really enjoyed working through your course this weekend, and found your prewriting techniques incredibly helpful. I now have my first A4 page of creative writing - after years of thinking about writing creatively, but not actually following through and doing it.

Your kind and patient approach is just what I needed and now I have some strategies I can play with. I have no doubt I will come back to these videos many times." -- Lucy B.

(3.) "Your lessons are great. And these techniques - brainstorming, clustering, and freewriting - are new for me. Thank you very much for sharing the secrets of how to write painlessly and productively." -- Vera F.

Join us today!

• Introduction to the Course
• Your Memoir Project
• Leashing the Monster: Let’s Talk about what Limits Us
• Stage 1 of the Writing Process: Prewriting for the Memoir
• Project Demonstration: I share my own prewriting exercises
• Stage 2 of the Writing Process: Sloppy Drafts
• Project Demonstration: I share my draft of my memoir
• Stage 3 of the Writing Process: Revising to “Re-see” and Strengthen the Draft
• Project Demonstration: I share my revision techniques for my memoir
• Stage 4 of the Writing Process: Editing for Clarity & Consistency
• Stage 5 of the Writing Process: Publishing & the Course Wrap-Up