Introduction to Short Fiction

This is an advanced workshop subject for students who have already commenced work on a collection of short fiction and who are keen to progress towards a completed final draft of a manuscript. The focus of this subject is upon polishing, redrafting, editing and completing. The final work is two short stories of up to 4000 words in total. Students are expected to write and circulate for peer assessment drafts of their work-in-progress every week. Additionally, students study a select and seminal range of short stories to enhance their understanding of the art of short fiction writing. There is no reader for this subject. Rather, students are set three collections of short stories, which are studied in relationship to their historical and narrative impact on the short story form. Assessment includes the critical and structured feedback on the complete work of another student. Students also write a 2000-word critical essay on the development of the short story in collection. The aim of this subject is to provide focus and encouragement to enable students to produce a strong draft collection of short fictional works.

Subject objectives/outcomes

In this subject students will:

1. acquire skills to reflect critically on their writing

2. acquire skills to revise and re-draft work in progress

3. acquire skills to reflect critically on fictional texts in English

4. study and practise formal and technical elements of short story writing

5. place the short story collection in a social, political and cultural context.

Texts: 

Malouf, David At Schindler's 2000 Short story