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Six-Week Short Story Workshop

with writer Aimee Brooks

In this commitment-based space, participants will give and receive feedback on fictional short stories of up to 5,000 words, learn to talk about formal craft elements, and revise their writing.

Join Aimee Brooks (she/her), a current Hive resident, in giving and receiving constructive feedback on fictional short stories. She is a recent graduate of Eastern Washington University’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program and hopes to offer a workshop similar to the classes she experienced during school where she made some of her dearest friends, received clarity on her writing, and grew in giving constructive feedback with kindness and empathy. This is an  academic-level workshop without the worry of tuition costs! A great way to test the waters if you're pondering a MFA in writing or just sharpen your writing skills!

Participants will begin class on January 7th with a complete (or nearly complete) short story of up to 5,000 words. All genres are welcome though stories should not contain material that would be uncomfortable to share in a group setting. The workshop is open to teens and adults.

Course Goals: Participants will leave this workshop with the tools to polish and revise their short story. Workshop attendees will learn how to give constructive feedback on short creative work and receive and implement comments into their own writing. Participants will grow in their knowledge of literary terminology and gain confident in articulating thoughts about their own work and the work of others. 

First class (January 7th): This class will consist of introductions, expectations, an example workshop, and literary craft terminology. Participants will sign up for the week that they would like to distribute their story. Workshop groups tend to develop their own language and methods for talking about writing, so this will be an introduction to the highly collaborative workshop space. 

Weekly Homework: Each week after class, two participants will email completed stories to Aimee who will distribute them to the other workshop attendees. During the week participants will make in-line notes and comments and prepare to provide verbal feedback in class.  

Workshop Classes (January 14th- February 11th):  Workshops will be approximately forty minutes per story (two per week) with a break in between. The workshop will begin with the author reading a passage of their story out loud so that other participants can hear their words in their voice. Attendees will summarize the story and come to a consensus on the events. Next, participants will share their favorite parts of the work and which elements are successful, followed by a time of constructive feedback. Finally, the author will ask questions to the other participants about material that may have not be covered during the workshop or clarification on comments. Participants will return the stories with written notes and comments to the author via a printed copy or email.

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We strive to make events welcoming for people of all abilities. To request accommodations (i.e. hearing assistance, ASL requests, or other ADA inquiries), email sday@spokanelibrary.org.

For all event information inquiries, email telref@spokanelibrary.org or call 509-444-5300.

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