ONE-ON-ONE Course Catalogue Upcoming Classes Intensives

Personal Essay Writing

GUIDE TO NONFICTION COURSES

Nonfiction Pathways

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Personal Essay Writing is an Intensive, meaning it happens in a short time span (1 day in NYC, or 2 days on Zoom). The course includes a mixture of lectures and exercises. It’s open to writers of any level. Farther down, you can view a syllabus for this course.

What do you think about X or Y or Z? And how have your life experiences informed your views on these topics? That’s the essence of a personal essay: viewpoints filtered through the lens of your personal experience. Any topic goes, from the ridiculous to the sublime.

Unlike the stiff essays you may have written in school, these should feel personal, imbued with your unique voice and observations. Here you’ll learn techniques for crafting personal essays and how to market your work.

Whether you seek to write about things major or minor, stimulating or tickling, we’ll show you how to write personal essays that do you proud.

About Personal Essay Writing

The instructor skillfully combined technique, process and personal experience to create an engaging full-day experience.

Michele Keenan

superintendent of schools

Notes

A personal essay is similar to a memoir; both incorporate elements from the writer’s life. But a personal essay focuses more on the viewpoint, and a memoir focuses more on the story. Gotham also offers courses on Memoir Writing and Essay & Opinion Writing, which includes personal essay, among other forms of viewpoint writing.

Upcoming Classes

Check back soon, or put this course on your Wish List.

Syllabus

This course gives an overview of the basics of writing personal essays. Course components:
Brief lectures
Writing exercises

Topics:
What is a Personal Essay?
Finding Topics
Merging the Personal and Universal
Structure
Voice
Getting Published

Note: Content may vary among individual classes.