Back to Home > Courses and Seminars > Personal Essay Clinic

Personal Essay Clinic

Improve your life's story.

Course is closed.

LEVEL
This workshop is taught at an intermediate/advanced level.

DURATION/TIME
4 hours
Thursday, March 16,
6:00-10:00 p.m.

LOCATION
South Park

PRICE
$99 ($75 for )
more info

Course Details

Personal essays are tricky: they're written from experience, close to the heart, but have to appeal to readers who don't care about you-they're only interested in a good read. This is a hands-on workshop for writers who have written personal essays and want some feedback. We'll talk about universal appeal of individual experiences, how to pare out details that don't advance the story, how to use specific details to make an essay come alive, and how to structure a personal essay.

In this small class - limited to 10 students - you'll bring in 11 copies of a piece (up to 2,000 words, including an optional pitch letter) to be read and commented on by the class, critiqued by the instructor, and edited as heavily as the piece requires. The instructor will also recommend venues for which the work is suitable. Your pitch letter for the class will be workshopped as well.

Reviewing other students' work offers an invaluable lesson, as well. Through others' examples, you'll learn how to turn the red pen on your own work and learn to edit yourself with a sharp editorial eye. The insight and knowledge that critiquing other students' work offers is an excellent learning instrument.

Admission Requirements:
Please submit a brief letter of interest that includes a work history, as well as a writing sample of less than 2,000 words.

Instructor Bio

Laura Fraser's Courses

No courses available at this time.

Laura Fraser
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

AvantGuild* Discounts on mediabistro.com courses are just one of the wonderful benefits of being in AvantGuild, our premium membership program. For just $59 a year, you'll receive instant access to our How to Pitch articles and other premium articles, transcripts from selected seminars and panels, and discounts on virtually everything we do (including eClasses and the Freelance Marketplace)! Click here to join now.