Menu

NEW VIDEO COURSE

Learn How to Write a Novel, Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class.

Learn How to Write a Novel

Finish your draft in our 3-month master class. Enroll now for daily lessons, weekly critique, and live events. Your first lesson is free!

Reedsy Community

DIRECTORY

18 Best Science Fiction Creative Writing Classes in 2024

Showing 18 courses that match your search.

Craft of Fiction Workshop: Plot + Structure

Attic Institute

Find your way into your characters’ motivations, interiority, and relationships in this generative workshop for short story writers and novelists. We’ll create complex characters through in-class writing, discussion of short story and novel excerpts, and reimagining in-progress and new work. Open to all writers.

Website: https://atticinstitute.com/node/2870

Categories: Science Fiction

Start date:

September, 2024

Price:

$275.00

Based in Portland

Level: Any

Length: 4 classes (2.5 hours each)

Class size: Limited

Prerequisites: No prerequisites

Hex Engines & Spell-Slingers: Write Steampunk/Weird Western

The Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers

The course includes video lectures, text, and writing exercises to help create engaging stories in steampunk and weird western subgenres. It focuses on writing techniques, historical context, and genre mechanics.

Website: https://catrambo.teachable.com/

Categories: Science Fiction

Start date:

Open all year round

Price:

$29.00

Online course

Level: Any

Length: Self-paced over 12 modules

Class size: Unlimited

Prerequisites: No prerequisites

To Space Opera and Beyond with Ann Leckie

Cat Rambo

This self-paced online course teaches how to plot and write space opera, including its characteristics, writing a series, and practical writing exercises. The course mixes video, text, and exercises to provide comprehensive tools for writing.

Website: https://catrambo.teachable.com/

Categories: Science Fiction

Start date:

Open all year round

Price:

$39.00

Online course

Level: Beginner

Length: Self-paced

Class size: Unlimited

Prerequisites: No prerequisites

NEW VIDEO COURSE

How to Write a Novel

Your story matters. Unlock your potential with daily video lessons from bestselling ghostwriter Tom Bromley, and finish your first draft in just 3 months. Learn more →

Science Fiction & Fantasy Writing I

Gotham Writers

This 10-week online workshop includes lectures, writing exercises, and critiques of student projects, focusing on the special requirements of science fiction and fantasy genres.

Website: https://wp.writingclasses.com/courses/

Categories: Science Fiction

Start date:

Open all year round

Price:

$439.00

Based in New York

Level: Beginner

Length: 10 weeks

Class size: Unlimited

Prerequisites: No prerequisites

Wild, Weird, and Supernatural: Sci-Fi and Fantasy Camp For Ages 14-18

Lighthouse Writers Workshop

The course explores speculative fiction genres like sci-fi, fantasy, supernatural, horror, dystopian fiction, and surrealism through prompts, character building, and world creation. Participants will complete a short story or multiple chapters.

Website: https://lighthousewriters.org/

Categories: Science Fiction

Start date:

July, 2024

Price:

$270.00

Online course

Level: Any

Class size: Limited

Prerequisites: No prerequisites

Viable Paradise

Viable Paradise

Viable Paradise is a one-week residential workshop focusing on writing and selling science fiction and fantasy. The program offers personal critiques, lectures, and informal discussions with experienced authors and editors. Emphasizing a supportive atmosphere, it also includes group meals and social activities.

Website: https://viableparadise.com/

Categories: Science Fiction

Start date:

October, 2024

Price:

$2,450.00

Based in Boston

Level: Any

Length: 1 full week

Class size: 24 seats max

Prerequisites: Application with cover letter and 8,000 word manuscript.

Your Personal Odyssey Writing Workshop

Odyssey Writing Workshops

A one-on-one, personalized online writing workshop focusing on individual needs, in-depth lectures, and extensive mentoring. The program includes modules on various writing topics, guest critiques, and a supportive environment to foster improvement.

