“My goal for the weekend was to make the experience as simple as possible, so that I could carefully evaluate the principles learned at the workshop. In that sense, I learned the principles of writing a short story, including 3-part story structure. I especially enjoyed freewriting and writing with prompts; both will go a long way in my personal and professional lives.”
Luz, January 22, 2023
“Thanks for the wonderful workshop, which was both inspirational and practical. I learned a lot, from how to how to get started to how to structure a short. I was also very happy to have used the freewriting method. Although I’ve tried it before, I never approached it in a systematic way: giving oneself a limited amount of time, emptying one’s mind, and letting the words flow. I found it a very efficient – and enjoyable – way to draft a short story.”
Tao, January 22, 2023
“I learned so much in such a short period of time. Not only did we dive deep into how to structure a compelling short story and how to build and flesh out characters, but, thanks to the feedback we received from each other and the instructor, I learned more about where my strengths are and how I can build on them in the future.
The free-writing we did during the workshop reminded me of one of my favourite (writing) quotes: ‘You can always edit a bad page, but you can’t edit a blank page.’ This workshop was a reminder that, even though I can learn all about structure, style and technique, it all starts with generating. Writing brings me joy, but perfectionism holds me back a lot. It’s okay to just write for the sake of it; not everything needs to be a masterpiece. Mastering a craft takes practice, so I might as well get my reps in.”
Chloé, January 22, 2023
“I find it difficult to express one main thing I learned because there were many little golden nuggets throughout the course that really helped me understand the short-story format better. It was great to have other writers ask questions about my piece that I hadn’t come up with myself; it taught me about how others view my stories. The addition of the guest speaker at the very end of the course was also great; Andrew Porter offered us his amazingly useful perspective on what it means to be a writer.”
Joy Florentine, January 22, 2023
“I really liked the workshop! I’ll continue to develop my short story, and from now on I’m planning to write more often, since I feel more confident about overcoming any roadblocks. There is more structure to the process, and it makes more sense; I have more tools to explore my creativity.”
Iskren, May 21, 2022
“The workshop was pretty intense in terms of the workload, but that’s what makes it effective!
Before the workshop, I viewed the short story as the first step toward creating something bigger, but now I realize that the short story has value in its own. I want to explore short stories through both reading and writing.
The workshop gave me the chance to write something from beginning to end for the first time. And I did it, so that gave me confidence that I can do it again.”
SM, May 21, 2022
“It was so helpful doing writing prompts. I’m going to apply this when I hit roadblocks. Do I plan to continue writing short stories? Yes, I have a few ideas brewing….”
Matt, September 26, 2021
“What did I learn about writing in general? Don’t ‘imagine’ and edit at the same time. And that the story chooses you (I loved this).”
Monica, September 26, 2021