Courses

How do we engage our readers on a deep, emotional level? Much depends on a book’s opening pages. In them, the author must set up the central drama, introduce tension, and present dynamic characters that keep readers turning pages, eager to learn their fate. This course will show you techniques to accomplish this. Our strategies will include masterful storytelling, artful language, and a clear sense of theme and direction (although a little mystery never hurts, either). Close readings of the opening pages of works by Mary Karr, Sonali Deraniyagala, Ernest J. Gaines, Truman Capote, and others will underscore how successful authors hook their readers from the get-go. In addition to weekly writing exercises, students will work on crafting a compelling chapter of their own book and receive supportive feedback from their peers and instructor. This course is a good fit for memoirists and creative nonfiction writers of any level—those who have yet to start their book and those who have finished a draft but are unsure of its hook.