Online workshops can be tricky to suss out. Are they going to solve your problem? Do they contain information you don't already know? Will they be worth your money?

That last question is always my first. As the daughter of a CPA, money's top-of-mind for me, and for a long time, I was hesitant to financially invest in furthering my creative education. After all, what was all that money spent getting a B.A. in English and Creative Writing for, if not training for creative pursuits?

The truth is education is ongoing, and when you've been out of the classroom -- without deadlines, peer competition and scholarships on the line -- you're a lot less likely to keep up with your studies.

That's one of the reasons I created Fiction Workshop: for people who are creative, know they can write well and want to write better. Damn, do I ever love people who want to continue improving.

If you want to embrace and own your writing life, for once and for all, Fiction Workshop is for you.

Fiction Workshop is self-paced and online, and enrollment opens soon. Click the button below to be the first to know about it, including a coupon:

Here's the skinny:

In five modules, you'll learn what makes you as a writer stand out from your counterparts. You aren't competing with fellow writers -- you're only competing with yourself. We'll talk through how to take your characters from caricatures to flawed, riveting humans, people only your bright mind could have created.

Most importantly, you'll learn to edit your own work as an unbiased outside reader so when a literary magazine or publishing house editor reads it, she has little else to do but send it to the printer.

Each module includes action steps. If you only want to sit back and learn, good on you. But as for the rest of us, we'll be putting in the hard work so our writing is ready to be shared with friends, family, readers, publications -- whomever is deemed to deserve it. You'll be tasked with submitting your work, learning the best way to track your submissions and creating worksheets.

Module 1: Find your narrative voice
Who are you as a writer?
Who aren't you as a writer?
What type of fiction is the write fit for your voice?
How do you want to write?

Module 2: Create compelling characters
Develop backstory
Establish physical details
Generate idiosyncrasies

Module 3: Write like an editor
Find your creative piece's hook
Learn your audience: their reading habits, interests, causes, etc.
Know the industry and your place in it

Module 4: Find the universal, human connection
The psychology of connection

Module 5: Edit like a motherf***er
Kill your darlings
Slash your work to bits
Like a phoenix from the ashes

Finally, friends, I want to leave you with three really important mandates for us writers:

1. Act like you have a right to be where you are.
2. You don't need permission.
3. Don't wait to be found.

I'm beyond excited that you're embracing your calling, kicking bum and flipping desks. You're going to knock everyone's socks off.

You might also be interested in:

• The TED Talk for writers who can't afford conferences
• 6 ways to push through writer's block
• When writing isn't magic