Multi-Week: Stephanie Malia Morris teaches Brainstorm to Submission

A multi-week for the writer who wants to deep dive into short fiction! 

An intensive, generative six-week workshop that supports writers through the process of brainstorming, drafting, workshopping, revising, and submitting a short story for publication. Each weekly session is 2-2.5 hours. By the end of this class, students will have a complete and revised draft ready for submission, a list of markets, and a submission strategy.

Week #1: Brainstorm. Students will come to class with a few ideas for stories they want to tell, a technique they want to try out, or a deadline they want to hit. We will discuss the generative mindset, including prompts and input writing; practical tips for getting from an idea into a first draft; and analyze a published short story to explore the basic elements of story as inspiration for their own work. Students will choose a workshop date for Weeks 3-4. Homework: Start a first draft.

Week #2: Drafting: Students will come to class with the beginnings of a first draft. For the first half, students are encouraged to discuss any story problems they have encountered, bounce ideas off the group, or share work. For the second half, we will free write. Homework: Finish a first draft. Free week. The first round of students will turn in their workshop stories for critique.

Week #3-4: Workshop. Students will come to class with a completed draft ready to workshop. We will workshop 2-3 stories (30-45 minutes/story). Craft talk handout will include selections from Craft in the Real World to provide a brief overview of workshopping. Homework: Develop a revision strategy. 

Week #5: Revise. Students will come to class with the beginnings of a revised draft. For the first half, we will discuss revision strategies, integrating workshop feedback, honoring the writer’s vision, and the revision mindset. Craft talk handout will include selections from books on revision such as The Last Draft: A Novelist's Guide to Revision by Sandra Scofield and a list of markets. For the second half, we will free write. Homework: Complete revisions and choose a minimum of three markets to submit.

Week #6: Submit. Students will come to class with a submission ready draft and a minimum of three markets for submission. For the first half, we will discuss submission strategy (where to submit, how to track submissions, etc.) For the second half, we will submit our stories. Throughout the class, students will have an option to meet one-on-one with the instructor for additional support (help with integrating feedback, etc.)

Stephanie Malia Morris holds an MFA in Fiction from the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas at Austin. She has received fellowships from Kimbilio, Periplus, and the Horror Writers Association, and was a recipient of the Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship Award and graduate of the 2017 Clarion West Writers Workshop. Her short fiction has appeared in Uncanny, FIYAH, Nightmare, Apex Magazine, Lightspeed, and Beneath Ceaseless Skies. Her short story, “Bride Before You,” was adapted as an episode of the anthology Horror Noire on Shudder. Find her at stephaniemaliamorris.com

This is a live multi-week class offered over Zoom starting on Thursday, October 1st. All classes will be recorded and available for students for 6 months after the class is complete. Students will receive a Zoom registration link for access to class via the email address they use to make their purchase.