In search of a course for a budding writer? The Sonrise Stable Writing Lesson- Fiction Writing Course by Vicki Watson is a comprehensive online course aimed at junior high to adult writers. At $49 for sixty-seven lessons, this is very thorough. The course begins with an intro to writing and gives ideas on how to generate a story idea; the study concludes with lessons on publishing your book. Homeschool Spark and Sonrise Stables Books have created an excellent course for anyone who dreams of writing and publishing a book someday. 

Starting with a Course Overview and continuing through Story Elements, Nuts and Bolts, Bigger Picture, Feedback and Editing, Software Tools, Christian Considerations, and Publishing, Vicki Watson split each section into several lessons. The lessons are around ten minutes each, and many also include a PDF to use as homework or notes. It is a simple matter to log on and watch the next lesson.

An accomplished writer may want to skip over many of the basic writing lessons and go to the software tools and publishing section. However, an intermediate or beginning writer will want to start at the Story Elements section with the lessons on the point of view. This assignment requires rewriting an account from a well-known book from a different point of view. 

This online course would work well for a homeschooled or public school student. However, it is not an exciting course with bells and whistles. Instead, it is very straightforward and instructional, at times almost dry. Still, if one is looking for a course to help a student write and publish a book, this definitely does the job!

In our house, my seventh-grade son is working slowly through the lessons. He watches one or two a week and completes the assignment to discuss with me. Generally, writing is not his favorite subject, but he does not complain about logging in to the Sonrise Stable Writing Lessons. I have also worked through the course, watching up to five lessons at a time until I reached a topic I felt needed more of my time to complete.

This course is an excellent option for anyone interested in writing and publishing a book. I enjoyed working through the lessons on publishing and felt that I gained valuable knowledge, making it well worth my time. It is pretty easy to access and customize according to the student’s background and abilities.

Product review by Katie Seppanen, The Old Schoolhouse®​, September 2022