Creative Nonfiction 101

GUIDE TO NONFICTION COURSES
Nonfiction Pathways
Foundation
If you’re not sure what kind of nonfiction to write...
If you know what kind of nonfiction to write...
Or...
If you want a rather short course...
Next Steps
After completing a Level I ten-week course...
After completing Memoir II, if you want to write a book...
Selling Your Work
If you hope to get published somewhere...
Creative Nonfiction 101

Creative Nonfiction 101 is a 6-week class, which includes a mixture of lectures and exercises. It’s for beginners or anyone who wants a refresher. Farther down, you can view a syllabus for this course.

Creative nonfiction encompasses prose pieces that spring from the real world, which are told with the finesse and fizz of fiction. The truth is shaped into stories that embrace all styles, from straight to zany to brainy to lyrical, encompassing every topic imaginable from schoolyard memories to a trek in Nepal to the creation of the universe. You’ll see such pieces everywhere: books, magazines, newspapers, websites, blogs, newsletters.

Here you will gain an introduction to six major forms of creative nonfiction— memoir, personal essay, feature articles, profiles, reviews, and travel writing. You’ll learn what they are and how to create them. It’s a sampler platter, with no pressure to work on a specific project or settle on which type of nonfiction you prefer.

If you’re eager to explore the endless possibilities of nonfiction, your guided tour begins here.

About Creative Nonfiction 101
Creative Nonfiction 101

A breath of fresh air for the academic who wants to elevate their writing!

Dara Walker

assistant professor of African American Studies

Notes

The 101 courses do not include workshopping of student projects, but students write and receive feedback on writing exercises and assignments.

Upcoming Classes NYC COVID Info

If you test positive for Covid – Don’t come to class until you test negative. But let your teacher know and we’ll work to give you access to your missed classes via Zoom.

If you show Covid symptoms OR If you have been exposed to someone with Covid – Don’t come to class for at least 5 days after showing symptoms or exposure, and then take a test to confirm that you are negative. Let your teacher know and we’ll work to give you access to your missed classes via Zoom.

If you have any questions about this, you may call (212-974-8377) or email us ([email protected]).
  • You can still enroll in this class.
    Starts Tuesday, October 8 1 spot left
    Online, anytime
    6-Week Class
  • Deal du Jour! Register for $205.00
    Starts Wednesday, October 9
    Zoom, 2pm – 5pm ET
    6-Week Class

Price

Registration fee $25, paid once per term

6-Week

Syllabus

This course explores the major types of creative nonfiction, and the techniques that go with them. Course components:
     Lectures
     Writing exercises

New York City/Zoom classes
Week 1
Introduction to Creative Nonfiction: What is Creative Nonfiction? The difference between articles and essays. The role of the angle. Imagination in nonfiction writing.

     Focus: Feature articles.

Week 2
Characters in Nonfiction: Transforming flesh-and-blood people into characters in a story. Using angles to define characters. Using character sketches to craft angles.

     Focus: Profiles.

Week 3
Being Subjective: The art of description in nonfiction. When to be subjective. How to be opinionated but fair.

     Focus: Reviews.

Week 4
Sense of Place in Nonfiction: Setting descriptions. Finding and re-creating the mood. Use of observation. The difference between travel articles and travel essays.

     Focus: Travel writing.

Week 5
Personal Narratives: Differences between forms of personal narrative. Structure of essays vs. articles. Use of reflection and point of view.

     Focus: Personal essay.

Week 6
The Life of the Writer: Drawing from your own life for your stories. Making room in your life for storytelling. Persistence and perseverance.

     Focus: Memoir writing.

Note: Content may vary among individual classes.

Online classes 
Week 1
Memoir: An aspect of life. Mining your memory. Telling a real-life story.

Week 2
Personal Essay: Any topic goes. Make it personal and universal. Shape and voice.

Week 3
Feature Articles: Telling a journalistic story. Feature structure. Feature ingredients.

Week 4
Profiles: Selecting someone to write about. Interviewing. Capturing a person on the page.

Week 5
Reviews: Purpose of a review. Facts and opinion. Playing to your audience.

Week 6 
Travel Writing: Travel Articles. Travel Memoir. What’s next on your nonfiction journey?

Note: Content may vary among individual classes.

Teachers

Beth Livermore
Beth Livermore

Beth Livermore has published nonfiction in Astronomy, E, Family Circle, Glamour, Health, Mademoiselle, National Geographic Adventure, National Geographic World, Natural History, Outside, Ski, Smithsonian, and Your Family. She has contributed to the nonfiction books The Blessing of a Mother’s Love (Ideals Publications), Early Childhood Education (McGraw Hill), MakingConnections (Seal Press), and Discovery Communications books, including Star and Sky and American Safari. She has been a science writing/journalism fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, the Marine Biological Laboratory, and the University of California. She has taught at Columbia University, Rutgers University, and Fairleigh Dickinson University. She holds a BJ from the University of Missouri-Columbia and an MFA in Nonfiction from Columbia University.

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Mara Reinstein
Mara Reinstein

Mara Reinstein writes the MaraMovies blog, which features reviews, essays, and reporting about the film industry. She is the film critic for US Weekly magazine, where she is also a former deputy editor, and she is a contributing entertainment editor for Parade magazine. Her nonfiction has appeared in Architectural Digest, Billboard, Glamour, the Hollywood Reporter,Variety, TV Guide, The New York Observer, and Emmy magazine. She holds a BA from the University of Missouri. 

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Rax King
Rax King

Rax King is the author of the essay collections Sloppy (Vintage, forthcoming) and Tacky: Love Letters to the Worst Culture We Have to Offer (Vintage). Her essays, articles, and opinion have appeared in Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, Glamour, Vulture, Lit Hub, Electric Literature, Slate, and Harpers Bazaar, and she wrote the Store Bought is Fine column for Catapult magazine. She co-hosts the podcast Low Culture Boil, and taught for Catapult. She holds a BA from St. John's College. 

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Shahnaz Habib
Shahnaz Habib

Shahnaz Habib is the author of the nonfiction book Airplane Mode (Catapault Books), and the translator of the novel Jasmine Days, for which she and the author Benyamin won the JCB Prize, India's most valuable prize for literature. Her short stories and nonfiction have appeared in The New Yorker online, Creative Nonfiction, Agni, Brevity, The Guardian, and Afar. She has been awarded a New York Foundation for the Arts Artists' Fellowship in Nonfiction Literature, and her work has been cited in the Best American Essays series. She holds a BA from Mahatma Gandhi University, an MA in English Literature from the University of Delhi, and an MA in Media Studies from the New School.

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