10 Best MasterClass Writing Classes 2026 (Ranked + Reviewed)

Last updated: 11 October 2026. Written by Josh Hutcheson. See our review methodology.

Why MasterClass for writing specifically?

Writing is one of MasterClass’s largest categories: on 11 October 2026 its writing section listed 32 classes, about 23 of them on the craft of writing. The instructors include a Booker Prize winner (Rushdie), a Pulitzer Prize winner (Mamet), the only author to win the Hugo Award for Best Novel three years running (Jemisin), two former U.S. Poets Laureate (Billy Collins and Joy Harjo) and several best-selling novelists.

What you get is a working writer explaining their process: how they find ideas, outline, draft and revise, which rules they follow and which they break. The format is documentary-style video with exercises. It is not a workshop and not a structured curriculum.

What you do not get is feedback on your own writing. No instructor reads your draft and nothing is graded. If you need accountability and critique, a course with peer review, such as Coursera’s Wesleyan Creative Writing Specialization, or a local writing group fills that gap. MasterClass is best at the part a workshop cannot give you: hearing an accomplished writer think aloud about craft.

How we ranked these classes

We have not completed every class on this page. On 11 October 2026 we opened each class page on masterclass.com and read its full lesson plan, lesson count and running time, so every figure and lesson topic below comes from MasterClass’s own listing on that date, not from an older roundup. We ranked the classes on:

• Transferability: how much of the class helps writers outside the instructor’s own genre.
• Practical content: lessons you can apply to a draft this week, such as outlining, scene building, dialogue and revision.
• Depth: lesson count, running time and the range of craft topics covered.
• Workshops and case studies: classes that show the instructor working on real pages rank higher, because that is the closest MasterClass gets to feedback.

All ten ranked classes had the same lesson counts and running times on 11 October as when we last checked them in August. MasterClass does re-cut classes, so check the class page if a number matters to you.

The 10 best MasterClass writing classes (ranked)

1. Aaron Sorkin Teaches Screenwriting

• Best for: Anyone writing narrative in any form
• Length: 35 lessons, 8 hours 1 minute
• Instructor: writer of The West Wing, A Few Good Men and The Social Network

The class opens with the idea Sorkin returns to throughout, intention and obstacle: in every scene, somebody wants something and something stands in the way. From there it covers story ideas, developing characters, research, the rules of story, a film story arc, writing habits, scene writing, dialogue and rewrites, with case studies from Steve Jobs and The West Wing.

Two things make it more than a lecture. Seven group-workshop lessons show Sorkin working through students’ scripts and pitches (and pitching an idea of his own), and eight lessons take place in a recreated West Wing writers’ room. Watching him explain why a scene does or does not work is the closest MasterClass gets to feedback.

Skip it if: you want a short class. At eight hours it is the longest writing class on the platform; Walter Mosley’s (2 hours 18 minutes) is the quick alternative.

Watch Aaron Sorkin Teaches Screenwriting · Our full Aaron Sorkin MasterClass review

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2. Margaret Atwood Teaches Creative Writing

• Best for: Literary fiction writers and novelists
• Length: 23 lessons, 3 hours 43 minutes
• Instructor: author of The Handmaid’s Tale, Oryx and Crake and Alias Grace

Atwood covers the full arc of writing a novel: getting started, story and plot, structuring layered narratives, point of view (with case studies), bringing characters to life through detail, dialogue, sensory imagery, prose style, working with time, the first five pages, writing the middle and the ending, and revision. Later lessons treat speculative fiction, with a Handmaid’s Tale case study, research and historical accuracy, and the business of being a writer.

It is less of a single framework than Sorkin’s class and more of a tour of the decisions a novelist makes, which suits writers already working on a long project.

Skip it if: you want quick, practical rules. Atwood thinks aloud; Patterson is more prescriptive.

Watch Margaret Atwood Teaches Creative Writing

3. James Patterson Teaches Writing

• Best for: Commercial and thriller fiction, plot-driven writers
• Length: 22 lessons, 3 hours 31 minutes
• Instructor: author of the Alex Cross and Women’s Murder Club series

Patterson’s class is the most practical on the list. It moves from raw ideas to plot, research and two lessons on outlining (his books start from detailed outlines), then first lines, dialogue, building a chapter, writing suspense and ending the book. The later lessons are about the business: editing, working with a co-author, getting published, titles and covers, marketing and Hollywood.

