Fall enrollment is open, and closes September 28. Check out the Academic Term Calendar for more information.

Writing High-Impact Short Stories

WRITING 712.1

A targeted seminar on techniques to give short stories resonance, weight, and impact in the least amount of words.

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What you can learn.

Explore how to engage readers without expanding your word count
Examine effective openings and closings
Experiment with craft elements such as plot, character, pacing and worldbuilding in condensed space
Discover techniques to deepen emotional impact and resonance in your work

About this course:

You have an amazing story to tell, but only a limited word count to do so. It may be counterintuitive, but the way to write an effective short story is not to simplify or remove elements. Instead, we should push short stories to do more. By examining examples from short stories in different genres, we will explore examples of engaging openings and impactful endings. The workshop will cover techniques for playing with plot, pacing, character, and worldbuilding to give your short story more resonance and weight in fewer words. Whether you’re coming in with a rough draft or just starting to develop a new idea, this course aims to provide guidelines for taking your story project to the next level.

Fall 2025 Schedule

October 4

Saturday 10:00AM - 1:00PM PT

Future Offering (Opens September 20, 2025 12:00:00 AM)

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Instructor: Jeannie Lin

405176

Live Online

Location: UCLA X Open

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Notes

Enrollment opens two weeks prior to the event. Enrollment limited; early enrollment advised. Visitors not permitted. Internet access required.

This course is held via video teleconference. As such, instructors use Zoom to offer a live class meeting at the designated time. Students must be present at the course meeting time to participate in the class.

Course Requirements

Internet access required to access course materials.

Schedule

Type

Date

Time

Location

Online

Sat Oct 4, 2025

10:00AM PT - 1:00PM PT

UCLA X Open