SHORT FICTION WORKSHOP

FINE-TUNED FICTION: THE ART OF LESS

Kimberly King Parsons

How do some of our most compelling short story writers distill entire worlds into just a few carefully chosen words?

In this workshop, we'll focus on compression and precision as essential tools for amplifying a story's power. Starting with what already makes each piece distinctive, we'll explore how careful distillation of time, scene, and character—combined with exactness in every word choice—can transform work into its most resonant form. Through close attention to language and dialogue, we'll refine and enhance each writer's natural voice while learning to compress narrative into its vital essence.

Using story openings from masters of the form, we'll also study how the genetic material of an entire narrative often exists in its first paragraphs—a kind of literary DNA that contains the blueprint for everything that follows. These beginnings are where writers plant the seeds of voice, tension, and inevitable surprise.