With personalised feedback
Short Story Essentials is ideal for anyone keen to develop their fiction writing skills, enter writing competitions and build a body of work.
You will:
Learn the essentials of short form fiction
Discover 20 storytelling techniques you can use immediately
Build memorable characters with clear narratives
Write a polished 2500 word short story
Receive personalised feedback on your final piece
“Short Story Essentials is a treasure trove of information about short-form writing presented in a well-paced and entertaining manner. It’s more than nuts and bolts. It captures the essence, excitement, and joy of short story writing. By the end, you’ll be up to the challenge of penning short tales. You’ll be hooked.”
– Paul Rodriguez, Short Story Essentials graduate
See more reviews
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This is an online self-paced course
Duration:
Your 12 months' access begins straight away
Feedback:
Personalised feedback on final assignment
Course Creator: Cathie Tasker $375 | |||||
Let’s cut a long story short
Short stories are the new black. Their popularity is growing among readers and publishers alike – bite-sized gems and fully-formed pieces that elicit the same emotions as their bigger siblings. In short, there has never been a better time to pen your own short story.
- Have you ever struggled to finish a story?
- Are you looking for new opportunities to showcase your work?
- Just starting out on your creative writing journey?
- Want to feel the rush of entering (and winning) writing competitions?
If you answered YES to any of the above, then developing your short story writing skills could be exactly what you need.
With our online course, Short Story Essentials, you’ll be shown the techniques to create your own 2500 word short story – learning at your own pace as you piece the parts together. Then, once you’ve completed it, you can submit your story to course creator Cathie Tasker – a fiction editor with more than 25 years’ experience – for invaluable feedback!
“This course is excellent. It breaks down how to approach writing a 2500 word story from beginning to end – including the structure, editing, and how to prepare it for submission. The content is well presented and clear. I would fully recommend this course”
Amanda Helliwell, Short Story Essentials graduate
Short stories defined
As a reader, a good short story will immediately draw you into another world. It can move and intrigue you in your lunch break or on the train. One that introduces you to compelling characters that you’ll never forget. It pulls you into a narrative for a brief period of time, but makes you want to come back for another dose.
For creative writers, short stories are a fantastic tool to help you better understand plot and technique. If you have ever struggled to finish a story (whether a novel, short story or anything in between) then this shorter format is the single best way to practise and polish your writing skills. Requiring similar techniques in a more condensed form, short stories can help you understand how to get those longer projects to the finish line too.
“I just read the feedback that Cathie prepared for my story and I wanted to pass on my gratitude to her for a wonderful course. I really appreciate the amount of work she put into critiquing my story and the excellent content in the modules. After taking this course I now know what makes a good short story and the importance of fully engaging in all stages of the editing process. My sincerest thanks.”
Andrea Wilson, Short Story Essentials graduate
What you’ll learn in this course
This online course focuses on helping you to write a 2500-word short story – the ideal length for entering most short story competitions (where you can win cash prizes!) or submitting to publishers of anthologies.
Specifically, you’ll discover how to write stories that move, entertain and compel readers to want more. That’s the main aim of this course – to have you create a story that you can be proud of, and which could even be the basis for a future novel.
This course is split into seven modules – each a milestone to complete as you work towards writing your full story. You'll discover how to:
- Write your short story in the classic 3-act structure
- Write an opening that grips readers from the first line
- Build your characters, especially your protagonist, create a narrative voice, and a dialogue voice
- Use storytelling techniques that will keep readers riveted
- Identify and write about your protagonist’s journey, their setbacks and joy
- Create powerful dialogue and other aspects of style
- Keep your reader's interest with tension and good pace
- Write a climax that is both astonishing and satisfying, leaving your reader thunderstruck and wanting more
- Write an ending that really works
- Polish your story with effective editing techniques
- And much more!
In each module, you’ll learn the steps you need to take to master each of the sections of a short story. You’ll also be given great real-life examples so that you can see what works – and what doesn’t.
Included in your online course is:
- 9 hours of content – access anytime at your own pace
- 9 audio lessons plus 12 supporting handouts
- A professional assessment on your completed short story
“Cathie, thank you so much for the time you took in reviewing my short story. The constructive feedback you have offered me is so helpful and has given me much to think about. You have also given me a wonderful confidence boost, which I am especially grateful for. I am excited about the hard work ahead to make this story the best it can be.”
Tanya Hollis, Short Story Essentials graduate
How our “self-paced courses” work
This is one of AWC’s 35+ “self-paced” online courses. But what does that mean? Allow us to explain:
What you’ll get out of this course
This course has a very clear goal – to help you write your own short story that you can be proud of. One that you can enter in short story competitions and share with your friends and family.
By completing all seven modules, you will have created your own short story. We give you the blueprint to structure it, teach you vital techniques so that your characters come to life, and give you the tools to bring your own ideas and creativity to the process.
The final (optional but extremely worthwhile) assignment at the end of your course allows you to submit your story and get personalised feedback from course creator Cathie Tasker. A fantastic opportunity!
And of course, all of the principles you learn can be applied to longer forms of storytelling too. If you’re an emerging creative writer, then writing short stories is a wonderful springboard into longer works like novels. They’re also a great way to get publishers interested in your writing.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: I'm a complete beginner. Will this course suit me?
A: Yes, there's no assumed prior knowledge. If you'd love to learn how to write stronger short stories, this course takes you through the process, step by step.
Q: What's the difference between this course and Creative Writing Stage 1?
A: Creative Writing Stage 1 gives you a solid grounding in storytelling principles, ideal for novel writing or simply dipping your toes in the fiction-writing waters. This course, Short Story Essentials, is focused purely on the art of short-form fiction. You'll discover genre-specific skills that will help you to create tightly woven, compelling short stories. You could begin with either course – whichever takes your fancy. Short Story Essentials is particularly useful if you'd like to strengthen your existing storytelling skills. After all, there's no room for error in short story writing, so it can be a beneficial way to sharpen your techniques.
Q: Will I receive feedback on my writing?
A: Yes, if you complete all the modules and submit your final story, you'll receive a personalised assessment from course creator and fiction editor Cathie Tasker. It's a golden opportunity for you to cement all the techniques you've learnt in the course.
- Make short work of your short story.
- Work at your own pace to learn the essentials of short story writing.
- Receive invaluable feedback about your finished piece.
- Start today!
“I found the breakdown formula presented was easy to understand and mould my own work around. It took the guesswork out of crafting a great short story. You’ll never regret your choice to do an AWC course. I’m so happy I found you guys.”
Emily Robertson, Short Story Essentials graduate
| Key information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key information: | |||||
|
This is an online self-paced course
Duration:
Your 12 months' access begins straight away
Feedback:
Personalised feedback on final assignment
Course Creator: Cathie Tasker $375 | |||||
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