The last ten years have seen a boom in the very short story. An increasing number of literary publications have begun to specialize in these small, delicate fictional works. Sometimes called flash, micro, tiny or quick fictions; these are stories whose only constraint is that they remain short: 1000 words or fewer. In this 10-week Zoom course, students will study and discuss a variety of forms and shapes of the very short story. From the lyrical, the abstract and the experimental to the realistic, the natural and the gritty, writers in this course will read and emulate a wide rage of stories that showcase the many shapes, styles and techniques this rapidly growing literary form can take.
This course will be generative, with a focus on the development and workshopping of new material and an optional focus on preparing stories for publication in some of the many excellent literary journals focusing on this robust and adaptable form.
If you are new to online classes, don’t worry — we’ll walk you through the steps, there’s no program you need to buy.
Kaj Tanaka is a PhD candidate at the University of Houston. His stories have been selected for Best Small Fictions and nominated for the Pushcart Prize. He is the fiction editor at Gulf Cost. You can read more of his work at kajtanaka.com and tweet to him @kajtanaka.