FICT 111 — Short Fiction Workshop: Expanding the Possibilities
Quarter: Spring
Instructor(s): Ammi Keller
Date(s): Apr 3—Jun 5
Class Recording Available: Yes
Class Meeting Day: Thursdays
Class Meeting Time: 5:30—8:00 pm (PT)
Tuition: $1000
Refund Deadline: Apr 5
Unit(s): 2
Enrollment Limit: 18
Status: Registration opens Feb 24, 8:30 am (PT)
Quarter: Spring
Day: Thursdays
Duration: 10 weeks
Time: 5:30—8:00 pm (PT)
Date(s): Apr 3—Jun 5
Unit(s): 2
Tuition: $1000
Refund Deadline: Apr 5
Instructor(s): Ammi Keller
Enrollment Limit: 18
Recording Available: Yes
Status: Registration opens Feb 24, 8:30 am (PT)
The short story is an exciting and flexible form. It can take place in a day or decades, be told from a single character’s point of view or through omniscience, depict a subtle emotional shift or life-altering consequences, build a world or reveal one. How are today’s short story writers reinventing a form that rose to prominence in the 19th century? And what is the right tone, structure, point of view, psychic distance, and length for your addition to the genre?
This course will feature discussions of stories by today’s most innovative writers, including Jennifer Egan, George Saunders, Jamil Jan Kochai, and Ling Ma, plus two esteemed visiting writers who will address students directly. Lectures and in-class exercises will help students practice “accordioning” their prose between summary and scene, introducing complex characters efficiently, framing stories with a retrospective voice, sharpening dialogue, and more. Students will sign up to have their drafts (2,000–6,000 words) workshopped by the group; we will discuss them with a focus on identifying craft choices and examining their impact. The instructor will provide written feedback and hold private conferences to support revision. By the end of the course, students will have a new set of tools and an expanded sense of possibility for where to take their short fiction.
This course will feature discussions of stories by today’s most innovative writers, including Jennifer Egan, George Saunders, Jamil Jan Kochai, and Ling Ma, plus two esteemed visiting writers who will address students directly. Lectures and in-class exercises will help students practice “accordioning” their prose between summary and scene, introducing complex characters efficiently, framing stories with a retrospective voice, sharpening dialogue, and more. Students will sign up to have their drafts (2,000–6,000 words) workshopped by the group; we will discuss them with a focus on identifying craft choices and examining their impact. The instructor will provide written feedback and hold private conferences to support revision. By the end of the course, students will have a new set of tools and an expanded sense of possibility for where to take their short fiction.
AMMI KELLER
Novel Writing Certificate Instructor, Stanford Continuing Studies
Ammi Keller’s teaching focuses on the intersection of mindfulness and creative writing. Her short stories appear in American Short Fiction, The Common, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, The Best American Nonrequired Reading, and elsewhere. She has edited fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for Soft Skull Press and has received residencies from the Lambda Literary Writer's Retreat and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Keller was a Stegner Fellow at Stanford. Textbooks for this course:
There are no required textbooks; however, some fee-based online readings may be assigned.