Writing a short story can seem confusing, especially when there’s so much you want to say and so little space to say it in. What do you do with all those important details, those great side characters, and those pages of history? And how do you tie it all up in a meaningful way?

This weekend course is designed to give you a simple, clear roadmap to the writing of the short story, and to travel that road with you step by step, so that you become familiar with each twist and turn. Through a series of in-class exercises, you will develop a character, design a world for her/him to inhabit, discover a plot, and then write a narrative with a clear beginning, middle and end. By the end of the course, you should have a complete first draft of a short story to revise—and to serve as a model for future stories.

In this class, we will:

·       Discuss the basic elements of story, including character, conflict, setting, plot, and structure

·       Create examples of those things for ourselves

·       Write the first draft of a short story

You will take away:

·       A clear understanding of how to write a short story

·       A first draft of a short story

In this workshop, we will generate new writing through exercises and assignments.