If your goal is to finish a book strangers want to keep reading, this is the class to take after Sorkin.

Skip it if: you write literary fiction and care more about sentences than about pace.

Watch James Patterson Teaches Writing

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4. Malcolm Gladwell Teaches Writing

• Best for: Nonfiction writers, journalists, essayists and content writers
• Length: 24 lessons, 4 hours 54 minutes
• Instructor: author of The Tipping Point, Blink and Outliers

Gladwell teaches how to find, research and structure stories that carry a big idea. Lessons cover structuring narrative, holding readers by controlling information, research, selecting and developing the story, interviewing, describing characters, world building, jargon, tone and voice, humor and melancholy, titles, drafts and revisions, and how to read. Two case studies take apart his own New Yorker pieces, “The Pitchman” and “Something Borrowed”.

It is the most useful class here for anyone who writes to explain: reporters, essayists, marketers and analysts.

Skip it if: you write fiction only; the narrative lessons transfer, but the research and interviewing lessons will not matter to you.

Watch Malcolm Gladwell Teaches Writing

5. David Mamet Teaches Dramatic Writing

• Best for: Playwrights and screenwriters learning dramatic structure
• Length: 26 lessons, 4 hours 51 minutes
• Instructor: Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of Glengarry Glen Ross and American Buffalo

Mamet’s class is a set of rules about drama, delivered with conviction: the purpose of drama, dramatic rules, character, plot and structuring the plot (with case studies of American Buffalo and Glengarry Glen Ross), dialogue, narration and exposition, scenes, the writing process, the audience, lies and truth, and working with actors.

Where Sorkin teaches how a scene feels, Mamet teaches how it is built. They make a strong pair for anyone committed to writing for the stage or screen.

Skip it if: you dislike strong opinions stated as rules; Mamet does not hedge.

Watch David Mamet Teaches Dramatic Writing

6. Joyce Carol Oates Teaches the Art of the Short Story

• Best for: Short story writers and MFA students
• Length: 14 lessons, 3 hours 21 minutes
• Instructor: one of the most prolific American writers of fiction

This is the only class in the MasterClass writing catalog devoted to the short story. It covers principles of short fiction, keeping a journal, ideas drawn from taboo and darkness and from the familiar, structure and form, and two form studies, the miniature narrative and the short monologue. She also studies her own story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”.

The most useful lessons are the workshops: one on Hemingway’s “Indian Camp” and two revision workshops on students’ stories, where you watch her edit someone else’s draft line by line.

Skip it if: you are writing a novel; Atwood or Patterson will serve you better.

Watch Joyce Carol Oates Teaches the Art of the Short Story

7. Salman Rushdie Teaches Storytelling and Writing

• Best for: Literary fiction writers, especially those drawn to myth, history or surrealism
• Length: 19 lessons, 4 hours 17 minutes
• Instructor: Booker Prize-winning author of Midnight’s Children

Rushdie teaches how to decide the way to tell a story, structure, opening lines, drawing on storytelling traditions, conceiving and revealing characters, setting as a character, observing the world, developing a narrative style and building a surrealist story. Later lessons cover researching a novel, rewriting, sharing work for feedback, his own reading list and seven tips for writers.

Skip it if: you want a plot-first method; Patterson or Dan Brown are better for page-turning structure.

Watch Salman Rushdie Teaches Storytelling and Writing

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8. Shonda Rhimes Teaches Writing for Television

• Best for: TV writers and anyone interested in serialized storytelling
• Length: 30 lessons, 6 hours 25 minutes
• Instructor: creator of Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal

Rhimes covers the whole path from idea to series: finding and developing a concept, research, creating characters, pitching, writing the pilot (structure, process and habits), dialogue and editing. Long case studies walk through the Grey’s Anatomy pilot and all five acts of the Scandal pilot. The final lessons cover breaking in, working in a writers’ room, production and showrunning.

Skip it if: you do not plan to write for television; the industry lessons are the class’s main strength.

