Writing Workshops

Writing Short Fiction: Where to Begin with Amy Silverberg (Sold Out) (September 2023)

$295

4 Sessions

Out of stock

Once a week Tuesdays, 7:00 pm EDT - 9:00 pm EDT September 12 to October 3, 2023

Online via Zoom

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This workshop has reached its capacity. To join the waitlist, please email Randy Winston at [email protected].

This course has two main goals: to examine how other authors have approached writing their short stories, and then using those approaches to help write our own. In every class, we will study two different short stories and discuss the way in which the writers “began.” We will read broadly across the literary fiction genre, including but not limited to Jennifer Egan, Ben Percy, Alice Munro, Danielle Evans, Charles Yu, Jamaica Kincaid, Lorrie Moore, Wells Tower, and Aimee Bender. A few of these authors will guest speak in our class to further elaborate on their experiences of “beginning.” Did they enter the story through a setting, an autobiographical memory, an exchange of dialogue, a narrative voice, a question, a fear, a list, etc? Then, we’ll experiment in using these elements to begin our own short stories.

By the second half of the course, you will have a collection of “beginnings,” and an idea of what works best for you depending on what you’re trying to write. We will continue to study published work, while you further develop one (or more) of your own “beginnings.” To that end, students will have the opportunity to participate in in-class workshops in order to get feedback on their own work from the instructor and their peers. By the end of the course, you will be well on your way to a completed short story, and a toolbox with which to begin again and again.

Course Outline

Week 1: Introduction—A Survey of Beginnings
- Assignments: Alice Munro’s “Fiction” and Kevin Moffett’s “Buzzers” + discussion questions; Writing Assignment #1
Week 2: Entering Through an Autobiographical Moment
- Assignments: Ben Percy’s “Refresh, Refresh” and Lorrie Moore’s “People Like this Are the Only People Here” + discussion questions; Writing Assignment #2
Week 3: Entering Through Setting
- Assignments: Jennifer Egan’s “Why China?” and “Safari” + discussion questions; Writing Assignment #3
Week 4: Entering Through a Strong Narrative Voice
- Assignments: Aimee Bender’s “Off” and Miranda July’s “Roy Spivey”+ discussion questions; Writing Assignment #4
- Final Submission Due

Capacity: 12

Led by

Amy Silverberg

Amy Silverberg

Amy Silverberg is a writer and comedian based in Los Angeles. Her short fiction has appeared in Best American Short Stories, the Paris Review, Granta, TriQuarterly, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and elsewhere. Her debut novel First Time, Long Time is forthcoming from Grand Central Publishing/Hachette. She also writes television, most recently The Movie Show on the SYFY Channel. She holds a Ph.D. in Literature & Creative Writing from The University of Southern California, where she currently teaches. You can keep up with Amy by following her on Instagram at @AmySilverberg, and on Twitter at @AmySilverberg.

About this series

Writing Workshops

We strive to make our classes the most inviting and rewarding available, offering an intimate environment to study with award-winning, world-class writers. Each class is specially designed by the instructor, so whether you’re a fledgling writer or an MFA graduate polishing your novel, you’ll find a perfect fit here.

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