That $40 creative writing e-course was just repackaged blog posts

I shelled out $40 for a course called 'The Ultimate Plot Architect' and all 12 modules were just recycled material from free writing blogs, nothing new or hands-on. Has anyone else found a decent paid resource that actually teaches something original?

3 comments

3 Comments

dianaanderson24d ago

Wait, $40 for repackaged blog posts? That's insane. I paid $35 for a course called "Story Engine Mastery" and module 2 literally had a section on "what is a protagonist" that I remember word-for-word from a free HubPages article from 2015. The whole thing felt like someone took 20 blog posts, changed the fonts, and called it a course. I would have demanded a refund, seriously.

kaih3623d ago

Heard a podcast recently where a writing instructor flat out said most paid courses are just blog posts in a fancy wrapper. I think @dianaanderson is right to be angry about that HubPages thing, that's just lazy. The problem is you pay expecting some kind of community or feedback loop, and instead you get a PDF that's worse than a library book. For that money, I'd rather buy a used copy of "Save the Cat" and actually have something to hold onto.

lily7024d ago

Hold on now, I gotta push back on this a little bit. I think sometimes we expect way too much from a $40 course in a creative field. Writing is one of those things where the basics are pretty universal, so of course a lot of courses are gonna cover the same ground. You can't really patent what a protagonist is or how a plot works, you know? It's like if I paid for a class on how to frame a wall, I wouldn't get mad if they told me the same thing about using a level that I already read on a hardware store blog. The real value is in how they put it together and maybe the structure or the practice exercises they throw in. I'm not saying all courses are great, but calling it a rip-off just because the core ideas aren't brand new feels a bit harsh to me.