I recently completed the 5-course specialization in creative writing. For the most part the course material presented was good, especially the courses on plot, on setting, and on style. The course on characterization was a little vague. From the syllabus, it looked like it would be a good course, but the instructor did not follow the syllabus and was often very unfocussed in her presentation.

The weakness with this specialization is that all the feedback to the writer is provided by peers in the course. This I found very disappointing. Many of the other students were honestly very poor writers, and as a result, the feedback I received on my assignments was very superficial. In addition, rather than being able to learn from reading the writing of others, I found for the most part that the pieces submitted by others were very lacking.

If you take this course, know that it will provide you some good information about writing fiction, but the feedback you receive on your assignments will not help you learn. You will need to find another peer group of writers to help you with that.

Excellent teaching, be aware the meat of this course is in the interviews. If you read and watch them then the assignments are self-explanatory. The discussion boards were however a disappointment.

This the best writing course that I have taken. Only drawback is that while I appreciate the positive feedback, it would be helpful to have professional feedback.

Course would be more meaningful if a mentor intermittently commented on a students work.

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.

such a great course to take in order to get familiar with the integral foundations for anyone who is interested in creative writing but does not know where to start.

Amy Bloom is everything you will want in teacher. Character was never known until I started this course. Who is the character in the story, what quirks, beliefs, normal or abnormal behaviour do the show? I learnt a lot from this course and keep renewing my knowledge when ever \i fell the need to.

It was fun and enjoyable. Thank you Amy.

Great course that exceeded my expectations.

The students submitting offer a surprising amount of talent and inspiration. The course itself is well made so as to provide students with the rationale to overachieve -LeAttol

All of the Creative Writing courses have been helpful to me in grounding me in my writing practice. I cannot thank you all enough for this experience.

My second course in this specialization. Definitely had me thinking critically about how I write characters and a lot of tools that I hadn't really considered before.

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!

I learned a lot thanks to this course. The teachers are wonderful, and so is the information provided. I can feel my writing improve. Thank you:)

I see a marked improvement in both my confidence and skill as a writer from each of these classes.

Estoy verdaderamente agradecida por la oportunidad de desarrollar mis habilidades trabajando en conjunto con personas que compartimos una misma pasión: escribir.

Amy Bloom is such a caring, conscientious, nurturing teacher, who addresses the class (via video camera) as if only speaking to you. There's a kind of intimacy to her teaching style, and her sincerity and expertise at expressing concepts and examples of character craft allowed her teachings to truly "seat" in my mind. Thank you, Amy.

I enjoyed Amy Bloom's teaching style and the way she relayed the message across. It really felt like being with a friend at a coffeeshop, analyzing different parts of books and stories that we've read and commenting on them. It was casual, comfortable, and very informative. The assignments allowed me to experiment and unlock new ways of getting and utilizing inspiration for characters, and for giving my characters a proper and interesting depth.

The second part of Wesleyan's Creative Writing course is, yet again, a wealth of knowledge for aspiring writers of all types. Thanks to Amy Bloom, Coursera, and Wesleyan University!

Have learnt many new tricks and Amy Bloom's talks are absolutely wonderful! Thank you so much!

Amy Bloom was amazing. I loved her style of teaching. I would absolutely take a class with her again

Wonderful, inspiring.

Very good course for everyone interested in writing

Good course and interesting exercises. The instructor tackled the course in a bit different way that works fairly well for the course and its content.

Great course! Nice assignments! Makes you really think through different aspects of your writing.

I got out of this module exactly what I put into it. While the videos do a reasonably good job of outlining a basic understanding, I found that I wanted more info, especially as concerns POV. For some reason, omniscient 3rd person was a tough concept to grasp. But I've since learned that POV can make or break a story, particularly if you don't know which one you're using and/or keep fluctuating from one to another.