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Short Fiction Writing II
GUIDE TO FICTION COURSES
Fiction Pathways
Foundation
If you’re not sure what kind of fiction to write...
If you know what kind of fiction to write...
Fiction Writing I
Zoetrope Fiction Writing I
Science Fiction & Fantasy Writing I
Mystery Writing I
Romance Writing I
Children’s Book Writing I
Or...
If you want a rather short course...
Fiction Writing Intensive
Flash Fiction & Nonfiction
Children’s Book Writing Intensive
Middle Grade/Young Adult Intensive
Humor Writing Intensive
Comics & Graphic Novels
Next Steps
After completing a Level I ten-week course...
Short Fiction II
Zoetrope Short Fiction II
Novel II First Draft Part 1
Novel II Critique
Science Fiction & Fantasy Writing II
Mystery Writing II
Romance Writing II
Children’s Book Writing II
After completing Novel First Draft II Part 1...
After completing Short Fiction II...
Also Helpful
These essential courses are great for writers of any level.
Character
Dialogue
Plot 1: Mechanics
Plot 2: Machinations
Reading Fiction
In(verse): Poetic Techniques for Non-Poets
The Writer’s Mind
The Editor’s Eye
Grammar 1: The Basics
Grammar 2: Expertise and Finesse
Social Media
For Teens
Short Fiction Writing II is a 10-week workshop, which includes lectures, exercises, and the critiquing of student projects. The focus is on writing short stories. The prerequisite is Fiction I, or the equivalent; Level II courses work best when students know the fundamentals and have experience with the workshop process. Farther down, you can view a syllabus for this course.
Also consider Gotham’s premium Zoetrope Fiction Writing classes: Zoetrope Fiction I or Zoetrope Short Fiction II.
Short stories are brief glimpses into lives, which can be anything from a few paragraphs to several dozen pages—contained enough to read in single sitting. The best short stories drop us off somewhere, soon bringing us home, yet lingering in the mind for a long while.
A key advantage of short fiction is that you can conceive, write, and polish a story in a reasonable amount of time, and there are countless places where you can submit your work, many of which are very open to aspiring writers. This is an ideal form for the earlier stages of a writer’s career, though you may get so hooked you never leave. Here you’ll learn the specialized techniques of writing short fiction and how to market your work.
As Neil Gaiman says: Short stories are tiny windows into other worlds and other minds and dreams.
A deep-dive into the nuances of the short fiction form—from dreamscapes to breaking free of convention, and what makes this niche different than its cousin, the novel.
Carina Gaspar
writer/editor
Notes
Fiction I encompasses short stories and novels. After Level I, students have a choice of Short Fiction Writing II (focusing on short stories), or Novel II Critique or Novel II First Draft (focusing on novels).
If you’re working on “genre” fiction, you may take either a Fiction/Novel course or one of our genre courses: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Romance, Mystery.
If you’re working on a YA novel, you may take a Fiction/Novel or “genre” course, or you may take a Children’s Book course, where the full spectrum of children’s books will be covered.
10-Week
-
Zoom
Real-time videoconference
Tuition: $439 (returning students: $409)
-
Online
Anytime, week-long sessions
Tuition: $439 (returning students: $409)
-
NYC
In-person
Tuition: $465 (returning students: $435)
-
One-on-One
Tuition: $1,895
Syllabus
This course helps you sharpen your skills at fiction craft and work toward completion of one or two short stories. Writers often repeat Short Fiction II to continue their projects. Course components:
Lectures
Writing exercises
Workshopping of student projects (each student presenting work two times)
New York City/Zoom classes
The syllabus varies from teacher to teacher, term to term. Many topics will be similar to those covered in the Online classes.
Online classes
Gotham has two separate tracks for Short Fiction II online. They complement each other, and many students take both tracks, but it makes no difference which one is taken first. If you take one track, then enroll again for Short Fiction II, Gotham will make sure you are placed in the other track.
The topics covered in one track (x):
Week 1
Truth and Lies: Why fiction writers must “lie” (stray from the facts). Tips for making it fictional. The value of bringing “truth” (honesty) to fiction. Tips for finding honesty.
