10 Best Creative Writing Courses in India [Updated May 2020]

Finding and enrolling in the best creative writing courses in India has been more difficult than I thought. At least it used to be, five years ago when I had just dived into freelance writing. I wanted to hone my skills and practice fiction writing too, which is when I started looking for creative writing courses online. 

For a while, I even considered getting an MA in creative writing in India. But as many working professionals like me will agree — there is simply not enough time. 

So, I decided to look for creative writing courses in India. I was initially more inclined towards classroom courses since those would help me get out of the house more (I work from home) and they would also allow me to network with other writers. But most of the classroom courses I found were either not available in my city or were incredibly expensive. That is why I also started looking at free creative writing courses online.

(These courses are suitable for writers who are thinking about writing a fiction book but aren’t sure how to start, if you are looking to take up some content writing courses that are focused on online content, web copy, and articles, check out these post.)

Here are the top writing courses in India

Classroom courses

(Note: Because of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, all the classroom courses have been suspend indefinitely, I recommend looking at the online courses at least till things get back to normal)

1- Xavier Institute of Communications

Course Name: Creative Writing Workshop

Location – Mumbai

Eligibility – Non

Price – 8000 INR

Duration: 8 Sessions of 2 hours each

Check brochure for more details 

Certificate: Yes

This was the first course that I came across when I was in Mumbai. And I really liked it because its affordable, has flexible timings, and new classes in every 2 months.

There are two instructors here – Renu Balakrishnan and Himali Kothari. Both of them conduct 6 sessions of 2 hours each from 6.30 to 8.30 pm. While one of them has classes every Thursday, the other one has classes every Saturday. The timings are great because you can juggle it up if you are working. And Xavier’s is right next to the CST station so you never have to worry about transportation. It’s more of a group session, people write stuff and discuss about it together. I would definitely attend this if I am in Mumbai for more than a month.

2- British Council of India

Note: This course has been discontinued by British Council, as of May 2020

Location – Delhi and Kolkata

Eligibility – You have to pass a level test at the centre which would cost 600 INR

Price – 13000 INR

Certificate: Yes

The British Council of India has a 9 week intensive Creative Writing program which is considered one of the best in the country. The course goes on for 2 months where you are required to attend classes two days a week. You can choose the classes and schedule according to your own convenience. But all the timings are before 6pm and on weekdays which means this course would be a big struggle for the working lot.

3- Symbiosis Centre for Distance Learning

Course Name: Diploma in Creative Writing in English (DCWE)

Location – No centre. Material gets directly delivered to you

Eligibility – Atleast a 50% in English in 12^th/ Graduation

Price – 35,000 INR+ INR 1200 for application form

Classes start from – Registration and classes start in July. For more information, you can check the prospectus

Certificate: Yes

Symbiosis offers a 1 year diploma course in creative writing. This is a distance learning program which means you get all the material posted to you and you can study it wherever you are. The course structure is pretty rigorous.

Though I like the fact that you do not have to go to a centre for this, it is certainly expensive. Since this is a one year course, registration is allowed once a year, which means if you miss out the deadline, you have to wait for a whole year.

4- Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)

Course Name: Diploma in Creative Writing in English (DCE)

Location – No centre. Material gets directly delivered to you

Eligibility – Anyone who has passed 12^th or is 20 years and above

Price –  3800 INR + INR 200 registration fee

Classes start from – Two cycle of admissions – January and July. For more information, check page 80 of the prospectus

Certificate: Yes

IGNOU also has a distance learning creative writing course in India, which is extremely affordable. It is a 1 year course. But I realized the course information hasn’t been updated since 2011 so I have mailed to find out more about it. I will be updating this section when I hear back from them.

Update – I have researched immensely about the IGNOU course, and asked around. Turns out, the course details haven’t been updated since the last decade (If you check the prospectus, its not even a proper PDF file, its just a scanned copy of a printed prospectus). Also, though the college says its a distance learning course, you are supposed to pick course material from the IGNOU centre, and you also need to go to the IGNOU studying centre from time to time.

