Nonfiction Storytelling
- Builds writing self-confidence
- Develops voice
- Shapes tone and style
One of the most popular genres in the literary and publishing communities, nonfiction storytelling focuses on true stories told with the drama, verve, and descriptive language of fiction. These courses will inspire you to tell your own story through a memoir or a personal essay, or to write about people, places, and things you know. Other topics covered include travel writing, profiles, and opinion pieces.
Jumpstart Your Memoir
This class is for anyone who always has wanted to write a memoir but can’t quite get things rolling, or is stuck in a rut.
Social Media for Authors
Receive practical advice for marketing your writing online, including effective ways of employing social media tools.
Creative Nonfiction Writing
Explore the process of writing nonfiction with clarity and precision as well as with a poet’s eye.
The Art of the Essay: How to Write Op-Eds and Nonfiction and Personal Essays
Learn how to write essays and then get them published in magazines, in newspapers, and online.
Witness to History: Personal Essays and Memoirs
Choose a reported event and craft a personal essay that recounts it from your own perspective.
Writing Your Memoir
Bring focus and clarity to a memoir through writing exercises, analysis of published memoirs, and guidance.
Autobiographical Fiction: Exploring Both Fiction and Memoir
Explore how to use your own life experiences to inspire your writing and to create autobiographical fiction.
Creative Writing for Beginners
Boost your creativity with an evening of cutting-edge exercises, and identify your next steps as a writer.
Personal Essay Writing
Turn personal experiences into marketable essays or op-ed columns for newspapers or the web.
Query Letters: How to Sell Your Writing
Learn the dos and don’ts of writing query letters that both showcase your writing talent and target interested readers.
The Devil's in the Details: Using Research in Fiction and Nonfiction Writing
Learn research techniques used by investigative reporters to help your writing move beyond personal recollections and invented descriptions.
Up Close and Personal: Your Story in Two Pages
Become familiar with the mechanics of personal essay writing and learn how to pitch and get published.
Write What You Know
Sharpen your writing skills by reporting and writing on personal (or other people’s) experiences.
Writers and Filmmakers: Building Your Audience and Your Earning Potential
As a new or established writer or filmmaker, gain personalized tools and strategies to make a living from your own creative work.
Writing in Stillness
Use meditation, mindfulness practice, and free writing to deepen the writing process, sharpen your voice, and clarify the story that wants to be told.
Writing the Comic Essay: From David Sedaris to Tina Fey
Learn how to write effective and engaging comic essays, and develop the techniques that have made this one of the most popular genres of literature.