Magazine Writing (Online Course)

(EGL 254 W)

Are you interested in breaking into magazine journalism but are unsure where to start? This course is designed to get you thinking like a freelance writer about what makes a good magazine article. Your assignments will include two reviews, a Q&A (or edited interview), a profile, and a feature article or personal essay on the subject of your choice. Through these assignments, you will learn how to balance description and opinion, sharpen your voice, write for a particular audience, and make every line sing. This course is offered in workshop format, meaning that you will all respond to each other's writing and receive plenty of feedback to help you revise your pieces with the goal of submitting them for possible publication. We will also discuss the business side of freelance magazine writing, including how to write query letters and contact agents

Please note: This is an online course.
For more information on additional online courses, please visit http://continuingstudies.stanford.edu/onlinewriting/.

Malena Watrous, Former Stegner Fellow

Malena Watrous received an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she was a Truman Capote Fellow. Her short stories have been published in such literary journals as StoryQuarterly, TriQuarterly, and The Massachusetts Review, and her nonfiction has appeared in Salon, Real Simple, and The Believer. She also writes regular book reviews for the San Francisco Chronicle. Watrous is the author of the forthcoming novel, If You Follow Me.

Preview the textbooks for this course:

The Best American Magazine Writing 2008, ISBN-10: 0231147147

The Writer's Digest Handbook of Magazine Article Writing , Edited by Michelle Ruberg - ISBN 1582973342