LLWRC 782 - The Personal Essay

Have you ever yearned to shape a meaningful life experience for the page and explore its many nuances? The personal essay is where to start. This intensive class covers the basics of writing and selling first-person narratives such as Newsweek's 'My Turn' and the New York Times' 'Modern Love'. You will learn how to decide which story to tell, how to shape it so it makes a universal point, and how to find resonance in everyday events. We'll use 'Writing and Publishing Personal Essays', by Sheila Bender, as our guide (please bring a copy to class) and will read compelling essays from both magazines and literary collections. We'll write, share, and discuss our own essays in class. Open to writers of all levels of experience who are confident with basic sentence structure and composition.