A writing class doesn’t get better than this. - Charles Puccia
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DATE TBA DURATION 6 weeks
TUTOR Tom Vowler COST £180 LOCATION Online
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'A short story is a love affair; a novel is a marriage. A short story is a photograph; a novel is a film.'
JOIN PRIZE-WINNING SHORT STORY WRITER TOM VOWLER TO UNRAVEL
THE BEAUTY AND MYSTERY OF THIS TANTALISING FORM
JOIN PRIZE-WINNING SHORT STORY WRITER TOM VOWLER TO UNRAVEL
THE BEAUTY AND MYSTERY OF THIS TANTALISING FORM
DESCRIPTION
A 6-week online course designed for those with a passion for storytelling, where we:
This course is open to anyone who is writing (or wants to write) short stories (including flash / micro-fiction), and is intended to offer constructive and practical advice on how to produce work that is likely to be accepted for publication. No previous experience writing stories is necessary. The course is designed for both beginners to the form and those wishing to extend their existing knowledge / skills.
If you need more information about the course, simply use the Contact page.
A 6-week online course designed for those with a passion for storytelling, where we:
- Look (briefly) at the history of the short story and its cultural origins
- Examine what brings a story to life, what gives it traction and vitality
- Explore the elements of successful short fiction
- Discover how great stories are crafted
- Utilise prompts to generate new work
- Dissect some of the 'best' stories ever written
- Join lively discussions about technique and craft with your tutor and other students
- Unravel (some of) the mysteries of the form and apply them to your writing
- Learn to edit / revise effectively
- Create and maintain mood in your stories
- Focus on where to send your work for publication
This course is open to anyone who is writing (or wants to write) short stories (including flash / micro-fiction), and is intended to offer constructive and practical advice on how to produce work that is likely to be accepted for publication. No previous experience writing stories is necessary. The course is designed for both beginners to the form and those wishing to extend their existing knowledge / skills.
If you need more information about the course, simply use the Contact page.
HOW WILL I LEARN?
This online course consists of a single easy to navigate online teaching module, comprising:
HOW LONG?
The course lasts for six weeks, and you should allow around 3 – 5 hours per week to complete it. Study in you own time, from anywhere in the world.
This online course consists of a single easy to navigate online teaching module, comprising:
- reading materials
- weekly live sessions via Skype (usually Monday evenings 7 - 8.30pm, or mutually agreed day)
- short writing tasks
- critical and creative exercises
- workshopping peers' work
- study of published stories
- discussions on craft / form
- 1-2-1 writing clinic with Tom Vowler
HOW LONG?
The course lasts for six weeks, and you should allow around 3 – 5 hours per week to complete it. Study in you own time, from anywhere in the world.
THE ENVIRONMENT
Supportive, nourishing, inspiring, fun. Helping you develop your skills to become a better writer.
COURSE CONTENT
WHAT FEEDBACK WILL I RECEIVE?
Feedback from your tutor occurs on a weekly basis, and includes specific and general guidance on what you are doing well and how you can improve. Participants workshop each other's fiction. 1-2-1 tutorials with Tom can be booked at a time to suit.
OFFERING
Each course I will offer one complimentary place to a writer whose financial circumstances are limited. Please use the Contact page to get in touch, briefly outlining why the course would be of benefit to you at this stage of your writing journey.
Supportive, nourishing, inspiring, fun. Helping you develop your skills to become a better writer.
COURSE CONTENT
- A brief history of the short story
- What makes stories come to life, and how to build them
- Character, voice, narrative tension and dialogue
- Subtext, structure and space
- Giving your stories authority
- Less is more: how to edit to achieve irreducibility
- Writing publishable (even prizewinning) stories
WHAT FEEDBACK WILL I RECEIVE?
Feedback from your tutor occurs on a weekly basis, and includes specific and general guidance on what you are doing well and how you can improve. Participants workshop each other's fiction. 1-2-1 tutorials with Tom can be booked at a time to suit.
OFFERING
Each course I will offer one complimentary place to a writer whose financial circumstances are limited. Please use the Contact page to get in touch, briefly outlining why the course would be of benefit to you at this stage of your writing journey.
