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Writing Stories About Ourselves

Memoir and Personal Essay: Write About Yourself,

In this course, creative nonfiction writers will explore traditional storytelling methods, especially those which overlap between fiction and memoir. By looking at examples from a wide range of genres, including film, song, painting—even the theme music for Jaws!—we’ll practice exercising the creative muscle that sees ourselves as characters and the experiences we’ve had as tales. We’ll focus on critical elements, like how to begin a story, what makes for worthy content, the essential use of detail, the strengths and limits of dialogue, the power of the white space. The ultimate goal is for us to become aware of an “audience” when we write, so that the documentation of our lives will begin to resemble a “performance” crafted onto paper rather than a private entry in a journal.
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Rating 4.6★ based on 13 ratings
Length 5 weeks
Starts Jun 26 (43 weeks ago)
Cost $49
From Wesleyan University via Coursera
Instructor Said Sayrafiezadeh
Download Videos On all desktop and mobile devices
Language English
Subjects Art & Design Humanities
Tags Arts And Humanities Music And Art Personal Development

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What people are saying

pertinent questions went unanswered

There was little to no interaction on the forums during the class, so pertinent questions went unanswered and there were many instances where I was simply left to assume or guess in order to continue with the course.

my mind usually wanders

My mind usually wanders during online courses, but didn't here.

personable lecturer making informative

Personable lecturer making informative points.

completing three peer evaluations

Certain vital links were missing, links that were necessary to lessons and assignments but the most frustrating aspect of the experience was that each assignment rested heavily on peer evaluation amongst the class-- and not only did I receive little to no feedback from fellow students, but I was unable to meet the requirement of completing three peer evaluations for each assignment because there were not enough submissions.

learnt many simple yet

I learnt many simple yet valuable lessons on writing.

wanders during online courses

helpful suggestions also.i expect

Of course Amy Bloom has very helpful suggestions also.I expect to be reading these pearls of wisdom quite often.

know what happens next

", "The most important person...", I want to know what happens next", Judging a Story by its Opening Line and second line", "The Joys and Pitfalls of Dialogue" and what we lose when we only speak aloud".

each assignment rested heavily

authors must master

It is good to learn that this is a skill that authors must master.

its opening line

reading these pearls

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Associate Creative Contributor $95k

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Director of Marketing and Creative $173k

Senior Art Director, Creative Services | Marketing Cloud $202k

Vice Senior President Creative Recruiter $241k

Creative Director & New Media Specialist $251k

Owner President Creative Director Lead $474k

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Rating 4.6★ based on 13 ratings
Length 5 weeks
Starts Jun 26 (43 weeks ago)
Cost $49
From Wesleyan University via Coursera
Instructor Said Sayrafiezadeh
Download Videos On all desktop and mobile devices
Language English
Subjects Art & Design Humanities
Tags Arts And Humanities Music And Art Personal Development

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