What was your primary motivation for purchasing this course?
Achieve career goals
“I love this. Harlan Coben has a way of making everything so logical. It doesn’t hurt that I grew up near his hometown and that bleeds through into how relatable he is to me. Like every guy I grew up with, went to school with and still know.
I’ve taken other video classes with people I won’t mention, but got nothing out of them. Harlan makes sense and tells it like it is.
If you took this class to get a “how to” roadmap of how to write, this isn’t the class for you. If you’re already a writer who’s serious about your craft, you will find many little meaty pieces that make things click. Which is exactly how he’s teaching you to write. Ironic. I love the videos and I feel like I’m sitting with an old friend who’s giving me good, inside advice, friend to friend, writer to writer.
Great course. Thank you!”
What was your primary motivation for purchasing this course?
Achieve career goals
“Harlan was fantastic in his teaching. Watching his course has given me a kick up the butt to complete my Manuscript and to have the confidence to send it to an agent.
My genre is teenagers so even though I do not write thrillers I learned a lot from him.”
What was your primary motivation for purchasing this course?
Achieve career goals, Other
“The title of the course is "Writing Thrillers," so I assumed I would be learning how to write a thriller. Instead, Harlan reviewed the basics taught in any other screenwriting course I've taken. He reviewed setting, dialogue, character, etc. but I felt it was not genre specific to writing a thriller, which is what is marketed and what I was looking for. In addition, Harlan began the course by saying, "I want to change your entire life. We're going to do it step-by-step, so you're going to be writing your novel or screenplay along with me." This really sold me and is what spurred me to pay for these "lessons." I really believed I would be writing a thriller, step-by-step, right along with Harlan (even if it was a terirble first draft). But there were no "steps" to writing anything - there was only information and Harlan's personal stories. I feel I learned more about Harlan and his life experieces than I did about how to write a thriller. Still, I gave the class two stars, because while it did not meet my needs, I believe others may be inspired by Harlan's stories and success. As Harlan states in one of the final segments, "Writing for Television": "I realize this probably isn't helping you as much as I'm hoping it inspires you." I'm already motivated and inspired to write, but I realize others aren't, so maybe this class is more geared for people who need inspiration - and not for those who want genre specific steps and notes on how to write a thriller.”
Hi Sara,
Thanks for your review. We value every BBC Maestro customer, and really value your feedback.
All courses have detailed course notes to accompany them, which a lot of learners find really useful when watching a course. They include exercises too which can help you to get the most out of the course by practicing and challenging yourself to try new things. Hopefully you're able to give them a go!
I hope this helps, but feel free to contact our amazing customer service team at support@bbcmaestro.com if you would like more support!
Best,
Rebecca
What was your primary motivation for purchasing this course?
Learn a new skill
“Highly recommend this course. It got me thinking about the direction of my writing, gave me heaps of ideas about character, secrets and surprises and most importantly, reinforced the idea that it's not terrible since it's the first draft! That self doubt has been gnawing at me and I appreciate Mr Coben highlighting that it is normal.”
