Class

Beyond the Nitty Gritty: Short Story Deep Dive

Want to feel more confident in crafting a short story? Each week we’ll dive into "craft" and some vital aspects of the short story form such as point of view, characterization, plot, stakes, and structure. Students will pre-read a short story by Viet Thanh Nguyen. A discussion about its strengths on the craft level will occur on the first day—then students will discuss story concepts and jump into writing their own short story.

Classes will kick off with instruction and some weeks a generative exercise before moving into interaction. Students will submit their work-in-progress each week and then read excerpts in-session. Discussion is meant to foster community. There will be in-class time to receive peer and teacher feedback on works-in-progress according to the teaching artist’s modernized workshop etiquette and written comments on new material from the teaching artist.

Students will complete a rough short story draft in the first six weeks which they will fine-tune during the final two weeks with an emphasis on the level of craft gleaned over the course's lessons. In the last session, students will read excerpts of their revised short stories and engage in a lesson and discussion on the all-important title.

All Classes listed on the Loft website take place in Central Time (CT); please adjust to your own time zone accordingly.

Instructions for Accessing This Online Class

In order to access live class meetings, you must have the Zoom application downloaded to your computer. You will also need a WiFi/Internet connection throughout the duration of your scheduled meeting and a computer with audio and video capability. The information to join your Zoom classroom will be provided in your confirmation email upon registration. Please check spam folders if you do not see this email upon registration. For more information on how to use Zoom, please see our training manual here.

Some classes use a supplemental Google Classroom page. Should your teaching artist use Google Classroom, you will be invited to join the classroom via email at least 24 hours in advance of your class (check spam folders if you are not seeing this invitation). Please note that Google Classroom requires a Gmail address to access the Classroom. If you do not have a Gmail account, the email invitation will be sent to the email address we have on file and will prompt you to create a free account or enter an existing account to join the classroom. If we are unable to send an email invitation to your non-gmail account, you will be contacted by a staff member to provide a Gmail address. If you do not have a Gmail account, you can create a free account here. Should you have concerns about this, please contact a Loft staff member at [email protected] or 612-379-8999. For more information on how to use Google Classroom, please see our training manual here.