From Idea to Article: Writing Non-Fiction Online with Rega Jha
February 21 – March 1
Dear poet/writer, we’d love to know you better.
What are you writing?
In prose, you prefer…
To stay informed about articles related to poetry writing,
would you like to get emails from us?
We don’t spam and you can unsubscribe any time.
In prose, you prefer…
To stay informed about articles related to fiction writing,
would you like to get emails from us?
And we’re happy to throw in two free courses, too
We don’t spam and you can unsubscribe any time.
To stay informed about articles related to prose and poetry writing,
would you like to get emails from us?
And we’re happy to throw in two free courses, too
We don’t spam and you can unsubscribe any time.
To stay informed about articles related to non-fiction writing,
would you like to get emails from us?
And we’re happy to throw in two free courses, too
We don’t spam and you can unsubscribe any time.
About the Course
From blogs to threads, articles to newsletters, first-person non-fiction is the internet’s lingua franca. This short course aims to demystify the form.
Over four afternoons in February, we’ll cover the process of crafting and publishing a non-fiction piece from start to end.
On the writing front, we’ll discuss: inspiration-gathering, ideation, research and reflection, first drafts, editing, and creating resonant emotional arcs for readers. Shifting to the publishing process, we’ll discuss: how to choose a medium; how to pitch to online publications; how to grow a readership; and possibilities for actually beginning to earn from writing online.
Perhaps most crucially, participants will have an opportunity to hone a piece of their own non-fiction writing, receiving personalised feedback and publishing advice.
This course is for those who feel an impulse towards attentiveness, self-expression, and truth-telling—the beginnings of all great non-fiction. Through shared reflections on craft and process, we’ll honour those impulses, and transform them into work that’s ready to meet its readers.
Course structure
Four sessions, two hours each.
10:00 am to 12:00 pm (noon).
Pre-assignment
- A small selection of readings.
- Write a 500 to 800-word non-fiction piece for workshopping through the course.
Day 1: Getting Oriented
- Meet the instructor and your coursemates.
- What is non-fiction? Defining the genre, and understanding the many sub-genres within it, especially online.
- The non-negotiable basics of all great non-fiction writing.
Day 2: The Writing Process
- Gathering materials: On attention, note-taking, ideation and research.
- Crafting a first draft: Steps of turning amorphous material into a cohesive single piece with an emotional & argumentative arc.
- The edit process, i.e. the actual heart of great writing: On the journey of self-editing, reading oneself objectively, on unbreakable rules.
Day 3: Centring the Reader
- Sympathising with the reader: Drawing on Strunk & White’s writing advice, we talk about how best to craft sentences & paragraphs so they help the reader find resonance, rather than alienate, bore, or frustrate the reader.
- Finding readers online: on the many mediums for digital publishing, how they differ, which ones are monetisable, and the first steps for choosing & publishing on the appropriate medium.
Day 4: Winning the Internet
- On virality: How does content travel online? What makes some pieces ‘viral’? Why do readers share what they share? A rundown on what makes writing ‘shareable’ i.e. resonant.
- Serving the digital reader: How does one have to format, package, and alter one’s writing to be most engaging and readable for online readers specifically?
This workshop is spread over four days:
Dates: 21st, 22nd, 28th February & 1st March
Timing: 10:00 am to 12:00 pm (noon)
About the Instructor
Rega Jha
Rega wrote all sorts of things – listicles, Twitter rants, comedy sketch scripts, memes – before settling down with the essay. Over a decade-long media career, she’s published hundreds of pieces of writing across a range of platforms, including The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Vogue, The Times of India, The Indian Express, Firstpost, Condé Nast Traveler, FiftyTwo, Outlook, and BuzzFeed, among others. Much of her body of work – spanning op-eds, longform reportage, memoir, and cultural criticism – examines popular sentiments: how emotions like pride, paranoia, desire, belonging, and anxiety are culturally generated, and how they’re mobilised in political, public life. She currently publishes weekly essays in the newsletter Here/Now Studies, and is working on her first book of essays.
Before launching into independent writing, Rega spent several years as the founding Editor-in-Chief of BuzzFeed India, where she led a team of writers and creators who gathered an audience of tens of millions of young Indians online.
Rega studied non-fiction writing at Columbia University and social science at Oxford.
FAQs
1. Why should I choose HWR Workshops?
Personal Attention: We don’t take more than 15 students in a class. You get a lot of personal attention and feedback. No classrooms of 20-30 people or one-way pre-recorded videos here.
Class Quality: For most courses, we filter our participants. You can’t just pay and sign up. We need to see a writing sample (in our application form) to ensure the class is of a uniform standard.
Cost per hour: Our courses are long and intense. As an example, the Creative Writing course is 18000 for 24 contact hours (3 days, 8 hours each day). The cost per hour = 750 / hour. That is comparable to many of the “cheaper” courses.
Quality of faculty: No lightweights here. Many of our faculty are award-winners. All are experts and great teachers. We don’t settle for average.
Feedback scores: Across courses, we are rated 4.5/5, or higher. You can read our reviews HERE.
2. Do I get a certificate of participation?
Yes, certificates are available on request.
3. Any discounts for students / other categories?
At the Himalayan Writing Retreat, we follow a strict No-Discount policy.
4. Is the workshop fee refundable?
Our cancellation policy is as follows:
For Physical Workshops:
- 100% refund (less 5% of total programme fee) on cancellation 40 days or more before the event start date.
- 50% refund if cancellation is between 20-40 days before start date.
- 0% refund if cancellation is less than 20 days before the start date.
For Online Workshops:
- 100% refund (less 5% of total programme fee) on cancellation 15 days or more before the event start date.
- 50% refund if cancellation is between 15 to 7 days before start date.
- 0% refund if cancellation is less than 7 days before the start date.
5. Is the Himalayan Writing Retreat a business or an NGO?
The Himalayan Writing Retreat is a social enterprise. It works closely and actively with two local NGOs in its community work initiatives: Chirag and Alaap. In 2020, HWR raised INR 6.1 Lakhs to support the Chirag School.
Have more questions? Feel free to write to us at info@himalayanwritingretreat.com or connect with us at +91 73035 16665 (call or WhatsApp).
Event Summary
**Please note: The price is exclusive of GST. i.e. INR 18,000 + GST