Writing Short Stories 

The Shape of Short Stories

Every great story has a skeleton.

In this session, we look at the building blocks of short fiction and how they work together to create something that pulls a reader through to the last line. We'll cover exposition, conflict, climax, resolution, and denouement - not as a rigid formula, but as a flexible framework you can bend to your own storytelling instincts.

It's Character Building

If nobody cares about your characters, it doesn't matter how exciting the action is. Readers engage with people, not plots. In this session, we'll look at how to create characters who feel genuinely alive - whether you're drawing from people you know, building hybrids, or starting from scratch. We'll explore how to reveal character through action, dialogue, and detail, so your cast carries the story without you having to explain them.

Seeking an Audience

Every story needs the right voice for the right reader.

In this session, we'll think about who you're writing for and what that means for the choices you make on the page. Voice, tone, register, narrative perspective... these aren't just stylistic flourishes, they're the things that make a story feel like it belongs to someone. We'll look at how to find yours, and how to use it with intention.

A Sense of Place

A setting is more than a backdrop, it's the world your reader sinks int.

In this session, we'll look at how to build settings that do real work in your story. Using your mind's eye, sensory memory, and carefully chosen detail, you'll learn how to create locations that feel atmospheric and lived in, places your reader can inhabit and explore.

Speaking of Dialogue

Real people don't talk in full sentences, and neither should your characters.

Good dialogue is one of the hardest things to get right, and one of the most satisfying when it clicks. In this session, we'll look at how to write conversation that sounds natural, reveals character, and moves the story forwards, understanding how the rhythm and texture of the way people speak can become one of your most important tools as a writer.

Time to Commit

It's time to collate your notes and bring things together, to write that first draft.

It doesn't have to be pretty and beautifully polished, getting it down on paper is the most important thing. In this session, we'll workshop your ideas and see if there are plot holes to fill or if there's research to be done. By the end of the session, you'll have a roadmap to follow to begin pulling the pieces of your first draft together.

Leave a Message

The best stories say something, even if you don't plan it that way.

Sometimes it's easiest to reverse-engineer your story to see if you recognise a theme after the writing is done. You never want to be heavy-handed with this as it can put readers off, but once you've written your first draft, you'll come to realise you're exploring themes such as loss, friendship, new beginnings and more. How could you enhance this? Could you add more layers with delicate foreshadowing?

Redrafting and Proofreading

This final stage might not seem all that exciting, but it's vital and important.

Redrafting is where the really hard work begins. In this session, we'll look at what happens when you return to your draft with fresh eyes - tightening the language, improving the pace, and making sure your story reads as well as well on the page as it does in your head. If getting your work out into the world is part of your goal, we'll talk about what publishers and literary magazines are looking for.

Frequently Asked Questions