Week 2
Beginnings: The need for a strong beginning. First sentences. Opening paragraphs. The beginning section.
Week 3
Real Characters: Making characters seem real. The drive of desire. Contrast within personality. Specific details. Capability of change. Minor characters.
Week 4
Dialogue Impact: Bringing forth the external with dialogue. Revealing character. Revealing conflict. The value of subtext.
Week 5
Intriguing POVs: Making point of view intriguing, in first, second, and third person. Altering point of view strategy midstream.
Week 6
The Essence of Plot: The simple formula underlying most fictional plots. Three types of short story plots—classic, slice of life, passive protagonist.
Week 7
Emotional Settings: Finding the emotional value of a setting. The “feel” of setting. Character perception of setting. People as setting.
Week 8
The Sentence: Making every sentence interesting. Choosing the right words. Types of sentences. Sentence structure and rhythm. Sentence progression. Sentence essentials. Sentences merging into paragraphs.
Week 9
Writers Must Read: What writers gain from reading. How to gain insight and skill through reading as a writer.
Week 10
In Print: Facts about getting into print. Exploration of literary magazines. How to target literary magazines. Guidelines for sending out work. Responses, rejection, contests. Gaining an edge.
And the topics covered in the other track (y):
Week 1
Dreaming Up a Story: Creating plot through a “dream" sensibility. Finding “hot spots.” Finding the unexpected. Using actual dreamscapes. Imposing order.
Week 2
Description Details: Quality over quantity in description. Telling details. Convincing details. Details that stick.
Week 3
Revealing Characters: The potency of “showing” characters. Revealing layers of characters. Gradual revelation of characters. Playing “fair” with character revelation.
Week 4
Making Scenes: Choosing scenes. Connecting scenes. Scene dynamics—conflict, dialogue, cinematic direction.
Week 5
The Storyteller: The value of an engaging narrator. The narrative voice. Techniques for effective narrators in various points of view. Direct address. Narrator and audience.
Week 6
POV Distance: Point of view review. Psychic distance in point of view. Manipulating the point of view “camera.” Using the distance of time. Using present tense. Handling thoughts.
Week 7
What’s the Point?: The value of theme. Theme analyzed. Thematic symbols. Hints for discovering theme.
Week 8
Endings: Finding the effective ending. The “whammy" ending. The “internal change" ending. The “non-ending” ending.
Week 9
Breaking Free: The flexibility of the short story form. Various ways to break the mold of the conventional short story.
Week 10
The Process: Wisdom from masters on habits and writing craft.
Note: Content may vary among individual classes.
Teachers
Cab Tran
Cab Tran has published short fiction in Vagabond: Bulgaria's English Monthly, The Oleander Review, and Black Warrior Review, among many others. He is the co-editor and translator of the anthology The Colors of April (Three Rooms Press, forthcoming), by and about the Vietnamese diaspora in the wake of the Vietnam War, and he is the translator, with Quan M. Ha, of the short-story collection Hanoi at Midnight by Bao Ninh (Texas Tech University Press). He co-founded the literary magazine Cedilla, has worked as a tutor with the Michigan Mentorship Program, and taught for the University of Michigan. He holds a BA from the University of Montana and an MFA in Fiction from the University of Michigan.
Read more
Dalia Pagani
Dalia Pagani is the author of the novel Mercy Road (Delacorte). Her short stories and essays have appeared in Story, Portsmouth Review, Green Mountains Review, Hayden's Ferry Review, Omnificent, and Cruising World. She has taught at Plymouth State University, Lebanon College, and Johnson State College. She holds a BA and an MFA in Writing from Vermont College.
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K Hank Jost
K Hank Jost is the editor of A Common Well Journal. He is also the author of the novel MadStone and the novel-in-stories Deselections (both Whiskey Tit Books). His short stories and poems have appeared in Hobart, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, the Burning Palace, X-R-A-Y Lit Mag, and BULL, among others, and he is a regular contributor to the New Haven Independent. He has taught for the Brooklyn Center for Theatre Research.
