What this class is about: It is more than correcting and editing grammar, formats, punctuation, and spelling. The class focuses on tapping into a writer's written and spoken creativity. Students will write six- to 500-word stories based on prompts about character development, creative constraints, dialogue, world building, and plot. Students will engage in workshops, helpful feedback, and a 2000-word short story. All written works will compile into a portfolio.
Students will learn about the word count of short stories such as six-word story, micro fiction, or flash fiction for example. How to write well-rounded characters and descriptive world building with the five senses. To be comfortable, confident, and engaging with oral storytelling. How to write natural dialogue without clichés. To understand collaboration with other writers and constructive feedback.
As your instructor, I like to delve in different short story word counts while exploring multiple genres including historical fiction and science fiction.
Durena Burns is a fiction writer based in Southern California who delves in multiple genres including Black American fiction, historical fiction, and science fiction. She likes to explore multiple genres and multiple ways to tell a story. Burns has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, Creative Writing from California State University, Northridge. She has been honored with The Lesley Johnstone Memorial Award, The Northridge Review Fiction Award, and The Oliver W. Evans Writing Prize in American Literature in 2025. Her published works include Duskbound Books' (formerly Writing Bloc) anthologies with two short stories, two poems from Pomona Valley Review and a short story from the Northridge Review. What drew Burns into the world of creative writing is her imagination and using it to escape into worlds all her own. She is thrilled to share and teach creative writing and storytelling with enthusiastic students, whether for fun or as a career.