WHAT ALUMNI SAY
Undeniably one of the best courses I have taken to harness my skill and discipline in writing, as well as gain greater insight in the art of the short story. I was able to produce two stories during the course, with quality feedback from the tutor. - Marcelle Mateki Akita
An exceptional course which has seen me writing seriously again. Regular deadlines, top-quality teaching and peer critique provided a doorway back into the discipline of writing fiction with passion and a sense of taking risks. Tutor feedback was outstanding: incisive and well-considered with that very rarely found sentence-level analysis, which opened up my story’s potential, and really pushed the writing on. - Rachel Smart
I found the course really enlightening in regards to stepping up a notch with writing stories seriously. The resources have been invaluable, as has the feedback and contact with the other members of the group. - Jayne Sanders
Thanks to Tom’s writing, editorial and teaching experience, this course has got integrity, rigour and scope. As an emerging writer, I have developed a new impetus to write and read daily, supported by high-quality course material, teaching and feedback. It has been a springboard to publication, and I have secured a place to study for a masters in creative writing based on a portfolio written during the course. Excellent value for money. - Kerry Byrne
Under the exemplary tutelage of acclaimed short story writer Tom Vowler I gained an in-depth understanding of both the mechanics and the artistry of the short story. Highly recommended. - Roberta Beary
A good writer is not always a good teacher, but Tom is exceptional at both. In particular, he has the balance right for critiquing: enough to polish your work but not to destroy your timid first efforts. If you have the opportunity to learn with him, don’t hesitate. - Elizabeth
Since the course I have had a story included in The Henshaw Press anthology and was longlisted in this year’s Bridport Prize. - Linda
SUCCESS STORIES
'Stories unfurl like a Japanese paper flower on water.’
Undeniably one of the best courses I have taken to harness my skill and discipline in writing, as well as gain greater insight in the art of the short story. I was able to produce two stories during the course, with quality feedback from the tutor. - Marcelle Mateki Akita
An exceptional course which has seen me writing seriously again. Regular deadlines, top-quality teaching and peer critique provided a doorway back into the discipline of writing fiction with passion and a sense of taking risks. Tutor feedback was outstanding: incisive and well-considered with that very rarely found sentence-level analysis, which opened up my story’s potential, and really pushed the writing on. - Rachel Smart
I found the course really enlightening in regards to stepping up a notch with writing stories seriously. The resources have been invaluable, as has the feedback and contact with the other members of the group. - Jayne Sanders
Thanks to Tom’s writing, editorial and teaching experience, this course has got integrity, rigour and scope. As an emerging writer, I have developed a new impetus to write and read daily, supported by high-quality course material, teaching and feedback. It has been a springboard to publication, and I have secured a place to study for a masters in creative writing based on a portfolio written during the course. Excellent value for money. - Kerry Byrne
Under the exemplary tutelage of acclaimed short story writer Tom Vowler I gained an in-depth understanding of both the mechanics and the artistry of the short story. Highly recommended. - Roberta Beary
A good writer is not always a good teacher, but Tom is exceptional at both. In particular, he has the balance right for critiquing: enough to polish your work but not to destroy your timid first efforts. If you have the opportunity to learn with him, don’t hesitate. - Elizabeth
Since the course I have had a story included in The Henshaw Press anthology and was longlisted in this year’s Bridport Prize. - Linda
SUCCESS STORIES
- Roberta Beary’s piece was joint-winner of the Bridport Prize.
- David Ralph's story written on the course appeared in the Dublin Review.
- Kerry Byrne went on to achieve a distinction in her MA and continues to find homes for pieces written here.
- Rachael Smart boasts a burgeoning CV, forging an irresistible aesthetic of her own.
- So too Kik Lodge, whose debut collection was published post-course.
- Danny Beusch's story went on to be shortlisted for the prestigious Manchester Fiction Prize (just missing out on the £10,000 first prize).
'Stories unfurl like a Japanese paper flower on water.’
TUTOR: DR TOM VOWLER
* Stephen King's description of the short story
* Stephen King's description of the short story