Vent: I spent over $400 on a fancy online course for my novel and never finished it. Was that a total waste, or can you still learn from a project you abandon?

3 comments

3 Comments

Honestly, I could open a museum with all the writing courses I've bought and ditched. That one taught me I can't stand daily video lessons. Another one proved I need deadlines, not just vague "do it when you feel inspired" stuff. So yeah, you probably learned what your actual process isn't. It's just a really expensive way to find that out.

angelamason1mo ago

Abandoning a project can still teach you a ton. Maybe you learned what kind of writing schedule you actually hate, or that you need more structure than that course gave. Figuring out what doesn't work for you is just as useful as finding what does. That knowledge isn't wasted, it just cost more than you hoped.

kelly.emma5d ago

400 bucks is wild lol but honestly I did the same thing with a $250 course on character development. I quit halfway through because it was all theory and no actual writing prompts and I realized I learn way better by just messing up on my own. That course taught me I hate structured lessons with quizzes and stuff, I need to just write and figure it out as I go. So you probably learned something similar, like maybe you need a different style of course or none at all. It stings now but that knowledge about yourself is still useful even if the project is dead in the water. lmao silver lining I guess.