Free Writing Courses at Barnes & Noble University

Barnes & Noble just announced the latest courses from Barnes & Noble University. Among the offerings are:

• The Art of the Short Story with Gotham Writers' Workshop
• Writing Mysteries with Writers' Digest Books
• Writing Science Fiction with Gotham Writer's Workshop
• Thinking Like an Editor: How to Get Published
• Grammar Fitness

All these courses are free and take place entirely online. Here's how it works:

You register for the course, and get access to the message board for that course. There is usually a book that you should purchase for the course, which, naturally, Barnes & Noble is happy to help you order. The instructor posts readings on the course message board, and makes assignments. Students respond to the assignment by posting their writing on the board. Instructors and fellow students may comment on the posts.

Most courses last four weeks, with two lessons per week. Following through requires some committment on the part of the student, but four weeks isn't a tremendous amount of time out of most people's lives.

Besides, free is a very good price.