1 session, Thursday, October 10, 7-9pm
online
$85
Enroll in this seminar.
Ever wonder if your numerous short stories are a collection, and what to do with them if you think they could be with a little (or a lot of) effort? How do you know if stories belong together, what might be missing to unify them, or how to order, talk about, and ultimately sell them as a cohesive book?
In this two-hour seminar, I’ll walk you through the experience of conceptualizing and completing a short story collection that’s ready for agents and editors. We’ll discuss basics like how many stories make a collection, if you really need to publish in literary magazines before you get an agent, and not-so-basics like discovering and strengthening thematic connections between stories, and the uncomfortable question of whether or not story collections sell.
Writers in this course will complete some brief assessments of their existing material and leave with a clear sense of the practical steps and creative process involved in making a dream of a story collection into a marketable manuscript ready for agents and editors. There will be ample time for q&a at the end of the session, which will be recorded and available asynchronously for a month after the session.
Enroll in this seminar.
About the instructor
Danielle Lazarin is the author of the short story collection BACK TALK. Her fiction and essays have been published by places such as The Southern Review, Colorado Review, Glimmer Train, The Cut, Catapult’s Don’t Write Alone, and Literary Hub, amongst others. A graduate of Oberlin College’s creative writing program, she received her MFA from the University of Michigan. Her work has been honored by the New York Foundation for the Arts, Hopwood Awards, Millay Colony for the Arts, and The Freya Project. She lives and works in New York.
Testimonials
“Having worked with Danielle for several years both in her classes and one-on-one, I cannot recommend her highly enough. She brings a deep engagement in her own writing life to meet you exactly where you are with empathy, generosity and incisive, practical, results-oriented guidance. She is a master teacher.”
“Working with Danielle has changed my writing life. Not only does she bring with her the knowledge and wisdom of someone who has been writing and deeply thinking about writing for over two decades, but she brings the empathy of those years of experience too. As well as her craft expertise, I have been additionally grateful for her ability to shine light on deeper, longer-term issues that might be holding me back in my work, and to offer methods of successfully moving through those kinds of blocks. The results are real; learning from her is truly a gift that keeps on giving.”
“Being Danielle's student really jump-started my personal writing process. Her unique insights are both focused and holistic; it's her advice for the journey that helps you get to the destination you want. As a teacher, she's earned my trust.”