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i always knew i wanted to write and its over the past couple of years,i decided to make it my life, my career and it seems like the only way to get ahead is to go to school and take a bunch of journalism, creative writing courses, but in all honestly, i don't have the money to take all the "courses" i need to expand my knowledge or get the "experience". i feel like the longer i write without the school and the more i promote my stories, blog entries and other writing i've down on social media eventually someone has to see it and read it.

if you are a published writer, what are the steps you took before you got published? did you write whenever you could or did you spend time in a college classroom taking courses to improve your skills?

Hi there

I'm self published, and I've never done a creative writing class in my life! What really helped me was a thing called NaNoWriMo. It's a site that helps writers to write, and in November we all try to write a 50,000 word novel in just one month. Their forums have endless tips and help for writers, from naming characters, to how much to write a day, to publishing, editing and critiquing if needed. It's a fantastic community of writers all doing the same thing, trying to write. I'd recommend it.

(It's also free)

www.nanowrimo.org

The good news is, you don't need classes or training at all in order to pursue your passion! They can often be helpful, but as an artist/writer myself, who has taken many classes, they are not at all necessary to practice or improve your craft.

I would recommend reading all that you can about writing (online, and in library books and such,) gleaning structure and methods of storytelling and communicating through that. And secondly, just write! I absolutely second SupahPossum's tip towards NaNoWriMo. Nano helps you just get something on the page and to explore ideas freely and without self-criticism. I got my first two novels finished because of Nano, and even if what you write during the month is not a good product in the end, all practice is good practice. The more you educate yourself and practice your craft the better you will become, I guarantee it.

As for getting published, I know there are various methods one can go about these days to self-publish, but I don't have any expertise in that area.

While I did take creative writing workshops back in college, the fact of the matter is, they don't teach you how to write. Rather, they provide a chance to have your fiction reviewed and either criticised or praised by your fellow aspiring writers. While some of the feedback by the class a$$holes had been unfairly cruel, others provided some that was truly constructive. If you want feedback, I suggest you look for writers groups in your area, as they can provide much of the same experience, though usually without the buttholes trying to make you feel bad. The best way to learn to write is to read the works of published authors to get a feel for how it's done, while honing your skills by writing, yourself. I myself am looking at the possibility of self-publishing on Amazon, since joining a writer's group that includes a very successful author who has self-published on Amazon. One piece of advice I might offer is to avoid the vanity presses that pass themselves off as self publishing, but will make you cough up considerable amounts of money to get published, sometimes in the thousands of dollars range.