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.
The elements of a story get rearranged when we transform them into short fiction. Whether your original inspiration is a character, premise, or a world, in this lecture we’ll go over six possible structures that can guide and inspire your short fiction writing. We’ll discuss how to tell when a story demands the length of a novel and when its essence can be captured in a shorter piece. For each structure we’ll review how to start writing in that particular form, with prompts, as well as story recommendations for future reading to see that structure in practice. By the end of this lecture writers will have a worksheet and notes on new ways to begin and outline short fiction.
Topics Covered
- Originating ideas
- Belly of the Whale and mythic structures
- Comedy/Horror Format
- Taxonomy
- Boomerang
- Villain Origin Story
- Turning Point
Student Takeaways
- The three categories of ideas
- How to decide between short fiction vs. novel
- The overlapping skill sets of comedy and horror
- Exploring the epistolary format
- Key decisions in the hero’s journey
- Capturing key moments of change in short fiction
Duration of Class
50 minutes
Example Curriculum
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
