Perfecting Your Short Story (Online Class)

The short story is a very distinctive and precise art form. It has the ability to transform everyday moments, ideas, and situations into an emotional and evocative experience. And, unlike in novels, this entire experience occurs in a condensed format and, therefore, it requires a different set of skills that must be cultivated and honed through guidance and practice. In this course, we will focus on improving an existing short story or crafting a new story. We will consider aspects of short story writing, such as voice, character creation and growth, pace, setting, and tone and explore how these techniques are used in well-known stories.

This class is for:

This class is for writers who have a draft of a short story and would like to continue working on it and for students who would like to write a new story. Students will receive personalized and focused instructor feedback on each assignment that will assist the writer in finding ways to perfect his or her story. Students will also share their work with other classmates to provide and receive constructive feedback.

By the end of the class, students will:

• Become more familiar with the elements that comprise a compelling short story process of creating a short story out of their inspiration and ideas
• Continue developing a knowledge of voice, character creation, tension, pacing, diction, and other aspects of writing, especially in relation to shorter works but applicable to all writing.
• Learn how to utilize advice and criticism for revising their work
• Have applied what they have learned to revising and improving one of their short stories.

Class Structure:

This four-week course will be conducted through TheNextBigWriter’s class system. Students should come into the class with a draft of a story that they would like to continue working on. Weekly assignments will be given on Mondays and will focus on specific aspects of story writing to help students view their stories with a fresh eye and a new perspective.

Week One: Overview of Elements

This lesson will offer an overview on areas of interest for this course such as tone, voice, setting, pace, and character development within a short story. Students will be assigned two short stories available in the public domain to read and will be asked to identify these qualities in the story.

Forum Discussion: Identify the elements of the short stories. Where do you see tone, voice, setting, pace, and character development in the stories? How does the author effectively use these elements? Comment on your classmates’ responses to the stories as well as have a conversation about the stories.

Assignment: Have your story ready to post on or before the following Monday.

Week 2: Post Story and Lesson on Creating Tension

Students will post their short story (maximum of 15 pages) on the forum.

This lesson will focus on how to build tension in the story through dialogue, sentence structure, and internal vs. external tension through examples of well-known stories and movies.

Forum Discussion: Students will think of a scene in a movie or novel/short story that effectively creates, builds, and maintains a sense of tension. Examine how this was achieved and how it can be applied to your own work.

Assignment: Over the course of the week, students will select two of their classmates’ stories to read and will identify where they see tone, voice, setting, character, and pace working well in the story. Students may offer suggestions for improvement.

Week 3: Lesson on Beginning and Ending

Does the opening of your story have immediacy? Does it incite some tension or curiosity that makes the reader want more? Does it begin at the last possible moment?

Does the end of your story achieve the sensation you want your reader to have? Has your story organically evolved to this end point? How has your story changed from beginning to end? What do you want your reader to feel after reading your last sentence?

Forum Discussion: Provide a short list of opening and closing lines that have stood out to you in your reading. Why do they stand out and why do they work? What can you learn from these lines? Read your classmates’ lists as well and consider how you react to the lines they post.

Assignment: Post a revised version of your short story the following Monday with a short analysis of your revision process.

Week 4: Discussion on Revision

Students post an edited/revised draft of their story and write an analysis describing their revision process to post to the forum.

Forum Discussion: Read classmates’ stories, comment on the revisions you notice. Do the revisions improve your experience as a reader? What aspects of their story work well for you? Could you suggest areas for further revision?

Last Assignment: Write either a drabble (100 words) or a dribble (50 words) in which you use as many elements of a short story as possible! Post it to the group when you feel it is complete and enjoy reading those of your classmates’ as well! At the end of Week 4, I will post a few writing prompts to help you get inspired for your next story! 

About the Instructor

Elena Cabrera is a master's candidate at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts where she is pursing an MFA in Creative Writing with a concentration in fiction. As an undergraduate at Fairfield University, she majored in English with a concentration in Creative Writing and spent all four years taking creative writing workshops and courses on publishing. For three years, she worked as the Managing Editor for the university's literary journal, Dogwood: A Journal of Poetry and Prose where she read hundreds of short stories, poems, and non fiction essays. Her short story "How Lucky We Have it" was published in the Spring 2013 edition of The Collegiate Scholar, a literary journal created by The National Society of Collegiate Scholars.  After graduation, she worked as an editorial intern at Sourcebooks, Inc. where she read and edited romance novels and women's fiction.

Class Start Date: March 16, 2015

The class will consist of four lessons provided on a weekly basis starting on March 2, 2015. Participants will be able to work at their own pace over the four week period.

Class cost and signup:

The cost of the class is $120 with a 10% discount to Premium Members of TheNextBigWriter. 

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To Enroll in the Class:

If you are a member of the site: Apply to join the group and we will contact you to finalize the enrollment.

If you are not a member of the site: Register to join TheNextBigWriter and then apply to join the class. There is no fee required to join the site and enrolling in the class includes 30 days of Premium membership on the site.

Class size is limited to ten students.

Questions about the class can also be sent to Sol at snasisi (at) thenextbigwriter.com. Thank you.