Over the course of 3 workshops, you’ll get a handle on the predominant narrative structures used by short story writers, and implement them in your own work. Completing set writing tasks between workshops, and receiving structured, peer-driven feedback, you’ll develop 3 short stories to completion, with tailored advice on how to shape the story, how to improve the characterisation, dialogue, and narrative voice.
You don’t necessarily need any practical experience of writing stories, nor of supervised creative writing of any kind, but it’s important that you have an interest in, and enthusiasm for, the short story form. To get the most from the course, you should be prepared do some background reading, undertake writing tasks between sessions, read the work of others on the course prior to each session, offer tactful - yet frank - feedback, and receive constructive criticism on your own work.
The course isn’t geared towards any particular sub-genre within the short story form - be it literary fiction, sci-fi, or horror - we’ll be looking at techniques applicable to all these genres. This course is taught by Jim Hinks, Comma Editor.
This isn’t a course devised to help you write a novel, a novella, poetry, micro-fiction, or biography - it’s all about the short story, which presents its own specific demands and opportunities to writers (for the avoidance of doubt, short stories typically weigh in at somewhere between 1500 and 5000 words long).
Something to write with (pen and paper will do) during sessions, and a computer and Internet access at home, to upload your work in progress to the online drop box. If you prefer to print out other people’s work to read prior to the sessions (rather than reading from a screen), you’ll need to do this at your own expense.
It only costs £70 for 3 evening course over a 3 month period. The courses are on the Monday evenings at the Manchester Digital Laboratory (Madlab) and start on May 23rd 2011 then meet at June 20th and July 25th.
Find the Manchester Digital Laboratory, at
36-40 Edge Street, Manchester M4 1HN
(Between Thomas St and the Craft Centre, opposite A Bar Called Common)
