Short Fiction Writing Certificate Program
Explore the essential techniques of great storytelling while developing your unique voice. Through analysis, practice, and workshopping, you'll refine your craft and leave with stories that captivate readers.
Taught by a world-class faculty of writers and educators, the Short Fiction Writing certificate program consists of three four-week courses designed for adults and teens. The program can be completed at a pace that works for you and offers a unique opportunity to delve deeper into your craft while showcasing your achievements with a credential from Interlochen—an impressive addition to your résumé, college application, or LinkedIn profile.
For students under 18, the Short Fiction Writing certificate program is also an engaging way to earn high school credit. It’s ideal for students looking to challenge themselves beyond their school curriculum or to supplement their homeschool studies.
The following three creative writing courses make up the certificate program, the second two courses of which can be taken in any order:
Introduction to Creative Writing
✔ Write well-crafted fiction
✔ Sketch characters with wants and fears that propel the narrative of your story
✔ Write dialogue that develops your characters
✔ Create vivid settings with details that are significant and support the characters
✔ Write metaphors that are thematically linked to your characters and settings
Short Fiction Writing: Improving Structure
✔ Analyze short stories through premise lines, exploring how to structure your own work effectively
✔ Identify and apply key strategies for crafting compelling beginnings, middles, and endings in short stories
✔ Develop well-rounded characters and create scenes that advance plot and heighten emotional stakes
✔ Explore new directions for short fiction and how to adapt and reinvent the genre in modern literary contexts
Short Fiction Writing: Making Stories More Vivid
✔ Create vivid settings that draw readers in through both straightforward description and defamiliarizing techniques
✔ Create complex, memorable characters with just a few well-chosen details
✔ Craft dynamic, high-energy dialogue that reveals character and builds tension
✔ Use the texture and rhythm of language to elevate your writing and create stories that resonate with readers
Learn and save: Students who enroll in the certificate program will receive a discounted rate by registering for all three online creative writing classes as a package.
Certificate programs comprise three four-week courses, providing deeper training in an artistic discipline or area of study. Students who enroll in a certificate program will receive a discounted rate by registering for all three courses as a package.
Each Interlochen Online course is designed to be inspiring and flexible with weekly learning units that combine video segments and guided instruction that you can complete on your own schedule. Combined with that learning is an optional weekly hour-long video class meeting, where you can learn from you instructor and interact with fellow students in real-time. You will also interact regularly with your instructor and peers through messaging inside the learning environment, including receiving personalized feedback on your work from your instructor.
Upon completion of the program, you will receive a physical certificate and a shareable digital certificate. Certificates for students under 18 are accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS); high school-age students will also receive an official transcript to share with their current school for consideration for high school credit.
Courses
Tuition
$ 897 $799
Ages
Teens: Grades 6-12
Adult Learners: Ages 18+
Questions? Speak with an Advisor.
Email: online@interlochen.org
Phone: 231.276.5990
You can also schedule an appointment.
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