Writing the New Journalism - Creative Nonfiction

Creative Nonfiction writers assemble the facts and events and array them artistically and stylistically, using the descriptive techniques of the fiction writer. They immerse themselves in a venue, set about gathering facts while demonstrating scrupulous accuracy, and then write an account of what happened in their own voice. The Greyhound Bus Company advertised "getting there is half the fun." In the genre of Creative Nonfiction, getting there is all the fun because the reader already knows how the piece ends before it begins. Students will become proficient with the form through intensive fieldwork, research and writing.

We will begin by studying field research methodology in preparation for observational studies in the field designed to teach the difference between truly seeing and simply looking. Students can’t write and describe something they can’t see clearly.

Students will conduct field research to learn to pay attention to detail, read and discuss representative examples of the form, and meet weekly in regularly scheduled writing workshop. Following a period of redrafting and corrections, each student will present a final piece to the group in the last week of the quarter. They will submit these polished pieces for publication in a magazine or journal. We will read and discuss Creative Nonfiction pieces written by noted authors. A partial book list includes Into the Wild by John Krakauer, The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger, Number Our Days by Barbara Myerhoff, and Literary Journalism: A New Collection of the Best American Nonfiction edited by Norman Sims and Mark Kramer. Other readings will be added.

Note: This program will meet Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday. Monday and Friday will be reserved for field work.

New to winter quarter:

We will continue our study of Creative Non-Fiction and sharpen our sensitivity to literary techniques through reading and discussing representative pieces by noted authors such as, Susan Orlean, John Berendt, and Hunter S. Thompson. Students will spend much of their time working on their individual Major Nonfiction Narrative. This form allows the use of first-person narration, demands careful attention to detail, and requires the writer to be immersed in a subject area over an extended period of time. Students will immerse themselves in a venue of their choice, subject to approval by the faculty, which will provide the subject matter for their Narrative. We will also use the Ethnographic field research techniques of analysis and interpretation to add depth to the narrative. Following a period of redrafting and corrections, students will polish the final piece and send it out for publication.