In shaping the lumpy mess of the world into an aerodynamic short story, writers need to make choices\u2014whom to follow, what to include, what to exclude, where to look, what to tell the reader and when, etc. And to make these choices, writers ask themselves a series of questions, often subconsciously, that get to the heart of characterization, plot, point of view, conflict, setting\u2014in a word,\u00a0craft<\/EM>.\u00a0In this class, we will focus on nine essential questions of craft and examine how they\u2019ve been answered by some of the form\u2019s contemporary masters (including D\u2019Ambrosio, Gaitskill, Lahiri, Saunders, and many more). Through a mixture of discussion, in-class exercises, and workshops, you will understand how every work of fiction, no matter how wild, has a firm foundation\u2014and at the end of eight weeks, you will have your own short story, polished and concise, that will help your reader make sense of the world.<\/P>
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