Teaches the Art of the Short Story

Joyce Carol Oates

Meet your new instructor: Joyce Carol Oates, the National Book Award–winning author of 58 novels and thousands of short stories. Joyce welcomes you and discusses the enduring importance of short fiction.

Introduction

You want to write. When and how do you get it done? Joyce explains how to draft, revise, and share your work with others. She also touches on rejection and how to protect your time for writing.

Principles of Writing Short Fiction

Journaling is a tried-and-true method for self-expression and discovering your voice. For illustration, Joyce reads from one of Virginia Woolf’s diary entries.

Journals: Observing the World

Joyce discusses how delving into the darker elements of your personality and past can provide compelling, heartfelt fodder for fiction—as well as a means to finding a unique audience.

Ideas: Exploring Taboo and Darkness

Some of Joyce’s experimental approaches to structure include considering the shape of a story on its first page and writing a one-sided dialogue. She reads from her story “Heat.”

Structure and Form

Your past and your family can be a rich trove of story material. Joyce walks you through examining childhood influences, interviewing family, and remembering physical places that have left a lasting impression on you.

Ideas: Writing the Familiar

Joyce analyzes very brief narratives—ones with no more than a few pages—for the language and structure they require. As an example, she reads from the William Carlos Williams story “The Use of Force.”

Form Study: Miniature Narrative

Writing a monologue can be a useful stepping-stone to crafting a novel, as well as a good exercise in exploring the perspectives of characters unlike yourself. Joyce’s monologue story “Lethal” serves as an illustration.

Form Study: Short Monologue

Joyce reveals what inspired—and how she wrote—her most well-known and reprinted story, including how she chose the main character’s perspective and how adjusting perspective can be helpful for your own story.

Story Study: “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”

How do you read with the intention of finding new ideas and learning from writers you admire? Joyce leads a discussion on reading as a writer.

Reading and Studying Writing

Joyce and two of her students—Lindsey Skillen and Corey Arnold—read from Ernest Hemingway’s story “Indian Camp.” They review the work as they would in one of Joyce’s collegiate or graduate classes.

The Writer’s Workshop: “Indian Camp”

Joyce holds a workshop of her student Lindsey’s story “Labor Day,” which can be downloaded in advance of the lesson.

Revision Workshop: “Labor Day”

This workshop focuses on Corey’s short story “Near Death,” which can also be downloaded in advance.

Revision Workshop: “Near Death”

Joyce shares her parting words, advising how to select a place to write that makes you feel inspired and how to continue finding joy in the writing process.

Closing

Joyce Carol Oates Teaches the Art of the Short Story

You're on your way to receive up to 50% off!

Writing

Craft Compelling Stories

Teaches Fiction and Storytelling

Walter Mosley

Walter Mosley Teaches Fiction and Storytelling

Lessons from Influential Black Voices

Black History, Black Freedom, and Black Love

Teaches Writing

James Patterson

James Patterson Teaches Writing

Teaches Creative Writing

Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood Teaches Creative Writing

Teaches Documentary Filmmaking

Ken Burns

Ken Burns Teaches Documentary Filmmaking

Teaches the Power of Storytelling

LeVar Burton

Teaches the Power of Storytelling 

LeVar Burton Teaches the Power of Storytelling

Teaches Investigative Journalism

Bob Woodward

Bob Woodward Teaches Investigative Journalism

Teaches Writing for Television

Shonda Rhimes

Shonda Rhimes Teaches Writing for Television

Teaches Poetic Thinking

Joy Harjo

Joy Harjo Teaches Poetic Thinking

Teaches Mystery and Thriller Writing

David Baldacci

David Baldacci Teaches Mystery and Thriller Writing

Teaches Writing and Performing Poetry

Amanda Gorman

Amanda Gorman Teaches Writing and Performing Poetry

Teaches Dramatic Writing

David Mamet

David Mamet Teaches Dramatic Writing

Teaches Reading and Writing Poetry

Billy Collins

Billy Collins Teaches Reading and Writing Poetry

Teaches Storytelling and Humor

David Sedaris

David Sedaris Teaches Storytelling and Humor

Teaches Screenwriting

Aaron Sorkin

Aaron Sorkin Teaches Screenwriting

Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell Teaches Writing

Teaches Game Design and Theory

Will Wright

Will Wright Teaches Game Design and Theory

Teaches Purposeful Communication

George Stephanopoulos

George Stephanopoulos Teaches Purposeful Communication

Teach Developing an Original TV Series

The Duffer Brothers

The Duffer Brothers Teach Developing an Original TV Series

Teaches Storytelling and Writing

Salman Rushdie

Salman Rushdie Teaches Storytelling and Writing

Teaches Fantasy and Science Fiction Writing

N. K. Jemisin

N. K. Jemisin Teaches Fantasy and Science Fiction Writing

Judy Blume

Judy Blume Teaches Writing

Teaches Fiction, Memory, and Imagination

Amy Tan

Amy Tan Teaches Fiction, Memory, and Imagination

Teaches the Art of Storytelling

Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman Teaches the Art of Storytelling

Teaches Writing Thrillers

Dan Brown

Dan Brown Teaches Writing Thrillers

Teaches Creating Outside the Lines

Issa Rae

Issa Rae Teaches Creating Outside the Lines

Teaches Writing for Young Audiences

R.L. Stine

R.L. Stine Teaches Writing for Young Audiences

Teaches Writing for Social Change

Roxane Gay

Roxane Gay Teaches Writing for Social Change

Michael Lewis

Tell a Great Story

Teaches Creativity and Film

David Lynch

David Lynch Teaches Creativity and Film

Guided by Leading Experts

Achieve More With GenAI

Reframe Your Thinking

Ava DuVernay

Teaches Effective and Authentic Communication

Robin Roberts

Robin Roberts Teaches Effective and Authentic Communication

Icons and Their Influences

Talking Shop

Menu

Get up to 50% off Pre-Black Friday

Get up to 50% off Pre-Black Friday

Get up to 50% off Pre-Black Friday

Get up to 50% off Pre-Black Friday

Get up to 50% off Pre-Black Friday