Faber Academy: Writing Day with Chris Power

Full description

What makes a good short story? Many writers are drawn to the form, but find it tricky: where do you start, how many words should it be, what should you leave in or take out, what form should this take. And the biggest question of all, is this a short story or is it a longer piece of fiction?

In this one-day course with acclaimed short-story author Chris Power, you’ll learn about the art of the short story and its form – discussing work from writers such as Kevin Barry, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Carmen Maria Machado and George Saunders – before beginning to flesh out one of your own.

In the company of up to nineteen other writers, this short story masterclass is a supportive and lively environment to get under the skin of one of the most exciting and ambitious forms of storytelling.

This workshop is for writers of all backgrounds and skill levels, who are looking to explore and experiment with the form of the short story. You might be a novelist who wants to expand their writing toolbox – writing short stories is an excellent way to sharpen your editing skills! – or a poet, non-fiction writer or memoirist taking their first steps into fiction.

Schedule
This course takes place over a full Saturday, at The Common Room in Newcastle city centre.

10.00–11.30
Starting at the
beginning
In our first session we’ll look at some openings of short stories to better understand the immediacy with which they plunge us into a world. We’ll discuss the way in which the short story form means there’s no time to waste. Then we’ll try creating some stories of our own.

11.30–13.00
What is
your story?
We’ve touched on the how, but what about the what? We’ll look at a selection of short stories, that take subjects ranging from the mundane to the outlandish, and how they turn each of them into something extraordinary. Then we’ll discuss what aspects of our own lives – or purely imaginary events – we might want to transform into fiction, and why the short story might be the appropriate choice.

13:00–16.00
Structure and
editing
In the afternoon, we’ll turn our attention to structure and editing.

When you break down most successful short stories, they turn out to be very carefully structured. We’ll look at the classic dramatic form of three-act structure and create a (short) short story based on its principles.

No piece of writing comes out right first time. We’ll look at some principles of editing that will help you in all your future projects. And at the end of the day we’ll have some time for any questions you might want to ask about Chris other aspects of the writing process.