
Italy was the
cradle of the Renaissance a fitting locale for a workshop
that blends writing and photography, practice and theory, a historic
city and the latest storytelling techniques ....
Please join
Amanda Castleman and
Marcus Donner in Rome
from April 2026, 2008.
Generally
class will meet in the morning and afternoon, with time for students
to exercise their new skills in between. However, we arranged
for two late-start days, so folks can explore the city (the Sistine
Chapel, for example, is best visited very early, before the line
forms: it's stretched a mile during high season. Also, note that
some museums require reservations, especially for English-language
tours).
Sunday April
20
6:00-8:30pm
Opening night reception at the classroom in Monti: wine, antipasti
and a warm welcome. Light eaters can probably graze dinner from
the selection of snacks.
Monday April 21
9:00am
Discussion: genre overview
10:00am
Photo seminar: shooting like a pro
Noon
Break for lunch (on your own) and exploration
4pm - 5:30pm
Discussion: story pitches
8:15pm
Excursion: Birth of Rome celebration (optional)
Meet in front of the Monumento
Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II ( also know as the Vittoriano
and the wedding cake, this Fascist-built monstrosity
dominates Piazza Venezia). We'll take a short walk to the see the
candle-covered Capitoline
Hill. Fireworks will explode over the Tiber River later that evening.
Feel free to join us or explore alone.
Tuesday April
22
Morning
Field reporting: fact-gathering for the afternoon writing clinic.
Sleuth down your own topic or chose from our shortlist:
Campo
dei Fiori (the famous farmers' market runs dawn-noon)
The
Vatican (go extremely early for the Sistine Chapel. The
dome tour is panoramic, but a monster stair workout, even with the
elevator).
Trastevere
(atmospheric quarter on the west bank of the Tiber)
The Forum
(free) and Coliseum
(purchase a combination ticket at the Palatine, where lines are
much shorter)
The Pantheon
and Tor di
Nona area
2:00pm
Debrief on morning field work
3:00pm
In-class exercise: a lede, nut graf and two paragraphs based on
the morning's reporting
3:30pm
Photo seminar: travel image tips and techniques
4pm-4:30pm
Writing clinic: share and critique
4:30-5:30pm
Discussion: self-editing and redrafting
Overnight Homework:
redraft your in-class exercise
Wednesday
April 23
Field assignment: prepare a "front of the book" article of 250-500
words with one accompanying photo. The day excursion includes the
Testaccio neighborhood and Ostia Antica: the city's old port is
now the most extensive collection of Roman ruins outside of Pompei.
9:00am
We'll visit the Pyramid
of Cestius and the Protestant
Cemetery (the final resting place of Keats and Shelley's heart).
At Volpetti, one of Rome's
most famous deli's, we'll pick up a picnic lunch (provided by TWC).
Time-permitting, we'll also visit the Testaccio market.
Travel Catch the Rome-Lido train from Porta San Paolo (30 min)
Noon Picnic lunch
12:30pm Writing clinic
Afternoon
Explore the ruins of Ostia
Antica: streets, temples, baths and forums. 
Thursday
April 24
Morning
Writing time: develop your "front of the book" story
3:00pm
Writing clinic: "front of the book" assignment
4:00pm
Discussion: discovering your voice
5:00pm
Photo seminar: shooting for the web and blogs, magic hour and night
photos
6:45pm Photo safari: We'll take a stroll from the Capitoline
toward the Tiber River to capture the day's best light. Early birds
may enjoy the panorama from the Capitoline
Museum Cafè. No admission ticket is required: a separate
entrance lies on the left side of the Palazzo dei Conservatori.
Dismiss the sensation of sneaking into the museum - it's truly OK:
just clamber up the stairs to the bar.
Friday April
25
10:30am
Hack skills 101 Interviews, investigations and research
Noon
Break for lunch (on your own) and exploration
4:00pm Literary techniques
Plot, structure and pacing tips from narrative nonfiction
Q&A (photo and text) and final notes. Slide show of student
work.
Please note:
April 25th is Liberation Day. Museums, businesses, public transportation
and government offices may be closed or on Sunday schedule. Don't
attempt any ambitious travel on this holiday.
