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Personal Essay Boot Camp
Personal essays are one of the best ways to break into top magazines
Course DetailsFrom Anna Quindlen to Adam Gopnik, the work of personal essayists is increasingly filling the pages of newspapers and magazines, offering readers a tantalizing glimpse of inner worlds, and, in the process, casting a light on the larger world around them. But what separates a compelling personal essay from mere navel gazing? This class will explore the basics of writing and selling first-person narratives, starting with short (2-4 page) opinion and slice-of-life pieces appropriate for The New York Times op-ed page, and moving on to longer, reported pieces written in the first-person. We will read and discuss student work in class and prepare it for pitching.
By the end of class, students can expect to have: Please submit a letter of interest, (including a brief work history) and a writing sample (less than 2,000 words). Related CoursesTell me when courses like this are scheduled. • The Secrets of First-Person Writing (Video) – ONLINE
Instructor BioSteve Friedman's Courses Personal Essay Writing – New York (Class starts January 27)  Love, The Best American Travel Writing, and seven times in The Best American Sports Writing. He won two gold medals in the 2008 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition ("the Pulitzer Prizes of travel writing") in the categories of investigate reporting and personal comment. His most recent book is The Agony of Victory. A St. Louis native and graduate of Stanford University, Steve lives in New York City, where he is writer at large for the Rodale Sports Group. Testimonials Steve created a community of writers. I immediately felt comfortable sharing my work and getting honest, but supportive, feedback that radically improved my essay writing. Steve encouraged me to send one of my pieces to The New York Times, and it was published. You can't give a better endorsement than that. -- Carol Vecchione"Steve's class far surpassed my expectations. Steve runs his workshops with humor and just plain good sense. Steve even helped me get my first major clip -- an essay published in The Washington Post!" -- Jess Allen "Steve has an upbeat and encouraging approach and a terrific dry sense of humor. The class is fun in addition to being helpful. He uses lots of examples from student writing, which is helpful, and he makes great recommendations. I'd recommend him to anyone." -- Lee Stokes Hilton "Steve is just fantastic. This is my second class with him. I came out of the class with 2-3 pieces I plan to fine-tune and pitch. Steve is articulate, thoughtful, very very funny and open, and holds the class together." -- Michele Brown "Steve has the rare ability to write effortless prose that is funny, touching, and occasionally profound. He has the even rarer ability to make that gift accessible to his students and inspire them to make great leaps in their own writing." -- Jeff Leen, Pulitzer Prize Winner, investigations editor, Washington Post "I sold a profile piece to The New York Sun that I had written for Steve's class! I gained constructive criticism and feedback about my story in class, which helped me fine-tune the piece and make it more marketable. The class is a great kick-in-the-behind." -- Kerry L. Smith "Steve makes everyone in the workshop feel comfortable immediately, which really encourages honest feedback, close reading, and a class I looked forward to every week. I had piece accepted for the Modern Love column in The New York Times." -- Anna Davies "Steve is insightful and engaging, and I like the way he challenged us throughout the class. He honored our personal experiences, but he was unyielding in his demand that we craft the story of our experience to serve our readers, and not ourselves." -- Jeff Henigson "Steve was an amazing teacher. His critiques and suggestions were always on the mark. Everyone's work was so much better by the end of the eight weeks." -- Jenna Kern-Rugile "Steve really gives specific advice on how to take any piece of writing from good to great. He is very knowledgeable about how to make your work better." -- Christina Morgan |
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