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Writers.com
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Travel Writing: From Press Trips to Punctured Tires (10 weeks)
The glamour of travel writing attracts many people. After all, who wouldn't want subsidized trips to exotic destinations? But it's not all easy living. Journalists must concoct ideas, sell them, plan the trip, research extensively in the field and then craft a gripping article. It's work. Nice work, if you can get it, but a far cry from slobbing on the beach with a margarita.
The ten-week course prepares you to enter this competitive arena. Explore the different types of travel writing, including first-person memoirs, destination guides, historic reflections and news flashes for globe-trotting executives. Learn to devise appealing pitches and target the right editors. Discover the tricks of the trade, from filing taxes to building a journalism portfolio.
Other topics include photography, narrative devices, research and interview techniques, new media as a marketing tool, and – perhaps the greatest challenge – how to earn a living wage. The class also covers ethical considerations (for example, subsidized trips alienate publications like The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times).
You don't need to be a world traveler to become a "writer about place". Reveal the secrets of your hometown for visitors. Record an exceptional hike or festival. Share family holiday hassles and tips on how to avoid friction. The important thing is to learn how to capture a journey's details and sensations – even the frustration of a flat tire – then spin them into perks, paychecks and published work.
This course takes you through the process step-by-step, with weekly lectures, discussions and feedback. Amanda works intensively with students' prose, interleaving comments (line-critiques). She fine-tooth-combs the text, figuring out what's naughty and what's nice – and why. The process can help amateur and seasoned writers alike discover a new voice and inspiration. By the last lesson, you should have a polished draft ready for submission – and be on your way to making vacation a vocation.
Dates for 2012: May 7, September 13, November 12. Late-enrollment open until day ten, space permitting.
Fee: $340 via Writers.com, email Mark Dahlby for details
Learn more on Amanda's site or Writers.com.
Ongoing Travel Writing Workshop (10 weeks)
An ongoing writers' workshop for anyone who has taken Amanda's travel-journalism class. No lecture, no lesson and no assignment. Instead, the course focuses on works-in-progress: from queries to articles to book-length memoirs. Whether you're trying to rough out a first draft or polish pieces for publication, each week you'll submit up to 750 words for feedback. You'll also critique other writers in the workshop. Via Nicenet, Amanda will post links, commentary and conferencing material. Master Class Co-instructor Edward Readicker-Henderson may "guest star" occasionally.
Dates for 2012: TBA. Late-enrollment open until day ten, space permitting.
Fee: $340 via Writers.com, email Mark Dahlby for details
Recommended reading:
Best American Travel Writing 2011: Sloane Crosley
Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer by Roy Peter Clark
Learn more at Writers.com.
Travel Writing Master Class (10 weeks)
Take your prose to the next level, honing your voice and perspective. Anchored by Amanda Castleman, this extended online workshop assembles a roster of teaching talent that's rarely seen outside of conferences. Critiquers include:
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Adventure specialist Amanda Castleman has published in Outside, Salon, the BBC, MSNBC, Alaska Airlines Magazine and The International
Herald Tribune, among others. Her 30-odd book contributions include Frommer's and National Geographic.
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New York University Instructor David Farley wrote the award-winning An Irreverent Curiosity: In Search of the Church's Strangest Relic in Italy's Oddest Town. Founder of NYC's Restless Legs Reading Series,
he also edits for World Hum.
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Stephanie Elizondo Griest has authored the books Mexican Enough and Around the Bloc: My Life in Moscow, Beijing, and Havana,among others. She teaches nonfiction at the University
of Iowa.
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Stephanie Oswald edits travelgirl magazine, when not broadcasting for CNN International from New Orleans and hosting Getaway Atlanta, the highest-rated
destination show available On Demand. The Emmy-winner also instructs at Emory.
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Charyn Pfeuffer, a
culinary and travel freelancer, founded The Global Citizen
Project. In 2010, she undertook 12 voluntourism projects in 12 countries, thanks to
social-media fundraising.
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Lowell-Thomas-winner Edward Readicker-Henderson has mused poetically in AARP Magazine, Forbes Traveler, National Geographic Traveler and other outlets. Best American Travel Writing shortlisted
him four times, once for a story about Strip Passport.
