Amanda

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The Heart of the Short Story - online short story course with award-winning author, Amanda Huggins. Six written tutorials covering everything you need to write engaging stories with characters that re

Creative writing

Lesson location

- online

About Amanda

Amanda Huggins is the author of the novellas All Our Squandered Beauty and Crossing the Lines, as well as five collections of short stories and poetry. She has won numerous awards, including two Saboteur Awards for poetry and fiction, the Colm Toibin International Short Story Award 2020 and the H E Bates Short Story Prize 2021. She was also a runner-up in the Costa Short Story Award 2018 and the Fish Short Story Prize 2021, and has been shortlisted for the Bridport Prize, The Alpine Fellowship Award and many others. Amanda lives in Yorkshire and works in publishing.

About the lesson

The Heart of the Short Story is a well-established six-week course which has gained much praise from previous students, many of whom have gone on to win writing awards. Amanda is also a renowned editor and provides detailed feedback and editing notes on submitted stories.

The six tutorials in this course explore the skills and techniques required to write effective and compelling short stories.

You’ll discover how to:

*craft stories with a strong sense of place;
*develop memorable characters that resonate with readers; and
*write beautiful prose which is both economical and lyrical.

You will study examples from successful short stories and use prompts and writing exercises to kickstart new work. By the end of the six-week course you will be equipped to create engaging stories that grab the reader and leave them wanting more.

You will work through the six tutorials in the order they appear, and after the course has ended you will then be able to submit two short stories of up to 2500 words each. You’ll receive detailed feedback highlighting your strengths and suggesting areas for further development.

TUTORIAL ONE - WHAT’S THE POINT?

The questions you need to ask about your story before you begin. Understanding why you want to write a particular story and what you want to convey. Why will people care about your story? What will they take away from it? The importance of searching for the deeper meaning in your writing to ensure it will resonate with readers.

TUTORIAL TWO - GRAB AND ANCHOR

Grabbing the reader with a great opening paragraph and anchoring the story with a brilliant last line. Effective ways to begin your story and different types of ending – how deciding on your ending before you begin can inform the way you’ll write your story.

TUTORIAL THREE - SHE’S A REAL CHARACTER

How to create and develop memorable, relatable characters. Understanding psychology of character and psychic distance. Evoking empathy – ensuring the reader feels an emotional connection to your protagonist even if the story is outside their own realm of experience. Exploring different techniques to create deep point of view – using sensory details, body language and symbolism.

TUTORIAL FOUR - PUTTING YOUR STORY IN ITS PLACE

Exploring the power of stories to transport us to another world. How location can affect your character’s decisions, motivation, and how they act and feel. The ways in which a strong sense of place will immerse the reader and make your stories feel real and believable. Bringing your setting to life with sensory details – the importance of being able to see, hear, feel, smell, taste and touch the world you create.

TUTORIAL FIVE - THE WAY YOU TELL IT

The importance of the beauty, rhythm and sound of words. How to use language effectively and employ techniques to make your prose style both economical and lyrical. Understanding active voice and sentence pace, how to create rhythm and realistic dialogue. A consideration of Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory: using as few words as possible to indicate the unwritten story that exists below the surface.

TUTORIAL SIX - LIFE BEYOND THE LAST LINE

Time to revise and edit your work, to make sure your story is as good as it can be. Review your overall story arc, the events which have triggered a shift in your character’s view of the world, the consequences of their actions. Check that every sentence develops character, explores your theme or enhances the plot. Ensure your language is precise and ruthlessly pruned, that the story has the reading rhythm it needs. Ask yourself: Will your story linger in people’s minds long after it has ended? Will the reader feel unsettled, moved, will they laugh or cry? Will they finish your story believing your characters have a life beyond the last line?

The Heart of the Short Story - online short story course with award-winning author, Amanda Huggins. Six written tutorials covering everything you need to write engaging stories with characters that re

Lesson location

About Amanda

About the lesson

Rates

Rate

Pack rates

online

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The Heart of the Short Story - online short story course with award-winning author, Amanda Huggins. Six written tutorials covering everything you need to write engaging stories with characters that re

Lesson location

About Amanda

About the lesson

Rates

Rate

Pack rates

online

Other tutors in Creative writing

Syed

Hassan

Alaa

Alex Hartman

Imran

Eli

Paul

Zehra

Aira

Nilima

Areej

Samanta

Ese

Tam

Roberta

Sohrab

Stephen

Giles

James

Vishal

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