Introduction
Why Personal Storytelling Matters
Whether you’re a novice or an experienced writer, give yourself permission to explore what you have to say – and why you want to say it.
“Writers are obviously at their most natural when they write in the first person. Writing is an intimate transaction between two people, conducted on paper, and it will go well to the extent that it retains its humanity. Therefore I urge people to write in the first person: to use ‘I’ and ‘me’ and ‘we’ and ‘us.'”
— William Zinsser[1]
COURSE OVERVIEW
What You Need to Know
In this opening section, you will:
- Learn about four key mental tools for writing.
- Be introduced to your instructor, Martha Nichols.
- Find a summary of how the lessons work.
- Consider questions + ten takeaways for the course.
- Optional: Ponder telling the truth in personal nonfiction.
- From "Style" in On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Zinsser (HarperCollins, 1976/2006), p. 20. ↵