Website: https://www.odysseyworkshop.org/

Categories: Science Fiction

Start date:

November, 2024

Price:

$2,940.00

Online course

Level: Advanced

Length: Between 6 to 18 weeks

Class size: 12

Prerequisites: A writing sample no more than 4,000 words long.

The Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop

Clarion

An intensive six-week program focusing on science fiction and fantasy writing. Students engage in peer critiques and receive mentorship from distinguished faculty members. Participants live on campus, fostering community collaboration.

Website: http://clarion.ucsd.edu/

Categories: Science Fiction

Start date:

June, 2024

Price:

$5,150.00

Based in San Diego

Level: Intermediate

Length: 6 weeks (June 23, 2024 – August 3, 2024)

Class size: 18 students max

Prerequisites: Application fee, application, and two short stories.

The Rule of Three

Clarion West

This course is an in-depth examination of writing trilogies, covering structure, planning, and common pitfalls. The course includes video lectures and an individual exercise.

Website: https://clarion-west-online.teachable.com

Categories: Science Fiction

Start date:

Open all year round

Price:

$75.00

Online course

Level: Intermediate

Length: Self-paced, est. 80 minutes

Class size: Unlimited

Prerequisites: Intermediate to advanced writing level; suitable for writers considering or working on a trilogy

Using the Literature of Time Travel to Play with Time in Your Writing

Writing Workshops

This seminar focuses on time manipulation in storytelling, providing techniques to craft engaging narratives. Participants will engage in exercises to generate their own time-bending stories and leave with two pieces of writing. The course explores the history of time travel stories and offers insights into enhancing narrative structure.

Website: https://writingworkshops.com/

Categories: Science Fiction

Start date:

September, 2024

Price:

$75.00

Online course

Level: Any

Length: 3 hours

Class size: Limited

Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy

Udemy

In this lively and fun course, author and mentor Steve Alcorn and screenwriter Dani Alcorn, show you how to achieve success. During the past decades they've helped more than 30,000 aspiring writers structure their stories, and many are now in print. You can be next!

Website: https://www.udemy.com/

Categories: Science Fiction

Start date:

Open all year round

Price:

$70.00

Online course

Level: Beginner

Length: Self-paced, est. 7.5 hours

Class size: Unlimited

Prerequisites: No prerequisites

Speculative Fiction

Loft

As our reality becomes more of a dystopia, you may wonder what counts as fantasy anymore. Collapse, resurrection, and everything in between are entirely possible. The absurd has become a part of the everyday, be it a head popping out of a toilet or slugs that change their sex. This class will explore the fantastical, uncanny, scientific/technological, and fiction that otherwise tests the bounds of human reality.

Website: https://loft.org/classes/current-class-list

Categories: Science Fiction

Start date:

August, 2024

Price:

$148.00

Based in Minneapolis

Level: Any

Length: 4 sessions

Class size: Limited

Prerequisites: No prerequisites

How to choose a science fiction creative writing class

Looking to build your writing skillset, learn more about your genre, or finally finish that sci-fi book you’ve been working on? You’re in the right place. That’s why we built this directory of the best creative writing courses.

However, creative writing classes aren’t one size fit all. If you’re planning to join a science fiction creative writing class in particular, you’ll want to make sure that it matches what you’re seeking to learn about the sci-fi genre.

So make sure to consider the following questions when you’re researching sci-fi writing courses:

  • Who is the instructor? How many years of experience do they have in writing science fiction?
  • Is there something in particular you’d like to learn about writing science fiction? Does this course include it?
  • How long is the course, and where is it taught?
  • How much does the sci-fi writing course cost? Does it fit into your budget?

More science fiction creative writing resources

Whether you’re a new or established author, there are always evergreen resources out there to how to get a headstart on writing sci-fi. 

Free online materials

Recommended books

 

Learning | Free Lesson — Archer | 2024-01

Try our novel writing master class — 100% free

Sign up for a free video lesson and learn how to make readers care about your main character.