Nothing matters quite like a first impression, in art as much as life. This two-hour craft class from Off Assignment focuses on how to begin an essay or nonfiction book with force, so that readers can't resist moving deeper into the work. How do you seduce and surprise a reader? Give them a sense of the larger terrain and stakes of the project, but also grip them with an opening that feels specific, dramatic, and immediately gripping? This course will equip its participants with practical tools and fodder for interrogating their opening lines, pages, and/or chapters. To do so, we'll examine a range of inspiring examples in the realm of literary nonfiction: What works begin with exceptional force, panache, voice, and/or singularity? What makes their invitations into the longer works so irresistible? The course instructors, author Leslie Jamison and OA co-founder/editor Colleen Kinder, will discuss how they address the dilemma of beginnings in their own work, and share lessons they've learned as readers and editors of nonfiction. Students in the course will have the opportunity to pose questions and share their own how-to-begin conundrums. We'll do a few generative writing exercises, and have plenty of time for open discussion.

The class will take place on Zoom on October 12, 2022 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. EST. Participants will receive a Zoom link prior to the course as well as a recording of the course afterwards. Please email general@offassignment.com with any questions.