Welcome to a general introduction to the world of non-fiction writing! There's a lot out there, so we'll do our best to cover the field of non-fiction as broadly as possible. This may include essays, memoir, literary journalism, travel writing, sports writing, columns...class will be strongly directed by student interest. In addition to reading and discussing examples of the aforementioned genres of non-fiction, our class will also include in-class writing exercises and some workshop time for student writing.

Do you find yourself doodling in the margins of your notebooks, on the corner of your desk, on bathroom stall doors? Now's your chance to put that creativity to good use! We'll talk about what makes a good cartoon, looking at classic examples from yesteryear to today, including newspaper strips and web comics. Using the inspiration from the masters, we'll explore some cartooning of our own, with some group and individual activities. If all goes well, you'll take some great ideas for comics home with you. Take note: This is not really a learn-to-draw class. It's more than a write-the-perfect-joke class. What we're really interested in here is how a comic operates: characterization, dialogue, pacing, interactions between visual/text, and how all these features contribute to a successful cartoon. Because we take the funnies seriously.

Have you ever wanted to write for a magazine? Here's your chance to learn about magazine publishing and how to come up with great ideas for columns geared at your favorite publications. We'll start by reading some samples to dissect what makes a good column. Then we'll take a step back and evaluate some magazines and how columns fit into them. Along the way, we'll discuss such important aspects of column writing as targeting an audience, researching material and interviewing subjects. We'll do some in-class exercises on idea generation and research skills, so bring a magazine or two you'd like to write for and your handy reporter's tools (a notebook and a pen).