Class 1: read Carmen Maria Machado, “The Husband Stitch” [CW: Sexual assault] and write a ghost story to tell in class

Class 2:  read John Manuel Arias, Yurássic Park, and write a short story (1-2 pages) using another existing media property

Class 3: For class, I want you all to write a piece of flash fiction—a story that’s 1 page or shorter, that contains a surprise, a moment of revelation, an interaction between two people.

Below are some examples that I want you to read—read through all of them (some are much shorter than others!) and note what stands out.

-Angela Carter: The Werewolf

-K-Ming Chang: Half Moon Bay (attn: this is VERY short!)

-Natalie Lima: Men Paid Me To Eat

Then, using one of these stories as a model (or doing something completely different), write a flash story of your own! Be prepared to read what you have—all of it or part of it—in class next week.

OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT: read “Walkdog” by Sofia Samatar (one of my favorite stories!) and write a story that does something “wrong”—that breaks the rules of writing that you’ve been taught. Send this to me!

Class 4: Radical Revision Day.

Class 5: Last day of class! Concluding ritual.

Supplemental Reading: Scary Stories to Tell in The Dark

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