Features advice from leading composition theorists and instructors, as they offer insights into difficult concepts such as making a trasition from personal writing to academic writing, developing a voice, learning how to write under pressure and understanding critical thinking. Authors, educators, other professionals who use writing skills on the job, and first-year writing students from colleges and universities across the country make introductory appearances. Professionals discuss ways to grapple with the intimidating process of selecting a topic to write about as well as the challenge of finding a unique angle when an instructor or boss selects the topic. Featured writing examples include a police officer's arrest report, a music critic's magazine story, and scene-setting and character development in the work of novelists Sue Grafton, Tom Robbins, and Joseph Wambaugh. The program provides advice on how to move from reading for pleasure to deciphering academic texts.
All writing tells a story, whether a novel or even a scientific paper.
The program outlines Aristotle's basic structure for narrative. Science fiction author William Gibson, mystery writer Sue Grafton, journalist John Morgan Wilson, and novelist Charles Johnson present tips for telling a good story. The program demonstrates the relationships between narrative writing, personal writing and academic writing. Voice Writers choose their language and tone depending on the audience. In this program, students, teachers, and writers, including Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Richard Aregood and novelist David Guterson, dissect both the esoteric and mechanical aspects of creating a writer's voice.