Writing Classes with The Writer’s Workshop

I took your non-fiction Seattle writing class in the winter of ’95/’96. You must have done a good job because of the 11 folks in the class, six of us have published books. The University of Oklahoma Press published my manuscript in 2005: A Room for the Summer; Adventure, Misadventure and Seduction in the Mines of the Coeur d’Alenes. The class had a great effect and I read and re-read my notes continually as I proceeded through my book.

Nick O’Connell’s Seattle writing classes really opened up my eyes to using fictional techniques (dialogue, telling detail, characterization) in my nonfiction writing. Writing assignments I produced for Creative Nonfiction were later incorporated into Inside the Pike Place Market (1999). I highly recommend Nick’s classes to other writers looking for direction and inspiration.

Nick’s great sense of humor, his keen eye for clean, compelling prose, and his years of practical writing experience make learning productive and entertaining. Nick successfully guided me through my first job as a newspaper reporter and has provided advice and mentoring since. He’s a great teacher for the beginning writer and a superb coach for the experienced professional.

Prior to taking Nick’s class, I had faced a deluge of rejections—79 alone, just for my book. He had to convince me that the essay I was writing for his class was appropriate for the “Lives” column of the Sunday Magazine section of The New York Times and encouraged me to submit it. “Too Close for Comfort” was accepted the day the editor received it and was published two weeks later. Is there a better endorsement for Nick’s teaching talents? I almost forgot–his obvious joy in craft and wonderful sense of humor.

Thanks to what I learned from you and Scott Driscoll, I was lucky enough to become an intern at Seattle Magazine, then a freelance writer, and now I’m the Research Editor for Seattle Magazine, Seattle Business Monthly, and Northwest Home & Garden. I really appreciated your feedback and suggestions. This is a long overdue thank you.

Thank you so much for the wonderful Follow The Story Seattle writing class. In eight weeks you’ve taken my writing skills farther than the four years I spent on my Bachelor’s degree in English.

About six years ago I took your Creative Nonfiction online writing class. I enjoyed it immensely and think I even learned something. Fast forward to October, 2006. The editorial board of the University of South Carolina Press met this afternoon. My proposal for a book called Longitude by Wire: Finding North America was on the agenda. At a little after two this afternoon I received this e-mail from the editor: “Project approved for publication. Congratulations.” Who would ever have thought I would get this far? Just amazing!

Nick, thanks so much for all your guidance and help: the classes, the feedback, and the positive attitude towards criticism all contributed to my successful book proposal. The structure of the class plus your positive spin on incorporating suggestions really altered my attitude. Given my lifetime history of a critical mother, that was some change!