What a world! Imagine having Dan Brown, Salman Rushdie, Amy Tan, David Baldacci, James Patterson, and LeVar Burton talk directly to you about how they do what they do so well! That would have been mind-boggling just a few years ago. If just one or two of these people had been speaking at a conference, I would have paid to be there. But instead, I can listen to any of them and many, many more across my desk, talking to me - virtually. But wait. There’s more. They also include in depth work books to go along with these classes.

There are many, many more than just these exemplary writer courses. And they are beautifully filmed.

These are not college credit courses, and I suppose if that’s what you are looking for you’ll need to go to . . . college. But a class with a master of any skill is an experience that can widen your mind. With over 100 different courses for $180 for the year, you can’t do much better than this. Each class runs from 2 to 5 hours. And you can click your mouse button and stop James Patterson in mid-sentence, come back later and he’ll finish it. Or repeat it again and again if you want.

The Cape Cod Writers’ Conference which takes place at the beginning of August, will be a virtual conference this year. Signing up for the conference costs $80. There are 10 instructors and each one costs $60 and each of their sessions runs for 2 hours. You can add on a review of your own writing with one of the mentors for another $150. This Writers’ Conference doesn’t provide college credits either.

There are a lot of on-line reviews of the Master Class program, but what’s important is what you get out of it. Personally, I think it has been wonderful. I have learned a lot from each of the Masters I have listened to so far. I intend to keep listening, taking notes, thinking, and learning more.

Is it worth it? I would say definitely yes! (And they didn’t pay me to say that!)

https://www.masterclass.com/