Short Story Secrets
Short Stories
Training
Provided by Online Training Directory
Designed for the writer who wants to move beyond a first draft.
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Short Story Secrets
Short Story Secrets
Full Description
Outcomes:
Assessment:
Week 1
Point of View:
Point of View not only affects who tells the story and what they can tell, but what effect the telling will have on the reader. In the first week we will discuss 1st, 2nd and 3rd person point of view, and the advantages and drawbacks each point of view presents. Your assignment will be to test out two points of view on a story, and write a short report on on how each helped/changed your story.
Week 2
Character:
Where do characters come from? In week two we will look at several ways that characters can be generated and how real people can be tranformed into characters. Assignments will include creating a character and relating an incident he/she might find interesting enough to relate in his/her own voice.
Week 3
Setting:
Setting is always a conscious choice on the part of the author. In week three we will explore how setting can affect the story you tell, as well as how it determines what sort of story you can tell, what are the parameters and limitations of the story. Assignments will include the creation of 3 different settings and ideas for stories that could only take place in those settings. You will also place your character from Week 2 in one of the settings you have created.
Week 4
Conflict:
All fiction involves, at one level or another, conflict. The characters struggle against the environment or with each other (external conflict) or are engaged in struggles with themselves (internal conflict). One important approach to understanding any story is to determine the nature of the conflict involved and the pattern that the opposing forces assume. In Week 4 you will be asked to
explore the conflict in two assigned short stories, as well as to write a short report discussing the conflict in one of your own pieces of writing.
Week 5
Structure:
How are stories told? Every story has a structure, a form or a shape that creates an effect. What do you tell first and what do you withhold until the end of the story? In week 5 we will discuss how structure shapes the story you tell.
Assignments may include a short paper analyzing the structure of one of the assigned short stories, as well as well as experimentation with the structure of one of the stories you have written.
Week 6
Individual Exercises:
Week 6 is reserved for whatever needs extra focus in your writing, be it dialogue, description, language, beginnings/endings, etc. The assignments for week 6 will be determined based on these considerations.
| The short story form is making a come back, and is the best way to break into the world of publishing. This short story workshop is designed for the writer who has already begun writing stories and wants to move beyond a first draft. Once your idea is on paper, what is the next phase in the creative process? Structure, development, voice, texture and point of view are some of the issues a short story writer must consider when revising his/her work. This workshop will focus on helping the writer proceed from first draft towards finished product through exercises, posted lectures and feedback from the instructor, and through selected readings on process from authors such as Milan Kundera, John Gardner and Annie Dillard. |
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*critique his/her own work and make informed decisions about point of view, characters, plot, etc. *polish his/her writing* proceed slowly but surely towards a final draft *develop a method through which to consider all subsequent work |
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Student work will be assessed by: *the completion of all assignments *the prompt submission of all assignments to the instructor * the care and thoroughness with which the student completes the assigned task *the progress made in his/her craft *the demonstrated understanding and practice of the issues /techniques discussed *the willingness to reconsider/ rewrite his/her own work |
Point of View not only affects who tells the story and what they can tell, but what effect the telling will have on the reader. In the first week we will discuss 1st, 2nd and 3rd person point of view, and the advantages and drawbacks each point of view presents. Your assignment will be to test out two points of view on a story, and write a short report on on how each helped/changed your story.
Where do characters come from? In week two we will look at several ways that characters can be generated and how real people can be tranformed into characters. Assignments will include creating a character and relating an incident he/she might find interesting enough to relate in his/her own voice.
Setting is always a conscious choice on the part of the author. In week three we will explore how setting can affect the story you tell, as well as how it determines what sort of story you can tell, what are the parameters and limitations of the story. Assignments will include the creation of 3 different settings and ideas for stories that could only take place in those settings. You will also place your character from Week 2 in one of the settings you have created.
All fiction involves, at one level or another, conflict. The characters struggle against the environment or with each other (external conflict) or are engaged in struggles with themselves (internal conflict). One important approach to understanding any story is to determine the nature of the conflict involved and the pattern that the opposing forces assume. In Week 4 you will be asked to
explore the conflict in two assigned short stories, as well as to write a short report discussing the conflict in one of your own pieces of writing.
How are stories told? Every story has a structure, a form or a shape that creates an effect. What do you tell first and what do you withhold until the end of the story? In week 5 we will discuss how structure shapes the story you tell.
Assignments may include a short paper analyzing the structure of one of the assigned short stories, as well as well as experimentation with the structure of one of the stories you have written.
Week 6 is reserved for whatever needs extra focus in your writing, be it dialogue, description, language, beginnings/endings, etc. The assignments for week 6 will be determined based on these considerations.
Contact Hours: 24
About The Training Provider: Online Training Directory
Online Training Directory - Workforce and Continuing Ed online courses are offered at basic, intermediate and advanced levels. Going beyond basic training provides a deeper and more educationally rewarding learning experience, especially for students who wish to advance careers or initiate new ones. For the general lifelong learner we continue to offer "fun to learn" single, stand-alone courses.
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