Watch Shonda Rhimes Teaches Writing for Television

9. N.K. Jemisin Teaches Fantasy and Science Fiction Writing

• Best for: Fantasy and science fiction writers
• Length: 16 lessons, 4 hours 2 minutes
• Instructor: the only author to win the Hugo Award for Best Novel three years running, for the Broken Earth trilogy

Half of the class is worldbuilding: macro worldbuilding (with an exercise to build your own world), cultures and people, power dynamics and cultural appropriation, inventing science and magic, and research. The rest covers point of view, the psychology of characters and her hierarchy of characterization, then seeking publication, finding a literary agent and surviving the literary marketplace.

It is the most complete genre class on MasterClass, and one of the few writing classes with concrete advice on agents.

Skip it if: you write realist fiction; most of the class is about inventing worlds.

Watch N.K. Jemisin Teaches Fantasy and Science Fiction Writing

10. Walter Mosley Teaches Fiction and Storytelling

• Best for: Writers who want a short, direct first class
• Length: 13 lessons, 2 hours 18 minutes
• Instructor: author of the Easy Rawlins mysteries, beginning with Devil in a Blue Dress

Mosley’s class is the shortest on this list and the most focused on the daily practice of writing. It covers writing every day, developing characters, story versus plot, voice, point of view and dialogue, descriptive language, using poetry to understand language, race and representation in fiction, genre “rules”, and surviving the publishing industry.

At 2 hours 18 minutes it is the one writing class you can finish in an evening, which makes it a sensible start if the eight-hour Sorkin class is the reason you keep not starting.

Skip it if: you want structural frameworks; Mosley is about habits and voice more than structure.

Watch Walter Mosley Teaches Fiction and Storytelling

Which MasterClass should I take to learn fiction writing?

Start with Aaron Sorkin, then add one novelist who matches what you write. Sorkin teaches screenwriting, but intention and obstacle is the most transferable scene-building idea on the platform. Then pick your second class by genre:

• Literary fiction: Margaret Atwood (23 lessons) or Amy Tan (14 lessons)
• Thrillers and mysteries: James Patterson (22), Dan Brown (19) or David Baldacci (18)
• Fantasy and science fiction: N.K. Jemisin (16)
• Short stories: Joyce Carol Oates (14)
• Children’s and young adult: Judy Blume (24) or R.L. Stine (28)
• Storytelling across forms: Salman Rushdie (19)
• Short on time: Walter Mosley (13 lessons, 2 hours 18 minutes)

Two classes is a realistic target for a year of membership if you are also writing. Watching five teaches less than watching two and finishing a draft.

At-a-glance comparison

Other MasterClass writing classes worth knowing

Thirteen more writing classes are live in the catalog. They are narrower than the ten above, but several are the best option for a specific kind of writer: Judy Blume and R.L. Stine for children’s books, Billy Collins, Amanda Gorman and Joy Harjo for poetry, Bob Woodward for reporting, and the Duffer Brothers for developing a TV series.

See every MasterClass writing class →

Should you subscribe just for writing classes?

MasterClass does not sell single classes. Plans start at $10 a month billed annually ($120 a year), every plan includes all of the writing classes on this page, and new members get a 30-day money-back guarantee. Higher tiers add features such as offline viewing rather than more classes.

The math is simple. If you watch two or three writing classes, you pay roughly $40 to $60 for each, for several hours of a famous writer’s teaching apiece. If you will watch one and stop, a library copy of a craft book is the better buy.

What a subscription does not replace is the workshop. No class here will tell you what is wrong with your draft. Most writers who get value from MasterClass pair it with a writing group, beta readers or a course with peer review. See is MasterClass worth it and MasterClass pricing for the full breakdown.

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Writing-specific alternatives to MasterClass

• Creative Writing Specialization (Wesleyan University, Coursera): a five-course series on the short story, narrative essay and memoir, with peer-reviewed assignments and a capstone story. It is rated 4.6 from 6,437 course reviews and has more than 167,000 learners. It is the better choice if you want structure and feedback; see whether Coursera certificates are worth it.
• BBC Maestro: another celebrity-instructor video platform; our BBC Maestro vs MasterClass comparison covers the differences.
• Skillshare: shorter, project-based writing classes from working writers rather than famous names, with a class project you can share for comments. Our Skillshare alternatives and MasterClass vs Skillshare guides compare it.
• In-person and residential workshops such as Tin House, Bread Loaf and Sewanee: expensive and selective, but the real alternative if you want sustained critique from established writers.
• Craft books: Stephen King’s On Writing, Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird and John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction cost less than a month of any subscription.