Read more
Season Harper-Fox
Season Harper-Fox has published fiction, poetry, and book reviews in Cream City Review, Rocky Mountain Review of Modern Language and Literature, OnTheBus, and Primavera, and she has served as editorial assistant for Prairie Schooner. She has taught at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Nebraska-Omaha. She holds a BA and an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
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Tom Cooper
Tom Cooper is the author of the novels Florida Man (Random House) and The Marauders (Broadway Books/Crown Publishing). His short stories have appeared in the Mid-American Review, Gulf Coast, Boulevard, Smokelong Quarterly, and Oxford American. He has taught at Florida State University, Nicholls State University, the University of Central Florida, and the University of South Florida-Tampa. He holds a BA from Florida Atlantic University, an MA in Literature from the University of South Florida, and a Ph.D in Creative Writing from Florida State University.
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Z Kennedy-Lopez
Z Kennedy-Lopez is the fiction editor of the Atticus Review, and their own fiction and essays have appeared in Catapult, Foglifter, Autostraddle, Have Has Had, Storm Cellar, and A Velvet Giant, among many others. They have taught at the University of California, Davis, Rutgers University-Camden, and the Cooper Street Writing Workshops. They hold a BA from Southern Oregon University, an MA in English from the University of California, Davis, and an MFA in Creative Writing from Rutgers University-Camden.
Read moreCab Tran
Cab Tran
has published short fiction in Vagabond: Bulgaria's English Monthly, The Oleander Review, and Black Warrior Review, among many others. He is the co-editor and translator of the anthology The Colors of April (Three Rooms Press, forthcoming), by and about the Vietnamese diaspora in the wake of the Vietnam War, and he is the translator, with Quan M. Ha, of the short-story collection Hanoi at Midnight by Bao Ninh (Texas Tech University Press). He co-founded the literary magazine Cedilla, has worked as a tutor with the Michigan Mentorship Program, and taught for the University of Michigan. He holds a BA from the University of Montana and an MFA in Fiction from the University of Michigan.
Dalia Pagani
Dalia Pagani
is the author of the novel Mercy Road (Delacorte). Her short stories and essays have appeared in Story, Portsmouth Review, Green Mountains Review, Hayden's Ferry Review, Omnificent, and Cruising World. She has taught at Plymouth State University, Lebanon College, and Johnson State College. She holds a BA and an MFA in Writing from Vermont College.
K Hank Jost
K Hank Jost
is the editor of A Common Well Journal. He is also the author of the novel MadStone and the novel-in-stories Deselections (both Whiskey Tit Books). His short stories and poems have appeared in Hobart, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, the Burning Palace, X-R-A-Y Lit Mag, and BULL, among others, and he is a regular contributor to the New Haven Independent. He has taught for the Brooklyn Center for Theatre Research.
Season Harper-Fox
Season Harper-Fox
has published fiction, poetry, and book reviews in Cream City Review, Rocky Mountain Review of Modern Language and Literature, OnTheBus, and Primavera, and she has served as editorial assistant for Prairie Schooner. She has taught at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Nebraska-Omaha. She holds a BA and an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Tom Cooper
Tom Cooper
is the author of the novels Florida Man (Random House) and The Marauders (Broadway Books/Crown Publishing). His short stories have appeared in the Mid-American Review, Gulf Coast, Boulevard, Smokelong Quarterly, and Oxford American. He has taught at Florida State University, Nicholls State University, the University of Central Florida, and the University of South Florida-Tampa. He holds a BA from Florida Atlantic University, an MA in Literature from the University of South Florida, and a Ph.D in Creative Writing from Florida State University.
Z Kennedy-Lopez
Z Kennedy-Lopez
is the fiction editor of the Atticus Review, and their own fiction and essays have appeared in Catapult, Foglifter, Autostraddle, Have Has Had, Storm Cellar, and A Velvet Giant, among many others. They have taught at the University of California, Davis, Rutgers University-Camden, and the Cooper Street Writing Workshops. They hold a BA from Southern Oregon University, an MA in English from the University of California, Davis, and an MFA in Creative Writing from Rutgers University-Camden.
Related Courses
How To Get Published
Navigating the publishing industry, for both novels and nonfiction books.
Reading Fiction
Analyzing short stories and novels from a writer’s perspective.
Zoetrope Short Fiction Writing II
An advanced dive into the field of short stories, in this special Zoetrope All-Story course.