All in all, it doesn’t seem worth the time.

Online courses

5- Oxford University 

Course name: Getting Started With Creative Writing 

Price: £495.00

Duration: The course runs in different intervals around the year

15 Jun 2020 – Aug 2020

14 Sep 2020 – 27 Nov 2020

11 Jan 2021 – 26 Mar 2021

Now accepting applications for the June to August course run 

Certificate: Yes

This is a rather expensive course offered by Oxford University which takes you through the basics of creative writing. Managed by Oxford professors, this course requires at least 100 hours of study time. 

You get routine assignments and you can even participate in the course forums to connect with other students taking the same course as you. You also get a certification of completion from Oxford after finishing the course. 

While it is definitely the most expensive online course on the list, it also features the best study sessions and teachers. Not to mention, a certificate from Oxford Uni can go a long way. There is also an advanced creative writing course available for more seasoned writers.

6- Wesleyan University

Course name: Creative Writing Specialization

Price: This is a part of Coursera Plus subscription which costs ₹3,744/month and there is also a 7-day free trial. You get access to all the courses on Coursera with the subscription

Duration: About 48 hours of study material. You can study at your own pace

Certificate: Yes

This is a five-course specialization offered by Wesleyan University through Coursera. It is the most thorough creative writing course I have found online and it is definitely one you should take up if you want to hone your creative writing skills and you don’t mind paying a little bit. 

Though, I also have to mention that while this course isn’t free, it is still way more affordable than most classroom creative writing courses in India. 

The five courses available under this specialization focus on five different aspects of storytelling and creative writing: 

• Plot 
• Characters
• Setting and Description
• Style
• Creating a story

7- University of British Columbia

Course name: How to Write a Novel: Writing the Draft 

Price: $295

Duration: 6 weeks (You need to give 4-6 hours each week to the course)

Certificate: Yes

 The course is presented by professors of the Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) Program in UBC. It also includes some lessons by best selling authors like Paula Hawkins (The author of Girl on The Train.)

Over the six weeks of the course, you will learn different aspects of storytelling right from creating a plot to introducing conflicts and tension, handling active/passive characters, and crafting believable dialogues. 

8- University of Michigan 

Course name: Writing Your First Novel

Price: Free

Duration: 127 hours of study material

Certificate: Available if you pay INR 2216

This is a free online creative writing course offered by the University of Michigan through Coursera. The course includes over 26 chapters that help you write your first novel even when you have no idea about what you are doing. 

I really liked the format of the course which helps you write your book, one chapter at a time. There are also peer to peer reviews available, like other courses on Coursera, where your assignments are reviewed by one of the other participants of the course and you review someone else’s work.  

9 – Commonwealth Education Trust

Course name: Writing for Young Readers

Duration: 18 hours of study time 

Fees: Free 

Certificate: Available if you pay INR 2216

If you have always thought about writing children’s books, this is definitely a course this you should consider taking. Its a creative writing course online which helps writers who want to create stories for young readers. Since its a free course, you can get started right away. But you would need to pay extra if you want a completion certificate.

10- Masterclass

Price: Starts at INR 1295 a month

Duration: Depends on the course

Certificate: No

Masterclass is a video-based learning platform that offers courses by actual masters in the field. Not teachers or English writing experts, but actual writers who have written beautiful books and established a flourishing writing career. 

It offers video courses by incredible authors like Neil Gaiman, Dan Brown, James Patterson, and Margeret Atwood.

Note that Masterclass works on a subscription model like Netflix. A monthly subscription gives you access to its entire catalogue of courses, which you can share with your friends as well, making it more cost effective. 

Have you taken up any creative writing courses in India or online? How was your experience with it? Do let me know

Author’s note: This post was updated on 25th May 2020 to add more relevant and up to date information