For broader course lists, see our guides to creative writing courses, fiction writing courses, screenwriting courses and playwriting courses, plus MasterClass alternatives and MasterClass vs Coursera.

Final recommendation

• If you watch one class: Aaron Sorkin Teaches Screenwriting.
• If you watch three: Sorkin, then Atwood for literary fiction or Patterson for commercial fiction, then Rushdie for storytelling range.
• If you write nonfiction: Malcolm Gladwell first, then Bob Woodward or David Sedaris.
• If you write for screen or stage: Sorkin and Mamet, then Shonda Rhimes for television.
• If you write genre fiction: Jemisin for fantasy and science fiction, Patterson or Dan Brown for thrillers.
• If you write poetry: Billy Collins, then Amanda Gorman or Joy Harjo.

All of them come with one membership. If you are still deciding on MasterClass overall, read our MasterClass review first.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best MasterClass for writers?

Aaron Sorkin Teaches Screenwriting is the best single class for most writers. Despite the screenwriting focus, its lessons on intention and obstacle, scene writing and dialogue apply to novels, short stories, plays and narrative nonfiction. It is also the longest writing class on MasterClass, at 35 lessons and 8 hours 1 minute.

How many writing classes does MasterClass have?

MasterClass’s writing category listed 32 classes on 11 October 2026. About 23 of them are writing-craft classes (fiction, screen and TV, poetry, nonfiction and journalism, children’s books); the rest are communication, film and creativity classes filed under the same category.

How much does MasterClass cost?

MasterClass advertised plans starting at $10 a month, billed annually ($120 a year), in October 2026, with a 30-day money-back guarantee. One membership includes every writing class on this page; you cannot buy a single class on its own.

Are MasterClass writing classes worth it?

They are worth it if you will watch at least two classes and write alongside them. You get several hours of a famous writer explaining how they plan, draft and revise. You do not get feedback on your own pages, so pair MasterClass with a writing group or a course with peer review if you need critique.

Is the Joyce Carol Oates MasterClass worth it?

Yes, if you write short stories. It is the only class in the MasterClass writing catalog devoted to the short story: 14 lessons over 3 hours 21 minutes, including workshops on Hemingway’s Indian Camp and on two students’ stories, which shows how she revises other people’s drafts. Novelists will get more from Atwood or Patterson.

Can MasterClass make you a better writer?

It can, if you use it actively. The classes give you techniques and a model of a working writer’s habits. Writing improves through drafting, feedback and revision, so do the exercises, finish a draft and get readers on it.

Which MasterClass is best for nonfiction writers?

Malcolm Gladwell Teaches Writing for narrative nonfiction and essays, Bob Woodward Teaches Investigative Journalism for reporting, Roxane Gay Teaches Writing for Social Change for criticism and personal essays, and David Sedaris Teaches Storytelling and Humor for humorous personal essays.

Is the Neil Gaiman MasterClass still available?

No. MasterClass removed Neil Gaiman Teaches the Art of Storytelling; the class URL still redirects to the writing category (checked 11 October 2026). Salman Rushdie is the closest replacement for storytelling across forms, and N.K. Jemisin for fantasy and world-building.

Can I learn screenwriting on MasterClass alone?

You can learn the craft but not the industry. Sorkin and Mamet teach how to write a script, Shonda Rhimes and the Duffer Brothers teach how a TV series is built and pitched, and Rhimes covers writers’ rooms and showrunning. None of them can introduce you to agents or producers, so pair the classes with fellowships, contests and a writing group.

Do MasterClass writing classes come with feedback or a certificate?

Standard writing classes have no instructor feedback or graded assignments. MasterClass sells a separate Certificates product, but the celebrity writing classes are not accredited credentials. If you want critique, a course with peer review, such as Coursera’s Wesleyan Creative Writing Specialization, fills that gap.