The Story and its Writer / Introduction to Short Fiction

[Hunter]

Has anyone used The Story and its Writer or used another text for an introduction to Short Fiction course? Used copies of older editions are dirt cheap at Amazon.

 

Are there any free online courses in short fiction analysis? Or DVD series?

[Hunter]

I downloaded the audio version of a short story survey at Teaching Company last night and put it on my iPad. It seems really good.

 

Ever since I bought The Complete Short Stories of Hemengway to go along with Write Like Hemingway I've been enamored with the classics of short fiction.

 

We hear so much about lists of great BOOKS, but so far I haven't seen the same attention paid to list of STORIES.

 

With the stories I have more time to learn about the author and his/her writing style, and more ideas, than a long book that is sometimes so overwhelming, that I lose track of what I am most interested in, which is learning to write and to being introduced to new ideas...and gaining some cultural literacy.

 

I bought 50 Great Short Stories and hope to buy the lesson plans for it soon. A local bookstore has quite a few of the really cheap Dover volumes of short stories. I'm going to go back today and buy the Poe volume to go along with the first Teaching Company lecture. I think it was only $1.50.

 

I'm interested in any and all info about short fiction surveys and collections.

 

Maybe next month I can afford Windows to the World

 

There are two curriculums focusing on teaching students to write their own novel, but what about something comparable for writing short stories?

[Kareni]

Here's a link to a great list by Eliana ~

 

I've updated the links for my short story/essay list

 

Some other posts worth reading are here and here.

 

More here.

 

Regards,

Kareni

Edited September 18, 2010 by Kareni

[Hunter]

Thank you :-)

 

This link http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showpost.php?p=39274&postcount=9 is VERY helpful as the stories are listed by what they are a good example of. I'm wanting a systematic and comprehensive survey of short stories, as much as possible.

[swimmermom3]

Hunter, thanks so much for asking this question and Kareni, thank you for all of the links. I feel like those If You Give a Mouse a Cookie... books. I received the TC flyer for another sale and put the Geometry course in my cart which came to $94. If I went over $100, I could take $20 off. This high finance trick lead to adding the download of The Masterpieces in Short Fiction course. I feel so virtuous.:tongue_smilie:While reading the Course book bibliography, I saw The Story and It's Writer listed and remembered that I saw a thread with the same title and voila...I need a book to go with my download!:D

 

My kids love the short story work. We have the The 50 Great Short Stories and the lesson plans and are discovering what a wonderful and inexpensive resource they are.

 

I am also continually amazed and grateful for the wealth of information on and passion for great literature that Eliana shares with us. So many doors have opened for my family since we have been following up on her recommendations.

[Hunter]

Buried deep in the guidebook of Masterpieces of Fiction it says that all the major stories are included in The Story and it's Writer. The course bibliography listed at the website is quite extensive though, and led me to believe otherwise:-0

 

I still have Teach 50.... on my wish list, but am trying very hard to pick and choose the absolutely best of what I'll be using immediately, and to have the most variety of media, activities, learning style, etc.

 

I picked the audio course over the video because of the immediate download and the ease of putting it on an iPod and having it handy during "hurry up and wait" moments, which my life is full of.

 

Most short story collection books are cheap. I intend to rip the books up and just carry the story I'm working on with me. It's cheaper than printing out even "free" stories. I always retain the books I rip up the best, because once they are ripped I really feel free to scribble on the pages. I fully interact with the text.

 

I'm going to look for free audio of the stories in the course.

 

And get back into Movies as Literature which I'm completing with a friend. The movie curriculum makes a point of comparing movies with short stories. She got busy and we got stalled, though.

 

I think I'm going to get Analytical Grammar's literature essay curriculum, but the shipping threw me off. It was over 1/3 the price of the curriculum. And I'm more interested in copying short story techniques and the writing style of the authors than learning to write about them. I'm still saving my money and hoping to find a curriculum focused on style and writing in general.

 

I just adore Write Like Hemingway and am hoping for more of that type of writing instruction.