Saturday April 26
9:00am-1pm
Critiques: Private consultations, up to 30 minutes with each instructor,
of your photos and text from the week's work.
8:00pm
Closing dinner at Remo in Testaccio. The pizza's thin crust
peters into charcoal here the true mark of wood-fired, Roman
authenticity. Indeed, Remo is as real as it comes. The hum of happy
customers grows loud in this blue-collar neighborhood favorite.
Superb produce makes even a simple bruschetta al pomodoro
(toast, brushed with garlic and olive oil, topped with tomato and
basil) pleasurable. Serious gourmands should sample the eggplant
parmesan and filetti di bacalà (salted, battered,
deep-fried cod), however. The tablecloths may be paper, but this
pizzeria has both class and credibility.
Please note
changes may be made to the schedule based on student proficiency,
for weather, train strikes (not uncommon in Italy) and other unforeseen
circumstances.
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Experience and erudition
As full-time freelancers, we provide the sort of mean-streets, real-time
advice many students crave. Our resumes range from travel guides,
to Internet startups, metro dailies, and travel and entertainment
magazines. We can advise on a variety of writing goals from
insider and outsider perspectives.
We back more than 40 years of collective journalism experience with
a high level of scholarship. Classes source the latest criticism
and writing manuals, from Marc Weingarten's The
Gang That Wouldn't Write Straight
to Ben Yagoda's The
Sound on the Page ,
Perseus Publishing's We've
Got Blog
and Roy Peter Clark's 50
Writing Tools .
Instructor Amanda Castleman contributed to the genre with several
chapters in the first U.S. collegiate travel
writing textbook .
The combination is powerful. We can answer nitty-gritty questions
about story pitches or converse about Jack Hart's theories of narrative
arc. The effect we hope is to help folks take those
first steps, while inspiring them to become long-distance runners.
Process, not product
Sometimes the victory is just coming to the mat, one
of Amanda's yoga teachers often intones. The same philosophy applies
to writing: simply starting can be the hardest part
followed
by continuing. An author's work is never done, just abandoned.
New markets emerge. Styles evolve. Growth is continual, like a rat's
tooth: we forever deepen our understanding of the world and
how we interpret it.
Dedication to that process is what separates a writer from someone
who merely can write. No diploma or publication credit confers this
status. Authors earn it daily from an unknown poet toiling
on a first chapbook to bestsellers with gilded names.
The self-motivation and lack of benchmarks can be frustrating. As
teachers, we help students set realistic goals, while awakening
them to the larger journey.
Given gentle encouragement and truly detailed commentary
many students have launched professional careers; several
even debuted in national publications like National Geographic
Traveler and The Christian Science Monitor. Others have
decided to remain passionate amateurs, laying escapist fantasies
to rest: success of another sort.
Either way, we have a lot of laughs.
Distinctive voice
Every writer has a distinctive voice and compelling, unique
stories. A good instructor guides students in this discovery, while
nudging them towards professional standards.
The job is part cheerleading, part diagnostics and a large measure
of explanation. Why change something? And where to begin? Such advice
is essential to authors new to a genre. Amanda supplies detailed
feedback, while respecting each student's ambitions and personal
style.
An eye for storytelling
Starting out, most writers shoot their own art. Sometimes having
a few key photos can secure a commission. Marcus walks students
through the basics of composition, as well as strategies for travel
shoots. Explore techniques such as framing, the rule of thirds and
shooting pictures for your blog. Learn how to edit your images to
best tell a tale. Then expand your skills with our "magic hour
and night photography" seminar.
Travel Writing
Class.com invites students' companions to join the photo classes
for $US 350.
Good bedside manner
Humor helps, we firmly believe especially in creative endeavors,
involving oft-fragile egos. For example, perhaps some of the sting
dissolves if Amanda can laugh at her legendary abhorrence of non-purposeful
word repetition.
Both our Rome
instructors, Amanda Castleman
and Marcus Donner are
respected for their clarity, wit and energy in the classroom. Read
more about their backgrounds and students' evaluations here.
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