Course Details

What makes your personal observations, ideas, experiences, and feelings worth publishing? How can you write personal essays that are interesting to someone besides your mother? This workshop will help writers transform their journals into journalism. We'll talk about how to make a personal story universal, how to pare out details that don't advance the story, and how to go beyond writing about "me" to writing something with real meaning. We'll discuss the structure of the personal essay, using humor, and ways to use the first-person in reported pieces.

We'll cover:

• When is the first person voice appropriate in a piece
• How to develop your voice
• Using humor
• Structuring a personal essay
• Editing a personal essay
• The line between personal and too personal
• Markets and pitches for personal essays

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