Personal, Narrative and Opinion: How to Write Essays for Publication 4-Week Zoom Seminar, Starts Wednesday, June 4th, 2025
Begins Wednesday, June 4th, 2025
Class will meet weekly via Zoom on Wednesdays, 6:30PM ET - 8:00PM ET.
Now Enrolling!
Any questions about this class? Use the Chat Button (lower left) to talk with us.
Instructor Jennifer Mattson teaches creative writing at New York University's School of Professional Studies and is a contributing writer at Fast Company. She is a writer, editor, journalist, and former network news producer for CNN, CNN International, and National Public Radio, and the former managing editor of Asia Society. Jennifer’s writing and reporting have appeared in The Atlantic, Salon, USA TODAY, The Boston Globe, CBS News, GlobalPost.com, The Women’s Review of Books, and Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health. She writes an online column for Psychology Today and reports on wellness, news, yoga, healthy living and mindfulness, books, arts, and culture.
Read an Interview with Jennifer on How to Write Essays for Publication.
Learn to write essays and get published in magazines, in newspapers, and online. This is the age of the essay. Now, more than ever, writers are finding essays to be the best way to get their voices heard and to get published in the mainstream media.
Learn the basics of how to pitch to columns such as the New York Times’ “Modern Love”; to the opinion pages of major newspapers like The Washington Post and The Boston Globe; and to online sites including Slate, and Salon.
Learn what makes a good idea; how to write an op-ed, a personal essay, and a nonfiction essay; and what publications are looking for right now. You will learn how to pitch your story to an editor and you will come away from the class with a complete essay ready for publication.
This class is for anyone who wants to write or write more. It's part experiential writing, part lecture, part workshop.
COURSE OUTLINE:
Week One: Writing the Personal Essay: We look at what makes a personal essay, from start to finish. (We will do some writing in class).
Week Two: Writing the Non-Fiction or Narrative Essay: Using the third person, you'll learn how to write the 800 word essay, popular in today's mainstream media. Best for pitching articles for publications. (Each writer will work on an essay for completion by the end of class).
Week Three: Writing the Op-ed or Opinion Essay: We will look at how to write opinion pieces and pitch them for publication. (Each writer will work on an essay for completion by the end of class).
Week Four: Editing, Pitching and Finishing Your Essay: How to complete and edit your first essay so it's ready for publication. We will focus on endings, and how to pitch for publication.
COURSE TAKEAWAYS:
- You'll learn how to write personal, narrative, and opinion essays.
- You'll come away with a knowledge of how to pitch publications.
- You will leave class with a complete essay draft.
TESTIMONIALS:
"Jennifer Mattson's Get Unstuck, Start Writing Again seminar was by far the best workshop I’ve attended. Jennifer is smart, supportive, empathetic, and experienced as a writer and teacher. Thank you for a great session. By the way, the first exercise resulted in a very good draft for me. Writers need this workshop.” -former student
"The hands-on practice using writing rules to establish a writing practice is something I'll take with me. Jennifer is a great instructor! If you're looking to get unstuck in your writing practice, take this class." -former student
"Jennifer Mattson's class exceeded my expectations. She covered so much material and was very informative. I found the exercises and the information shared very valuable! I also greatly appreciated hearing about Jennifer’s experiences with subjects that were brought up during class. I would definitely recommend this class to other writers. Thank you!" -former student
"I loved the Get Unstuck seminar with Jennifer Mattson. I found the prompts extremely valuable and enjoyed hearing her perspective and examples. It opened up my mind to the variety of ways a person can be a writer and helped me tune in more clearly to what I need to help me be productive. It was surprising how much I gained from just two hours. More than some multi-week courses I’ve taken!" -former student
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This 4-week class starts on Wednesday, June 4th, 2025
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Live Seminar via Zoom on Wednesday nights from 6:30PM - 8:00PM Eastern
- Tuition is $299
If you have questions, please use the Chat Button or contact us via email HERE.