Blogocentric Formulations

MasterClass

I finally signed up for a MasterClass subscription.

This has been something I've been interested in checking out ever since they first introduced James Patterson's writing class years ago. At the time, I think it was $99 for each class on a case-by-case basis. They've now introduced an annual subscription where you get access to all 100+ course offerings as part of the membership.

When you sign up, it asks you to select all the courses that interest you so that it can get an idea of what you want to learn.

I tried to be selective and still managed to bookmark 38 classes which is about a third of the total number of classes they currently offer. But so far, I'm really enjoying them. I'm currently taking James Patterson's class on writing (it only seemed fair to start with the very first one that appealed to me), and Tan France's Style For Everyone. Each class is broken up into anywhere from one to two dozen different lessons, and each lesson runs about ten minutes. So it's perfect for watching in little bite-sized increments that you can stop and start as needed.

So far, I'm really enjoying it. I've picked up a couple of tips from James Patterson that I'm going to try incorporating into my own writing process this year as I try to shake the rust off and jumpstart my creativity again, and I'm picking up a ton of fashion tips from Tan France which has been eye-opening because I generally hate clothes shopping and feel like I know so little about fashion that what's even the point. But I now know what a capsule wardrobe is, and am kind of excited to start putting one together!

They're adding new classes pretty regularly and, like I mentioned above, there are already over one hundred available. I can learn from experts in their field about everything from writing to fashion, from food/cooking to leadership, and from lifestyle to games/hobbies. For someone like me who has a lot of varied interests, this MasterClass thing is really .

I'll be curious to see if watching MasterClasses cuts into my reading and other media consumption time this year, or if it's just another input that I'll be adding to an always-growing, ever-expanding list. Knowing myself the way I do, my money's definitely on the latter.