Creative Nonfiction Workshop

Catalog description

Focuses on nonfiction writing, a funny name for a genre of writing, in large part because it defines itself by what it isn¿t: fiction. In what ways do the skills used for writing fiction (such as creation of voice, scene, detail, metaphor, pacing) apply to creative nonfiction? Do they change in this new context? Are there other skills that must accompany them? Students read exemplary essays and discuss them (sometimes with the authors as guests) and each student also writes two new essays (alongside other assignments). Time in workshop seeks to understand how each person's essay is working, the strategies deployed and their effects, challenges and implications for revision.