Short Story Workshop
The next session of this class begins Summer 2012. Please contact us to be put on the wait list or to discuss other options.
The short form is unique in its demands: how do we tell a compelling story with not a word wasted? The best stories are served by strong characters and tight plotting. But how do sentences and rhythms play a role? Voice and point of view?
The short story gives us an ideal venue for experimentation and delving deep into craft. Use this form to play with ideas and push your comfort zone, which can lead to new levels in all of your writing endeavors. Besides, short stories are just plain fun to read and write.
This workshop focuses on discussing student work —- an excellent method for writers who want to refine their ability to craft short stories. By examining our own stories, and those of other writers, we will look at ways language, plot and character intersect to present complex emotions and intense moments. A perfect opportunity for writers with some completed short story drafts waiting for feedback.
We’ll read published work together and each week different student manuscripts will be discussed. Not only will you receive feedback on your work, you’ll also gain important analytical skills while critiquing the manuscripts of your peers. Students should plan on having at least one short story draft to be workshopped.
Additional Courses of Interest:
- Fiction II
- Advanced Fiction Workshop
Who Should Attend:
- Adults, 18 and over
- Intermediate writers
About the Instructor: Lee Strickland’s fiction has appeared in Gettysburg Review, Sou’wester, Other Voices, StoryQuarterly, River Oak Review, Summerset Review and other places. Her short stories have won Illinois Arts Council grants and a “100 Distinguished Stories of the Year” notation in Best American Short Stories. Lee has just finished a memoir, an excerpt of which appeared in The Sun and won a “Notable Essay of the Year” accolade from Best American Essays 2011. Lee has an MFA from Warren Wilson College, teaches at North Park University and StoryStudio, and, having recently fallen back in love with short stories, is at work on a novel-in-stories about a Chicago family struggling through the turbulent years after September 11th.