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Fiction Writing Workshop: Flash Fiction

ENGL 112.302
instructor(s):
MW 12:00-1:30pm

Keats called poetry “infinite riches in a small room,” and the same can be said of short-short-form fiction. Where does the art of fiction fit into this age of condensed information? Short-form fiction (also called flash fiction, sudden fiction, or microfiction—stories under 1,000 words) is more than just “really short stories.” Every word in a piece of microfiction is the proverbial ant, carrying fifty times its own weight. In this course, we will learn how to deliver plot, character, mood, and epiphany in the most succinct way possible, and explore what a story truly needs to be a story. Students will read short-short narratives from a variety of traditions, do prompt-based exercises, submit weekly stories of their own for workshop, and explore how the resurgence of the short form has coincided with technology’s integration into every facet of our lives.

fulfills requirements