Writing Classes

This class is now full, but there are still spaces in the Flash Fiction class, which begins April 14. Please scroll down for details.

Begins March 3. In this online fiction writing class, you’ll learn how to create compelling characters, choose the best point of view, structure your story, write great dialogue, craft an engaging plot, and use setting and description to draw your reader into your fictional world. Interesting, information-packed lectures focus on the fundamental elements of fiction writing. Weekly writing exercises will help you practice the techniques covered in the craft lectures. Feedback from the instructor and your peers will help you identify your strengths, hone your skills, and turn skeletons into stories. Learn how to create conflict, sustain the reader’s interest, and move the story forward. Understand what makes a scene tick and what makes a character worth caring about. If you’re ready to dip your toes into the fictive waters, this online fiction writing class is for you.

Duration: 6 weeks. Tuition: $249

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Begins April 14. Duration: 5 weeks. Tuition: $210.

In China they’re called “smoke-longs,” because people read them on the bus or at work during cigarette breaks. In Japan they’re called “palm-of-the-hand stories.” In America, we refer to them as “sudden fiction,” “flash fiction,” or, simply, “the very short story.” The beauty of flash fiction is that it evokes a world, a situation, a series of scenes, or perhaps a complex relationship in very few words. Whereas a novel takes years to write, a very short story may materialize in a day. For the purposes of this class, we define flash fiction as 750 words or fewer. You’ll come away from this five-week workshop with five complete flash fictions–brief, beautiful narrative gems ready to be released into the world.

Duration: 5 weeks. Tuition: $210.