Course Details

Great magazine articles are constructed as solidly as houses. But many writers who have good ideas and sparkling prose don't understand the basics of structure. Editors love to work with writers whose pieces are clearly organized and don't need to have great chunks cut and pasted to make sense of the story. We'll deconstruct some magazine articles, from lede to last sentence, to understand their framework. We'll talk about different types of structure, and work on organizing students' story ideas. We'll also work through a painless process to organize your ideas, notes, outlines, and finished pieces. After this one-day nuts 'n bolts session, your writing will be much stronger.

Class schedule:

10:00-12:30 p.m.
Lecture/Q&A
Laura will give an overview of magazine structure, and describe, in close detail, the process of organizing, outlining, and writing one of her pieces. We'll talk about the basics of organizing magazine pieces?great ledes, endings, and everything in between. What's a nut graf? By lunch, you'll know how to write one.

12:30-1:30
Lunch break
Also time to look over the afternoon articles. There are plenty of places in the area to go alone or with classmates; bringing your own lunch is always an option.

1:30-3:30
Lecture/Q&A/Group discussion
The second half of the day will focus on deconstructing magazine articles to reveal how they are structured. We will talk about students' article ideas and how to structure them. We will also talk about editing, restructuring, working with editors, and pulling apart articles for rewrites.

Instructor Bio

Laura Fraser's Courses

Laura Fraser has been a freelance writer for 20 years. Her travel memoir, An Italian Affair, was a national best-seller. She has written feature articles for O, the Oprah Magazine, Gourmet, Bon Appetit, More, Health, Mother Jones, Vogue, Organic Style, and many other magazines. She has taught at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, Aspen Summer Words, and is member of the San Francisco Writers' Grotto.

Testimonials

Laura is an articulate and funny teacher; her crisp and organized approach to writing is an inspiration. -- Sarah Fallon, Story Editor, Wired magazine

"Introduction to Writing Profiles was my first mediabistro class. The class was a mix of veteran writers and novices like myself. Laura was calm, but far from boring. She packed more useful information and encouragement into the seminar than seemed possible. I also appreciated her personal touches: She shared with the class some things she struggles with when she writes, and some funny stories about doing difficult interviews. I left feeling completely confident (even excited) to start two profiles I had been dreading before the class. I think I got every penny's worth of my $65 and I can't wait to take more mediabistro classes!" -- Alex Bury, Major Gifts Officer, PETA Foundation