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Author and Columnist Thomas Swick's observations on the trade have been honored by Travelers Tales, Best Travel Writing and Best American Travel Writing. His freelance clients include Afar, Smithsonian and The Oxford American.
Explore imagery and epiphanies apt to an area. Sharpen your eye for timely angles and compelling quests. Push your plot arcs further and master the interweaving of action, analysis and reflection.
We’ll delve into the sound of words on the page, as well as how to capture the best quotes from locals and experts. The class will even touch upon investigative tactics: when to tuck that press pass in your hat band... and when to meditate and read poetry for inspiration. Finally, you'll refine your cutting, redrafting and repurposing skills, exploring the same material through different subgenres and editors.
Not sure if the master class is for you? Take our quiz to find out.
Dates for 2012: April 10 and September 10
Learn more at Writers.com.
Writing for New Media (6 weeks)
Every site owner has become a content provider now, from
bloggers chronicling baby's first step to e-commerce entrepreneurs.
Discover how to publish fresh, frequent and original content that not
only attracts, but also retains readers.
Dig deep into the mechanics of web copy, from snappy headlines to
strong news angles. Learn to DJ your blog, social-media sites and
authorial brand, mixing expertise and entertainment. Strengthen your
posts with themes, plot arcs and other devices that lend a polished,
professional veneer.
Dates for 2012: TBA
Learn more at Writers.com. |
Hugo House,
Seattle, WA
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Brave New Media World
More than 133 million blogs lurk in cyberspace now. Discover how to make yours stand out—and earn money. Explore the genre''''s history and its future, ethics, syndication and traffic-generation. Learn how to promote your work through social media and microblogging tools. This workshop explores the basics of search engine optimization and revenue tools like Amazon Associates and Google AdSense, along with freeconomics theory. It also touches upon "other voices, other rooms": adding diversity though interviews, memes, images, links and multimedia. Additionally, we''''ll delve into the literary aspects: developing a distinctive voice, thematic continuity, content pacing and shaping short narrative.
Instructor: Amanda Castleman
Forthcoming dates: TBA
Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Avenue, Seattle, WA; 206.3227030. Details here.
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Hugo House,
Seattle, WA
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I also teach one- and four-day workshops in person for the Hugo House, in Seattle.
The Written Road
“We travel, initially, to lose ourselves,” Pico Iyer once said. “And we travel, next, to find ourselves.” Explore how to chronicle a journey—both exterior and interior, employing literary techniques such as plot and dialogue. Practice in
terweaving narrative, insight and analysis to capture the adventure that is uniquely yours.
Date: 2011 dates to be announced
Time: 1–5pm
Fee: Members $85.50, General $95. |
Comments
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"I haven't taken Amanda Castleman's class – I already make a living as a travel writer – but because she's a friend, she just looked over a 6,000-word piece I was doing for National Geographic Traveler. Plain and simple, her comments and suggestions were the best I have ever seen from any editor, anywhere. Amanda's a genius."
– Edward Readicker-Henderson
Winner of a 2004 Lowell Thomas Award.
"Amanda is a phenomenal editor and a patient teacher – precise but not nitpicky, critical but not harsh. My writing is clearer and more focused than ever before. I spent eight semesters in creative writing classes at UC Berkeley, and Amanda offered more guidance and carefully directed help than any professor I took there."
–Jenna Williams
"Her approach to teaching is clear and concise. I'll not be surprised if one day she writes a book on Travel Writing. ... She is an inspiration, an ideal to aspire to."
– James Polk
"She is a dream teacher, just the right balance between a knuckle-rapping tutor and a mom full of hugs. Thanks again for Writers on the Net. The course fees are lots cheaper than a shrink!"
– Linda Petrucelli
"To have my first article accepted by the first publication I approached – the Christian Science Monitor – was like rocket fuel for me, and I have Amanda Castleman's expertise to thank."
– Anne Clippinger, PhD
Adjunct Lecturer, Department of English, Montgomery College, Md.
"After taking her class, I went on to publish a number of travel writing stories and currently have 20 travel assignments due to my favourite editor (Canadian Living's online presence: www.canadianliving.com) before July 1. I started picking up assignments while taking Amanda's class and have kept all my notes for easy reference. Cheers."
– Dee Van Dyk
Professional Member
Periodical Writers Association of Canada
Travel Media Association of Canada
Read more reviews |
