Writing Pop Culture

Course Details

Expressing our thoughts on music is something many of us do naturally-whether it's praising a new song to friend or jumping online to argue over the merits on your favorite artist. The leap from personal to professional writing isn't as great as many think. Not only are print publications constantly recruiting new writers but the explosion in online media means that aspiring critics have a wealth of potential outlets.

Working as a freelance music writer can seem daunting task, but this workshop will demystify the process. This class is designed for the novice writers-people who have an interest in exploring music criticism but don't have experience writing professionally yet. If you're interested in writing about other types of pop culture other than music-film, television, video games, etc.-this seminar can also provide you with the basic tools you'll need.

Among other important topics, the seminar will cover:

• The myths and realities of writing about pop culture and music
• The differences in writing assignments, i.e. profiles vs. features vs. reviews, etc.
• Finding a publication to approach (and who will take you if you've never written about music before)
• The (not so hidden) secrets to pitching an editor
• Basics of the writing process

...and other lessons to help get your writing career off and running

Instructor Bio

Oliver Wang's Courses

Since 1994, Oliver Wang has become one of the most prolific and respected critics on pop music and popular culture in America. He's the editor and co-author of Classic Material: The Hip-Hop Album Guide (2003), and his writing has appeared in publications that include Vibe, The Village Voice, San Francisco Bay Guardian, XXL, The Source, L.A. Weekly, Mother Jones, URB, Minneapolis City Pages, Complex and others. His commentary has also been heard on National Public Radio. He currently is a contributing editor at both Scratch and Wax Poetics and writes a music column for Napster. Oliver also runs the pop and politics blog, Poplicks.com as well as the renown MP3 blog, Soul-Sides.com.