Short Story Writing Class with Kerry Hadley-Pryce
With Kerry Hadley-Pryce. Starting 29/11/2022This class will explore vital elements of short story writing such as ekphrasis, active writing and enlivened narrative style. You’ll develop your craft and learn how to sharpen your writing to create compelling short stories.
DURATION: 6 weeks
Start Date: November 29th, 2022 – 1 place remaining
(There will be a course break from December 20th-January 3rd)
Our classes are in huge demand and are filling up very quickly, so we recommend booking early to avoid disappointment.
Places are strictly limited to 10 participants. You don’t have to be based in the US to take the class. We accept students from around the world!
This creative writing class fits in with a student’s schedule. You don’t have to be online at any particular time or day. Instead, the class is carried out through email correspondence, so you can read the notes whenever it suits you. There will be weekly notes and assignments over the course of six weeks. Your tutor will read each assignment and provide written feedback. You’ll find out more about how the online courses work here.
Please note that this is a class for adults. If you’re under 18, check out our writing for teenagers classes.
Module 1: Flash Fiction
When does a short story become ‘flash fiction’ – or vice versa? What’s the difference, anyway? In this module, we’ll be looking at the way brevity can work in our narrative, exploring flash, short, and micro fictions and practising some practical ways of sharpening up your narrative style.
Module 2: Ekphrasis in Short Stories
The dictionary definition of ekphrasis means ‘to describe a work of art,’ and ekphrastic writing has traditionally been associated with poetry, but we’ll be using it to inspire short stories. We’ll consider how visual images can work for us creatively, illustrating how art and image can both inspire and inhabit our short stories.
Module 3: Stories out of the Everyday
In this module, we’ll be working our creative muscles to explore ways in which, by looking at the ‘ordinary’, we can enliven our narrative style and produce a satisfying and compelling short story.
Module 4: Active Writing
This module aims to encourage you to experiment with your narrative voice by exploring ways to ‘find stories’ and to convey them in an original way.
Module 5: Stealing Stories
T. S. Eliot said, ‘Mediocre writers borrow; great writers steal.’ And here’s Mark Twain: ‘There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations. We keep on turning and making new combinations indefinitely; but they are the same old pieces of colored glass that have been in use through all the ages.’ In this penultimate module, we’ll be looking at ways to harvest the premise of a story and to develop our own ways of structuring and owning it.
Module 6: Endings
The best way to complete a short story class is to explore ‘endings’. In this module, we’ll be looking at the different ways you could end your story. We’ll read some examples and consider, amongst other things: ‘to twist or not to twist?’ Open or closed endings? Circular or linear?
If you have any further queries, you can check out Frequently Asked Questions or How it Works.
Our cancellation/refund policy may be viewed here.