ONLINE FLASH FICTION CLASS
Taught by Pamelyn Casto

flashquake, Spring 2006, Vol. 5, Iss. 3
 

The next offering of this popular class will begin on Monday, April 10

FAST FACTS

COURSE NAME:
Flash Fiction (online class)
 
FACILITATOR:
Pamelyn Casto
p.casto@worldnet.att.net
 
DURATION:
Four-Week Course
 
PRICE:
$100.00
 
COURSE BOOK (REQUIRED):
Sudden Fiction (Continued): 60 New Short-Short Stories, by Robert Shapard (Editor), James Thomas (Editor) New York/ London: W.W. Norton & Co., 1996. ISBN 0-393-31342-5 (see link below to order)
 
START DATE:
Monday, April 10, 2006
 
SIGN-UP DEADLINE:
Friday, April 7, 2006
 

WORKSHOP SYLLABUS:

Are you intrigued by powerful and memorable short-short stories, sometimes also called flash, sudden, micro, fast, quick, furious, skinny, or postcard fiction? Have you discovered the difficulty of trying to write them? If you want to learn more about this popular and very marketable type of writing, then this is the course for you.

This action-packed four-week online course will help you understand some effective principles for writing flash fiction. You'll receive lessons and reading assignments, and you'll experiment with exercises. You'll try your hand at analyzing good short-shorts in order to discover writer techniques. You'll learn the value of careful critiquing to help your writer colleagues and yourself. You'll also learn about formatting, market strategies, and finding markets for your work.

Facilitator: Pamelyn Casto
email: p.casto@worldnet.att.net

 

PREREQUISITE: None, other than a strong desire on the part of workshop participants to learn as much as possible about writing flash fiction.

cover

REQUIRED COURSE BOOK:
Sudden Fiction (Continued): 60 New Short-Short Stories
Robert Shapard and James Thomas, Ed. New York/ London: W.W. Norton & Co., 1996. ISBN 0-393-31342-5

OBJECTIVE: By the course's end, participants will have gained a greater understanding of some important principles of writing flash fiction. Participants will understand much more about how to write effective short shorts, and will have a greater awareness of the markets for this type of work. Participants also will have created several rough-drafted stories (at least, and probably some ready-to-go stories too) and will have a collection of future flash fiction story ideas.

ABOUT THE FACILITATOR: Pamelyn Casto created and runs the Flash Fiction Writing Workshop (http://home.att.net/~p.casto), and is the editor of the online monthly Flash Fiction Flash: The Newsletter for Flash Literature Writers (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FlashFictionFlash). Pam's work — articles, stories, essays poems — has been published in both print and on the 'net, including in The Toastmaster Magazine, The Art of Haiku 2000, Potpourri, Perihelion, Ship of Fools, flashquake, Mindprints, Modern Haiku, Wild Strawberries, Riding the Meridian, Fiction Fix, Amaze: The Cinquain Journal, Whim's Place, and Suddenly Sudden Fiction and Prose Poetry (Vols III & V). Pam has written several articles (with Geoff Fuller) on writing flash fiction in Writer's Digest and various Writer's Digest publications. One of her articles on flash fiction writing appears in the 2003 (7th Edition) of Bridging The Gap: College Reading (Longman). Pam is also a 2003 Pushcart Prize nominee.

 
WORKSHOP BEGINS:
Monday, April 10, 2006
 
SIGNUP DEADLINE:
Friday, April 7, 2006
 
DURATION:
Four weeks
 
TUITION:
$100 via PayPal, $105 via check or money order
 
TO PAY VIA CREDIT CARD THROUGH PAYPAL:
IMPORTANT: Make sure that you give us your name and the e-mail address
that you want us to use for the class!
Click the button below:
 
TO PAY BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER:
You may pay by check or money order for $105 ($100 plus $5 handling charge) made out to River Road Studios (flashquake.org's parent company) and mailed to:
flashquake
P.O. Box 2154
Albany NY 12220-0154
If you are planning to mail payment, please be sure to send an e-mail to dorton@flashquake.org to let us know your check is coming. Otherwise, we may close the class before receiving your check. Payment MUST be received and checks must CLEAR before the sign-up deadline in order to participate in this class. IMPORTANT: Make sure that you include your name and the e-mail address that you want to use for the class along with your check.
 
REFUND POLICY:
Students may request a full refund (less a $10 processing charge) up to three days after the class has begun. After that date, no refund will be given.