Crafting the Short Story | Leisure Learning | UNB Art Centre | UNB

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College of Extended Learning

Crafting the Short Story

Short story creation is an art form that is often neglected and overlooked

Related to - but entirely separate from - novel writing, short story creation can be a tricky art to master but also fun and rewarding. It has been suggested that writing short stories can even be more difficult than novels. Impossible? Take this course and judge for yourself.

Here’s an opportunity to focus on writing effective short stories, covering many of the basics of short story writing. You'll learn how to set the scene, create and develop believable characters, avoid common pitfalls and much more.

With an emphasis on developing the craft through good writing practices and habits, the course offers tips and advice on discovering the joys of short speculative fiction.

The course also covers important topics such as editing and preparing your work for publication. There is a segment that focuses on submitting for publication, publishing contracts, identifying and avoiding scams, and more, to help avoid the worst of the potential pitfalls in the publishing world.

Writers of all levels are welcome. No materials required.

Fall term

Thursdays, Oct. 10 to Nov. 28 (8 weeks)
6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
$180 (+ HST)

Register now

Winter term

Thursdays, Feb. 13 to April 10 (8 weeks, no class March 6)
6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
$180 (+ HST)

Registration opens Oct. 18.

About the instructor

Joe Powers is a horror writer with a fondness for literary sleight-of-hand. He enjoys introducing the reader to flawed, believable characters and leading them on dark journeys with an unexpected twist.

He has been a member of the Horror Writers’ Association, ArtsNB, the Writers' Federation of New Brunswick, the NB Authors Portal and the Short Fiction Writers' Guild, and is active in the local arts and writing communities.

His work has appeared in various anthologies and collections worldwide. His debut novel is the western/horror crossover, Terror in High Water.