Personal Essay Writing: Advanced

Fine-tune your essay for publication with advanced writers

WHEN Materials available starting September 12
Discussions start Thursday, September 19, 8-9 pm ET - Full Schedule

WHERE Online

PRICE
$550 (or $525 for AvantGuild members - details)

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Details

This intensive 8-week online class is for experienced students who are ready to dig deeper and demand more from themselves and each other. We'll be looking at examples of published work from magazines, anthologies, and websites and discussing how they succeed. Students will generate and workshop short drafts of new ideas -- and work on revising longer work that has you stuck.

In this class, you will learn how to:

Identify what makes your experience compelling for others
Explore the hidden narratives that can and should shape your work
Use "ordinary" details and events to create extraordinary insights
Reshape your tale using the techniques of fiction while retaining the integrity of the truth
Approach editors and submit your work

By the end of class, you will have:
Five short pieces to expand into essays and at least one complete personal essay.

Students who have taken this class have been published in:
The New York Times, Modern Love, Christian Science Monitor, Washington Post, Newsweek, Self, Salon.com, Runner's World, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the London Times.

Admission Requirements
Apply with a note to explain your interest in this topic and goals for the course. Please include a two-page writing sample.

The online classroom has several components:

Lessons: Learn new skills through written lessons
Discussion: Join a weekly live, interactive discussion via IM and video
Assignments: Complete homework and receive instructor feedback
Forums: Exchange resources, meet peers, and ask your instructor questions

Course Syllabus

Personal Essay Writing: Advanced (PDF)

View a sample syllabus for the class here.

Instructor

Liza Monroy is author of the novel Mexican High. Her articles and essays have appeared in The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, The Los Angeles Times Magazine, Newsweek, Jane, The Village Voice, and Time Out New York. The daughter of a U.S. Foreign Service officer, she has lived, worked, and studied in Mexico, Italy, Holland, the Czech Republic, Greece, and the United States. Her writing has also appeared in anthologies including the New York Times The Best of Modern Love. She's been a travel writer for MTV and was recently awarded a residency by the Kerouac Project of Orlando. Visit her on the web at lizamonroy.com.

photo by Jeff Bachner

Liza Monroy's Courses
Personal Essay Writing: Advanced – (Starts September 12)

Testimonials

Liza brings a wealth of knowledge. She suggested publications where our pieces would fit and has an address book of editors to die for. I sent my piece out the next day and it was published within a week. -- Tara Bishop

"The class gave me tools applicable to my whole life as a writer. It's like the course that keeps on giving!" -- Amy Nathan

"I loved Liza's class. Her openness to share names and places for submissions was most welcome." -- Diane Singer

"Liza's class was a gem. I gained invaluble insight and she was so full of knowledge and advice. She knows this market and wants to help you succeed." -- Amy Tucker Carroll

"Liza's astute and efficient observations about material made for an engaging and beneficial class." -- Neil Gordon