What makes a story tick? Why is it told the way it is? How do you choose the right ending?
In this masterclass, Sheila Armstrong puts short stories on the operating table and looks at what brings them to life. Focusing on intuition rather than formal rules, Sheila will explain her step-by-step process for building a living, breathing short story.
This 90-minute masterclass will include the initial spark of inspiration, the bones and muscles of plot, finding the very heart of a story, and the life-giving breath of the perfect ending.
Attendees will be asked to read two short stories in advance, and will have the opportunity to share a short fragment of their own writing. All attendees will also receive an exclusive discount code for 20% off Sheila's short story collection, How to Gut a Fish.
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There will be approx. 15 minutes reserved for Q&A at the end of the workshop. If you'd like to submit a question to Sheila in advance, please send it to writersandartists@bloomsbury.com.
Sheila Armstrong is a writer and editor from the north-west of Ireland. She was nominated for a Hennessy Award, was a runner-up in the Moth Short Story Prize, and has been longlisted for the Short Story of the Year at the Irish Book Awards. Her stories have featured in gorse, Best European Fiction 2019 and Stinging Fly. How to Gut a Fish, published by Bloomsbury, is her first collection.
The workshop fee of £30 (incl. VAT) is payable in full online.
This is a live online event which will be presented using video conferencing software. Joining instructions and full guidance will be provided by the W&A Team a week before the event start-date.
Event materials will be made available to attendees for a time-limited period after the event at the speaker's discretion.
Please note that payment instalment plans are available for all W&A events, writing courses and editing services. Contact W&A Admin on writersandartists@bloomsbury.com so that we can find a payment schedule that works for you.
Accessible to All
It’s of real importance to Writers & Artists that our events and courses remain accessible to all.
- Writers & Artists has made up to five bursary places available for this event as part of our accessibility scheme. Please visit our bursaries page for further information about how to apply. All bursary applications must have been submitted for consideration by Monday 18th April
- At the speaker's discretion, event materials will be made available to attendees after the masterclass.
- A link to a recording of the masterclass will be circulated after the event. This will be made available to event attendees only, and for a time-limited period.
- This event will include written text and visuals. Please contact us in advance so that we can make arrangements to be sure all documents appear in a format that works for you.
- If you’d like to attend but have any questions or concerns regarding accessibility, then please email AccessWA@bloomsbury.com
