By Keith Lockitch Fans of Ayn Rand's ideas are often highly motivated to advance Objectivism in the culture through writing. Drawing on six years of experience teaching writing to Objectivist students, Dr. Lockitch offers guidance on how to write effectively and objectively. This course covers the basic principles and methods of nonfiction writing, focusing on what Ayn Rand called "middle range" writing—writing that is neither purely journalistic, nor purely theoretical, but which applies philosophical abstractions to concrete issues and events. Topics include: how to choose a subject and theme, how to assess and respect the audience's context of knowledge, how to organize one's thinking during the writing process, how to make effective use of motivation and contrast, and how to analyze an article to identify its theme and logical structure. Particular emphasis will be placed on the importance of objectivity in writing. This course was recorded at the 2010 Objectivist Summer Conference in Las Vegas, NV. (MP3 download; 3 hrs., 55 min., with Q & A, 169.23 MB)
