Building Your Collection: A Master Class for Short Story Writers
About the Class
In this four-day online class, Patrick Ryan (Editor-in-Chief of One Story and author of The Dream Life of Astronauts and Send Me) will guide you through the process of turning your short stories into a cohesive collection. You’ll learn how to assess each story you’ve written, how to discover thematic connections, how to decide which stories to include (and which to leave out), and how to choose the most strategic order for the stories in your manuscript. You’ll also get tips on taking the next step: preparing your manuscript for submission.
Through Patrick’s daily lectures and exercises, along with testimonials from One Story authors about the process of pulling together their own collections, Building Your Collection will help you prepare your own book-length manuscript of short stories with an eye toward sending it out into the world.
About Patrick Ryan:
Patrick Ryan is the author of the novel Buckeye (forthcoming in August of 2025 from Random House), The Dream Life of Astronauts (longlisted for The Story Prize, named one the Best Books of the Year by the St. Louis Times-Dispatch, LitHub, Refinery 29, and Electric Literature) and Send Me (selected for the Barnes & Noble Discovery Series). His fiction has appeared in The Best American Short Stories. A recipient of fellowships from MacDowell and the National Endowment for the Arts, Patrick is the editor-in-chief of One Story. For more information please visit patrickryanbooks.com.
FAQ
When can I register for this class?
Registration is open now through April 20th.
How do I get the discounted rate?
Members of our Patron Circle are annual donor who get One Story subscriptions, discounts to our classes and other perks. To get the discount, join first, then register for the class. Your discount will be automatically applied when you are a Patron Circle member and logged in.
Is this class appropriate for beginning writers?
Our classes are suitable for writers of all levels; however, be advised that this particular class is geared toward people who have the intention of publishing a collection of short stories.
How does the class work?
Each class day, a new lesson will be posted at 11:59pm UTC. The class also includes discussion boards where participants can interact with one another and with Patrick.
Is participation on the discussion board required?
No, it’s optional; participants are welcome to jump into the conversation or sit back and observe.
Is there homework?
Yes. There will be daily exercises geared toward assessing your stories. There will not be any generative writing exercises in this class. Note that Patrick Ryan will not be evaluating any exercises.
How much time will the class take?
Plan to spend about forty-five minutes per day reviewing the lessons and completing the exercises, plus however much time you choose to spend on the discussion board.
How many students are in the class?
One Story online classes are large and tend to range from 100-250 students.
What if I want to take the class, but the dates don’t work for me?
All class materials will be accessible online until May 25th, 2022. Please note, however, that Patrick will only be present for the duration of the class (April 21st–24th). Class material will not be available to students after May 25th. We are unable to offer extensions.
Can I take the class on my phone?
Yes, the class can be taken on a phone, but we recommend a computer or tablet to get the most out of the experience.
Can I save the material for later use?
There will be downloads for you to save and keep, but otherwise class content will be accessible only through the learning platform. To prevent distribution of the material without our knowledge, students are not permitted to copy/paste the lessons but are of course welcome to take notes.
What if I can’t wait to get started?
The discussion boards will open on Tuesday, April 19th two days before the first lesson, so that participants can meet, mingle, and familiarize themselves with the learning platform.
Do you offer financial aid or scholarships for this class?
Yes. We offer a limited number of need-based scholarships that cover 50% of tuition. The window to request a scholarship is open now through April 13th, 2022. If you are interested in applying for a scholarship, please fill out this form.
