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Portrait, story and reflection: these are three forms of creative nonfiction. Learn to apply the techniques of storytelling to nonfiction prose pieces, including personal essays, features, commentaries, reviews, reports, journal entries and memoirs. In this course, you read outstanding writers in several of these genres, looking for the qualities that make their work vivid and meaningful, and with steady encouragement work on writing your own creative nonfiction. Together, the instructor and other participants form your audience, offering support and critical feedback about your pieces. Weekly class discussions and writing assignments focus on story principles—such as plot, tension, scene and dialogue—that increase the readability of your work and form your material into publishable pieces.
Course Outline
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Course Objectives
- Sample some of the best contemporary nonfiction writing
- Analyze selected writings and recognize the techniques used
- Sharpen your writing with directed exercises
- Begin or continue with your own nonfiction projects
- Revise and rewrite in the light of constructive criticism
What You Learn
- What creative nonfiction is
- Personal voice
- Memoir
- Profile
- Literary essay
- Style and revision
- Where to publish creative nonfiction
How You Learn
- Reading assignments
- Instructor’s notes
- Discussion participation and assignments
- Writing assignments
- Final project