Flash Fiction and Nonfiction

About this course:

This generative writing course is designed for those seeking to create essays and/or flash fiction that are composed of complex layering of memory and thought, history and imagination. The popularity of both genres, the personal essay and flash fiction, has increased as a result of today’s digital age at a time when work can be submitted to online magazines and/or anthologies and also can be uploaded on personal blogs or public spaces. Both genres are generally texts that are up to 1000 words and are highly marketable. The texts inspire both readers and writers to discover new perspectives for looking at the world, understanding their lives, and discovering meaning in random moments from their lives. In this four-day course, you will have the opportunity to explore your own writing, listen to talks and readings by published writers who produce texts across genres, study marketing techniques, and in the process, generate new work that you will have the opportunity to revise by participating in the workshopping process. By the end of our four days together, you will craft at least two texts—one essay and one flash fiction—and develop seeds for other new work. Suitable for both new and experienced writers. Because of the compressed timeframe, students can expect a mixture of lecture, guest speakers, discussion, workshopping and in-class writing time as part of their experience.