I. ASPECTS OF THE GENRE.
1. Literary Nonfiction: What Makes It Distinctive? 2. Six Basic Forms of Literary Nonfiction: An Overview. 3. Plunging In: Getting Started. 4. Theme: What's Your Point? 5. Creating Structure. 6. Literary Concerns: Style, Tone, Suggestion. 7. Ethical Questions: How Much Is Real? 8. Active Reading: How to Learn from Others. II. ANALYSIS: CASE STUDIES.
9. Personal Experience: Focus on Characterization. Snakebit, Connie Wienecke.
10. Personal Experience Continued: Focus on Theme. Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Christopher Clausen. For discussion: Catholics, Gary Soto.
11. Biographical Sketches: Light and Serious. The Hip Plumber, James D. Houston. My Father's Body, Christopher Buckley.
12. Biographical Sketch for Discussion. The Day After That, Tzivia Gover.
13. Opinions: Direct and Indirect. The Coldness of E-Mail, Destiny Ward. For discussion: Strong Stories, Joseph Bruchac.
14. Reflections: Discursive Writing with a Purpose. Stone's Throw, Jackson Jodie Daviss. For discussion: Total Laryngitis, Trinie Dalton.
15. A Sense of Place. On Leaving Florida, Marjorie Sandor. For discussion: The Rise and Fall of Rodney, James Bertram.
16. A Glimpse of History. Captain Hind the Highwayman, C.V. Wedgwood. For discussion: The Key, Stephen Minot.
Appendix A: Submitting Material. Appendix B: Further Reading. Appendix C: Notes on Contributors. Glossary/Index. 