Creative Nonfiction: Write from Life

A course by Julia Bell , Writer and Teacher

Writer and Teacher. London, United Kingdom.
Joined March 2022

Learn creative writing and storytelling techniques to craft engaging nonfiction pieces for publication or personal enjoyment

99% positive reviews (92)
4,349 students
Audio: English
English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch

Learn creative writing and storytelling techniques to craft engaging nonfiction pieces for publication or personal enjoyment

Creative nonfiction is the art of turning true stories into an immersive experience on paper. As a professional writer who also teaches the subject, Julia Bell has become an expert at weaving both facts and fiction into an engaging read. She’s published poetry, essays, novels, and nonfiction books including Radical Attention and the bestseller Creative Writing Coursebook.

In this online course, Julia teaches you her approach to crafting nonfiction narratives. Learn creative writing and storytelling techniques to recount real events with imagination. Find your unique voice and compose page-turning pieces inspired by life.

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What will you learn in this online course?

15 lessons & 19 downloads

Paying Attention
8 minutes, 32 seconds
Developing Your Voice
10 minutes, 3 seconds
Working with Memory
11 minutes, 53 seconds
Structuring Stories
12 minutes, 39 seconds
The Voice of the Piece
17 minutes, 5 seconds
  • 99% positive reviews (92)
  • 4,349 students
  • 15 lessons (2h 56m)
  • 19 additional resources (2 files)
  • Online and at your own pace
  • Available on the app
  • Audio: English
  • English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch
  • Level: Beginner
  • Unlimited access forever

What is this course's project?

Write a short piece of creative nonfiction ready to submit for publication or develop into a longer work.

Projects by course students

Who is this online course for?

Anyone who wants to improve their writing or discover an original and engaging way to tell true stories.

Requirements and materials

You don’t need any previous experience to take this course, just something to write with.


Reviews

4,349 Students
92 Reviews
99% Positive ratings
  • More reviews

Julia Bell

A course by Julia Bell

Teacher Plus
Writer and Teacher

Julia Bell is a writer and a professor at Birkbeck, University of London.
She loved writing growing up, and by the age of 12, she knew she wanted to do it for a living, thanks to a school-sponsored poetry workshop. She went on to hone her craft with a master’s degree before launching her career in the world of the written word. For her, this creative activity is not only a profession but a lifestyle, and her surroundings are an endless source of inspiration.

Since she got her start, Julia has published three young adult novels—Massive, Dirty Work, and The Dark Light—which have been translated into multiple languages. She has also written several nonfiction books including Radical Attention and the bestseller Creative Writing Coursebook. Her poetry, essays, and short stories have been broadcast on the BBC and featured in publications like The Paris Review, The Times Literary Supplement, The White Review, Comma Press, and Mal Journal.


Content

  • U1

    Introduction

    • About Me
    • Influences
  • U2

    Gathering Ideas and Starting to Write

    • Paying Attention
    • Developing Your Voice
    • Working with Memory
    • The Situation and the Story
    • Structuring Stories
  • U3

    Shaping a Compelling Piece

    • What Makes a Good Story?
    • Gathering Your Knowledge and Research
    • The Voice of the Piece
    • Making a Scene
    • Refining the Ending
  • U4

    Finishing the Piece and Finding an Audience

    • Different Approaches to Editing
    • Planning and Developing a Longer Project
    • Taking Your Work Forward
  • FP

    Final project

    • Creative Nonfiction: Write from Life

What to expect from a Domestika course

  • Learn at your own pace

    Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.

  • Learn from the best professionals

    Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.

  • Meet expert teachers

    Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.

  • Certificates
    Plus

    If you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.

  • Get front-row seats

    Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.

  • Share knowledge and ideas

    Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.

  • Connect with a global creative community

    The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.

  • Watch professionally produced courses

    Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.


FAQs

Domestika's courses are online classes that provide you with the tools and skills you need to complete a specific project. Every step of the project combines video lessons with complementary instructional material, so you can learn by doing. Domestika's courses also allow you to share your own projects with the teacher and with other students, creating a dynamic course community.

All courses are 100% online, so once they're published, courses start and finish whenever you want. You set the pace of the class. You can go back to review what interests you most and skip what you already know, ask questions, answer questions, share your projects, and more.

The courses are divided into different units. Each one includes lessons, informational text, tasks, and practice exercises to help you carry out your project step by step, with additional complementary resources and downloads. You'll also have access to an exclusive forum where you can interact with the teacher and with other students, as well as share your work and your course project, creating a community around the course.

You can redeem the course you received by accessing the redeeming page and entering your gift code.

If you're a Plus member, when you complete a course you've purchased, you'll instantly get your personalized certificate. You can see all your certificates in the Certificates section of your profile. You can download your certificates as PDFs and share the link online. Learn more about certificates.
Creative Nonfiction: Write from Life. Writing course by Julia Bell

Creative Nonfiction: Write from Life

A course by Julia Bell
Writer and Teacher. London, United Kingdom.
Joined March 2022
  • 99% positive reviews (92)
  • 4,349 students