Flash is a compelling way to tell a story that is explosive and brief. This ongoing class will concentrate in creating exercises to craft work that is original and demands attention from the reader. Work that demands them to stop and focus on all the details your work has to offer. Good flash shows us a brief moment of time in someone’s life, a moment where something shifts forever. We’ll learn how to create those moments from a place of truth and curiosity and to structure work not only in linear, expected ways but in ways that serve you and your story. 

Some of the subjects we will talk about in this class: Writing and empathy, creating characters from a place of curiosity, how to make every word count, flash and structure, endings that stay with your reader. 

This is a generative class so come prepared to write, share and meet other writers. Register for all five classes, or drop in any week you like. Paragraph Members will be automatically registered for FREE.

María Alejandra Barrios is a pushcart nominated writer born in Barranquilla, Colombia. She has lived in Bogotá and Manchester where in 2016 she completed a Masters degree in Creative Writing from The University of Manchester. She was selected for the Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program: Performing & Literary Arts for the city of New York in 2018. Her stories have been published in Hobart Pulp, Reservoir Journal, Bandit Fiction, Cosmonauts Avenue, Jellyfish Review, Lost Balloon, Shenadoah Literary, Vol.1 Brooklyn and El Malpensante. Her poetry has been published in The Acentos Review. Her work has been supported by organizations like Vermont Studio Center, Caldera Arts Center and the New Orleans Writing Residency. She is the 2020 SmokeLong Flash Fiction fellow.