About this course

The videos included in this course are recordings of a live class. The instructor is not available for questions or feedback at this time.

How many words does it take to create true terror? In this seminar, we'll examine tiny tales of horror and learn how to create short and scary stories. We'll study the similarities between comedy and horror in terms of timing, expectation, and subversion. There are many genres of horror that can exist in little spaces. We'll learn about wildcard characters, invented worlds, and pacing strategies to set up suspense. Throughout the workshop, we'll stay close to character and keep an eye on how turning points and climaxes are related to the specificity of voice, desire, and fear. By the end of this seminar, participants will have the beginnings of several new horror flash pieces based on in-class writing prompts, a worksheet for outlining a short horror piece, and resources and recommendations for further reading.



Topics Covered

  • Generating story ideas
  • Flash fiction
  • Story structure
  • Building suspense
  • Writing surprising endings

Student Takeaways

  • New story ideas
  • Worksheets for structure
  • Reading recommendations


Duration of Class

40 minutes



About Marcella Haddad

Marcella Haddad loves writing, traveling, and armadillos. She completed her MFA at UMass Amherst and was a Tin House YA 2022 Scholar. Her work has appeared in Variant Literature, Okay Donkey, Empty Room Radio, Apparition Lit, and others. You can find her in a tree or at marcellaphaddad.com

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