E-Courses

Acquired Tastes: Ferreting out and writing about great food

If your idea of dream job is getting paid to review your favorite restaurants (aka Jonathan Gold), then now's your chance to learn how. In this six-week course we'll discuss the basics of how to find, peruse, study, and write about restaurants. We'll also talk about how to go about selling your reviews to a variety of publications. Participants will be expected to eat out at a minimum of one restaurant, so please budget this for the class as well. No previous writing experience is necessary, but a healthy appetite is required.

Note: You will also have the option of publishing your review on the "Acquired Taste" blog for the whole world to read and appreciate.


Cost (click on the link below to sign up)
 $198 - Regular: unlimited, one-on-one support from your instructor
 $100 - Budget: the course alone with no support from an instructor

Writing With Nature

In this six-week course writers spend time in and writing about nature with a goal of becoming more comfortable with the writing process and fine tuning basic skills. Lessons will introduce the basics of writing an essay and cover techniques such as using the senses to collect details, creating compelling scenes, and developing your narrative voice. By the end of class you will have written a personal essay about the natural world and explored options for publication.


Cost (Click on the links below to sign up)
 $198 - Regular: unlimited, one-on-one support from your instructor
 $100 - Budget: the course alone without instructor support

Copyright Jim Clark. All Rights Reserved.

Writing with Nature: Part II

Dive into the natural world in this second part of the nature writing series.  In our eight weeks together, we'll work on expanding and fine tuning our writing skills while immersing ourselves in a particular part of nature.  The emphasis also will shift from tightly focused "how to"  assignments to an exploration of themes. Each person  will choose a topic related to the natural world that he/she is interested in - for example nature as sanctuary or awakening the senses - and build a portfolio of work around it.  In addition to an essay, that portfolio will include journaling, sketches, poetry, and other less creative work.  Come prepared to write and open your horizons.

Cost (Click on the links below to sign up)
 $300 - Regular: unlimited, one-on-one support from your instructor
 $150 - Budget: the course alone without instructor support

Writing to Publish

Most writers hope to see their names in print, but few are able to realize their dreams for one, simple reason - they don't know the drill.  The drill is the accepted set of steps that most editors at most magazines expect you to follow in order to get an assignment.  You won't know the drill unless someone teaches you, and you won't land an assignment using the drill unless you practice.

Understanding and mastering the drill is what this class is all about.  In our eight weeks together, we will cover: what sells and what doesn't; how to find and understand markets; how to write a proposal/pitch for a publication; and who to approach with your pitch.  We'll also practice writing the different parts of a proposal, targeting the specific publication you've chosen.  Finally, we'll discuss what to do if you get an assignment!

Cost (Click on the links below to sign up)
 $300 - Regular: unlimited, one-on-one support from your instructor
 $150 - Budget: the course alone without instructor support

Memorable Moments: Writing Powerful Personal Essays

If you've got a story to tell, we've got a class that will help you tell it and sell it. Writing and Selling Powerful Personal Essays will introduce you to the basics of what makes a good personal essay. In our six weeks together, you'll learn about the four-part narrative formula, how to draw your readers in and bring your characters to life. You will also learn what it takes to find and pitch publications that print essays, with a goal of having a polished essay ready to go by the end of class.

Cost (click on the link below to sign up)
$198- Regular: unlimited, one-on-one support from your instructor
$100 - Budget: the course alone without instructor support