Beyond the Arc: A Deeper Dive into the Short Story with Liz McSkeane

Course Summary

This four-week online course is designed for writers who have been working on short stories for some time and are already familiar with the main elements of the form. It will appeal to people who are interested in going beyond the traditional story arc to explore alternative approaches to storytelling, using the form to explore aspects of the human condition and the wider society. Sessions will include reading selected short stories; discussions; writing practice; optional weekly assignments; and workshopping participants’ stories-in-progress, with a view to producing one story, completed or an advanced draft, by the end of the course.

Course Outline

Session 1: Story as Mood or Thought Exploring the inner life, stasis, ambiguity, where there is no external action but tension and movement are created by language.

Session 2: The Socially Conscious Story Conveying ideology, social critique by creating an immersive reader experience that avoids propagandising or lecturing the reader.

Session 3: The Power of the Unsaid When the central event is never explicitly named or explained but withheld and implied, to challenge the reader to explore an emotional state or aspect of society.

Session 4: The Fragmented Narrative Using non-linear, discontinuous structure composed of fragments: paragraphs, sentences, phrases, journal entries etc – where the reader must infer the story progression and the timeline.

Course Outcomes

At the end of this four-week course, participants will have achieved the following outcomes:

1. Explore the potential of language, rather than action, to convey the trajectory of a story.
2. Create immersive reader experiences that convey thought, ideas and meaning.
3. Enhance sensitivity to the impact of stylistic choices including language, pacing, form.
4. Experiment with non-traditional grammar and story-telling strategies.
5. Clarify how the author’s intention can be accomplished through experimental story-telling techniques.
7. Develop a sensitivity to balance, rhythm and pacing to achieve particular effects.
8. Read a variety of short stories which illustrate selected storytelling techniques.
9. Gain experience in giving and receiving feedback in the workshop method, through collaboration and discussion with fellow participants.
10. Produce at least one short story, finished or at an advanced stage.

Liz McSkeane is a writer and publisher. She has one collection of short stories, four collections of poetry and has just completed her second novel. In 1999 she was overall winner of the Hennessy New Irish Writer of the Year Award for her poetry. Her first novel Canticle was joint winner in the 2016 Irish Writers’ Centre Novel Fair. Her second novel, Aftershock, will be published in October, 2025. Liz is founder and Director of Turas Press.

Booked out? To be added to the waiting list for this course, please email info@irishwriterscentre.ie.