The Elements of Short Fiction with Jennifer Gessner (in person at HVWC)

“There are two men inside the artist, the poet and the craftsman. One is born a poet. One becomes a craftsman.”
~ Emile Zola

What I’ve learned over my years in education and publishing, is something I likely knew innately and that led me down my career path – everyone has a story to tell. And not everyone knows how to tell it.

I love helping people learn to share their stories and I do so using ten basic elements; these elements make up the tools for this craft. Tools and craft are the focal points of my course. If you learn the basic structure of an activity – playing the piano, swinging a golf club, writing a short story – you can practice these skills over and over to success.

In my workshop, you’ll learn about these ten elements: what they are, how they work together, and how this gives you the framework for telling your story. We will share our ideas as a group, for helping someone else figure out a concept is one of our best teachers.

There will always be the born poets, those who entertain their friends with their latest adventure. This is the equivalent of playing an instrument by ear, and this person will come to creating fiction more naturally than someone who hasn’t been telling stories most of her life. Still, everyone can become a craftsman and learn to tell their stories through writing.

This class will take place in person at HVWC on six consecutive Wednesdays from 10am – 12noon between May 1 and June 5. HVWC is located at 300 Riverside Drive in Sleepy Hollow, NY in the former Philipse Manor RR station house.

Instructor Jennifer Gessner has more than 18 years of experience as a Development Editor, the first four with magazines and the past 16 in book publishing. During these 16 years, she won Book of the Year and has generated revenue beyond 100% of her sales goals.

She also has 22 years of experience teaching college-level English, 15 of these teaching Creative Writing. Over her years in the classroom, she has honed and simplified the steps for writing short fiction. She helped to establish the Creative Writing Program at her college, taking it from a single introductory section to a robust course load that students may choose as their major.

During her tenure, she was one of the principal editors of the award-winning, student literary magazine, Ourglass. Her students have published their work in this journal as well as others.

Her graduate studies focused on the teaching of writing.  Her professional career has focused on helping authors to develop their ideas for publication.

Jenny is or has been a member of the following groups:

— Higher Education Teaching & Learning
— American Association of Community Colleges
— Inside Higher Ed
— Instructional Design & E-Learning Professionals’ Group
— Publishing and Editing Professionals