I do this one most semesters and it goes like this: Type up a bunch of passages from published short stories that demonstrate techniques you would like your students to imitate. I like to do enough passages that each student will draw something different, but you don’t have … [Read more...]
Shaping the Story Collection at Grub Street
At the end of the summer, I'm moving back to the Boston area and here is one of the best things about that: I’ll get to return to teaching at the ever-awesome Grub Street! In October, I'll be doing a 4 day intensive on shaping story collections. If you're in the Boston area and … [Read more...]
Read to Write Interview
Thanks to Michael Noll at READ TO WRITE STORIES for posting this interview. RTWS (can’t stop my love for acronyms) includes loads of awesome craft notes and exercises, a great resource for anyone teaching creative writing. … [Read more...]
Short Story of the Week
"Windeye" by Brian Evenson. I can still vividly remember hearing Evenson read this story (also the title story of his excellent recent collection, via Coffee House) at the 510 in Baltimore and gasping at a certain moment, when the terms change radically (you will know the moment … [Read more...]
The Ingredients Exercise
In class, I give each student a note card and ask them to write down three ingredients for a short story. I don’t give them a lot of time, just a minute or two. I tell them to go with the first things that come to mind, to not worry about making sense or getting too crazy. … [Read more...]