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Discover the World: Science and Nature Writing

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Discover the World: Science and Nature Writing
June 14, 2018
6 Weeks | $260

Make science come alive through storytelling. In this course, you’ll learn how to translate even complex scientific concepts for general audiences while finding hidden narratives that captivate readers. Master the tricks of the trade when it comes to researching, reporting, and interviewing as you write news articles, essays, and feature stories. You’ll also practice turning your writing into a visual, multimedia story through the use of a digital storytelling platform.

This class is the right one to take if you’re interested in writing about any area of science, nature and the environment or health and medicine. Whether it’s a cutting-edge research breakthrough or your own unique perspective on nature, discover ways to interweave character profiles with facts and figures to create stories that explain the world, and help us to understand our place in it.

Course Outline:

Week 1: Breaking it down

What is science writing? Learn how to identify compelling stories, where to find reliable sources, interview best practices, and more.

Assignment: Write explainer essay; develop 3 news story pitches for discussion

Week 2: Hooks, ledes, and nut grafs

What are the key elements of a journalistic news story?

Assignment: Write news story based on recently published scientific papers or your own research

Week 3: Up close and personal

Develop your voice as a writer by exploring the more creative form of science writing through the personal essay.

Assignment: Write a personal or observational essay

Week 4: And now for the feature presentation…

Go beyond the traditional news piece and find a compelling science feature story with multiple dimensions and characters that captivate.

Assignment: Write scientist profile essay; develop two feature story pitches for discussion

Week 5: Features round 2

What are the characteristics of a successful feature story? Explore structure, pace, and narrative in long-form feature writing.

Assignment: Write feature story

Week 6: Multimedia storytelling

This class will introduce tools and resources for digital storytelling (including photos, video, narration, blogs, and social media) through the use of a multimedia storytelling platform.

Assignment: Convert feature story into multimedia piece

Student Comments

Alix brings the highest scientific pedigree and provides extensive and insightful feedback on challenging writing exercises. The lessons were valuable —excellent quality and high volume. I expect to refer to them and the connected links in the future as I continue to develop my science writing skills. Shawn Montgomery

Very happy with Alix's understandable, professional, great curriculum. Love her writing style.. Her reading list opened my world to really interesting writers. Alix gave great feedback and encouragement. I was afraid to read the first feedback because I know the weakness in my work. She gave positive remarks and positive ways to make my work better. I would take another class with Alix. (Maybe the same one.) I loved all the classes I have ever taken from your website. And yes, I'll taken another and another and another... Susan McLaughlin

The [class] content was very good. It included not only the lesson, but tons of great references and examples that help make the concepts more real/tangible. Alix was very responsive. I could sense her interest and eagerness to impart her experience and knowledge to the class. Also, Alix' experience with multimedia and more contemporary writing platforms was really useful. Arnold Doyle

Sarah Van Arsdale

Sarah Van Arsdale is the author of four books of fiction, and one book of poetry. In 2016, her novella collection, In Case of Emergency, Break Glass, was published by Queen’s Ferry Press. Her second novel, Blue, was chosen by Alan Cheuse for the 2002 Peter Taylor Prize. She will have an essay on setting in fiction in a forthcoming issue of the AWP Writer’s Chronicle, and a memoir essay in a forthcoming issue of Bayou Magazine; her illustrated essay, The One Devious Device appeared in The Florida Review this year.

Her poetry, essays, short fiction and book reviews have appeared in literary magazines including The Writer, Guernica, Passages North, The Poetry Miscellany, The Widener Review, and The New Guard. In addition to teaching in the Antioch/LA low-residency MFA program, she teaches at New York University and with Art Workshop International in Assisi, Italy. From 2007 to 2009, with the New York Institute of Art and Design, she developed a course in creative writing. She curates BLOOM, a reading series in New York City, and she serves on the board of the Ferro-Grumley Award in LGBTQ Fiction. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts.

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https://www.sarahvanarsdale.com/

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