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Our workshops are based on the strong MFA tradition of providng feedback to imrpove a story draft by draft. It is a tradition that all of our staff members have learned the top MFA programs in the United States. We have been teaching creative writing workshops for the past five years at Our Stories and the rigor and hard work that our workshops contain we believe is no less any graduate level MFA workshop. We remove the multi-opinionated, at times uninformed group feedback typically found in large scale group workshops and have created a “master class” that allows you to bring your work directly to an instructor and work one-on-one with someone on our staff.
Our students have found that they have never worked harder on their stories than with us. Make no mistake, writing is not easy and in our workshops we ensure that you live up to the creative process by working each story draft by draft to improve your work.
MFA prep sale!
Get 10% off if you sign up for our MFA prep workshop in the month of September & October
Each workshop is set up using the same structure found in our long form contest feedback. You, the writer, submit a short story to us and we give it page-by-page feedback and send it back to you. The following week you turn in your next story and we do this all over again. Included in that feedback is an "opening thoughts" section where we describe to you the way we feel your story starts out, which is usually the most important part of any short story. In the "closing thoughts" section we will tell you what we think you should tackle first and our overall thoughts about the story.
The only real differences between our workshops are the number of stories and the number of reviews that we will undertake with each story. For example, our standard workshop begins with the preparation of three short stories that you want to work with over the course of 10 weeks. Each of those stories will go through three drafts in our standard workshop. On the opposite end we have a long review mini workshop where we workshop one of your stories just once. No matter the amount of stories you want to workshop we can create a custom workshop for your needs.
Some Frequently Asked Questions:
When do the workshops begin?
Whenever you’d like to start but as a general rule we like to start the first Friday of every month.
Can I see a syllabus?
Sure thing, right here more>>
What will I receive in my short story feedback?
Each draft of feedback contains three elements: page by page feedback, opening feedback and closing thoughts on the direction of your story. We do this same thing every draft.
Can I customize my workshop?
Of course you can! In fact, you can mix and match your workshops or design your own, add a conference call to a double workshop, whatever you want to do. We want to make sure that you enjoy your workshop experience and you get the most from this experience. email us at workshops@ourstories.us to make arrangements.
Will I receive my top choice of instructor?
About 95% of the time we’re able to honor your first request, however occasionally an instructor is on vacation or slammed with their next novel. In which case you have the choice to wait for them to free up or pick another instructor.
Do you have any examples of your feedback?
Yes, we have PDF examples here: more>>
And the following YouTube video that shows you exactly what you will receive.
What do I do first?
- Scope out the staff here at Our Stories, read our bios and mission statements at the FAQs page. Think about who might be a good fit. Come up with a list of three people who seem to fit the bill.
- Email the Workshop Directors at workshops@ourstories.us, let us know who you are thinking about working with. Tell us a little bit about your project. We will answer your email within 24 hours, checking with available staff members and phone conferencing with you if necessary to ensure that you get the best workshop for money. We want to make sure that you get the workshop you want with the instructor that is best suited for you.
- The final step is going back to this page and paying for your workshop using our secure PayPal links below. This will offically enroll you in your course. Your instructor will send you a syllabus after payment is received.
- Before the workshop begins--REVISE--REVISE--REVISE--take one or three last looks at that manuscript and get it ready to send to your instructor. Your story should be under 6000 words, a little more okay but a lot is not.
How competitive are your prices?
Name of Program (links are included below) |
Average Class Size |
# of Stories you Workshop |
Drafts of Each Story |
Cost |
2 |
1 |
$420 |
||
Max 9 |
at least 1 |
1 |
$395 |
|
Max 1 |
3-4 |
1 |
$759 + $43_*includes 3 credits |
|
Max 6 |
2 |
2 |
$369 |
|
Max 1 |
3-5 |
more than 1 |
$1800 lasts 6 months |
|
Our Stories Standard Workshop |
Max 1 |
3 |
3 |
$335 |
Our Stories Single Story Workshop |
Max 1 |
1 |
3 |
$115 |
Oh, and how do I pay?
We use PayPal so all major credit cards are accepted.
What we look for in a short story:
"Meaning, sense and clarity and when I don't find them, you'll hear about it."
"Character, first. Tension, next. Both, however, are useless without a mastery of the language."
"I look for compelling stories, either plot or character driven, with language chosen to enhance the entire experience."
"I look for profluence or forward movement, something characters hunger for, and wonderfully vivid characters."
Katherine Gehan
"I want passion for language, deeply-wrought characters, and a memorable plot. Give me two out of three and we can make it work."
Elizabeth Kadetsky
"I look for precision and control that provide a structure in which imagination and rumination run wild. I am a fan of the organic and the associative, ideas from the dream mind crafted through rewrite."
Want Chyi
"Give me people I can hear and see, dance and smoke with, high-five or want to kick. Make me care."
Steven Ramirez
"If I can sympathize with a character--even the most troubling, flawed, and spiteful of characters--I will gratefully (and guiltily) follow wherever he or she cares to take me."
Cheri Johnson
"To really like a story, I need to feel that the writer cares deeply about the people and situations she or he is presenting; and that she knows why I should care deeply, too."
Katey Schultz
"The prose needs to take me, as if being carried by a river current, through a natural yet startling sequence of insights or events. This is most often achieved through precise language at the line-level and thoroughly thought-out characters and dilemmas at the conceptual level. When the two work in harmony, I'm along for the ride."
J. Caleb Travers
"Coming soon!"
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