164 - What Writers Can Learn from Short Fiction

Episode 164 - What Writers Can Learn from Short Fiction with Gabriela Pereira

December 13, 2022

Matty Dalrymple talks with Gabriela Pereira about WHAT WRITERS CAN LEARN FROM SHORT FICTION, including the importance of seeing the full story, matching the message to the medium, letting the reader fill in the details, asking why something works (as well as why it might not), and assessing your work for purpose. We also talk about her program, DIY MFA, and how one of the drivers behind that program was her belief that with traditional MFA programs, one size fits some.

Gabriela Pereira is an author, speaker, and entrepreneur who wants to challenge the status quo of higher education. As the founder and instigator of DIYMFA.com, her mission is to empower writers, artists, and other creatives to take an entrepreneurial approach to their education and professional growth. Gabriela earned her MFA in writing from The New School and is the host of DIY MFA Radio, a popular podcast where she interviews bestselling authors and book industry professionals. She is also the author of the book DIY MFA: Write with Focus, Read with Purpose, Build Your Community.

"So all of these things you ask yourself, how do those things reflect the big theme, the fortune cookie, that is your story. And then you say, all right, I know how it affects it. Is that how I want it to be affected? And so the goal, ultimately what I tell my students, is by the time you are done editing your book, every single thing that is in your book should be there on purpose." —Gabriela Pereira

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Links

Gabriela's Links:
https://www.instagram.com/diymfa/
https://twitter.com/DIYMFA
https://www.facebook.com/DIYMFA/
https://www.pinterest.com/diymfa/
https://diymfa.com/reading/why-writers-should-read-short-form-literature

This article includes the following Short Fiction Suggested Reading (Elements of craft represented by these stories are in italics.)
·       Aimee Bender, “Night Trilogy.” Style / Point of View (POV)
·       Truman Capote, “Miriam.” Dialogue / Character / Plot.
·       Dan Chaon, “Shepherdess.” Plot / Structure / Style.
·       E.L. Doctorow, “Edgemont Drive.” Dialogue / Character / Style.
·       Lisa Glatt, “What Milton Heard.” Character / POV / Voice
·       Patricia Highsmith, “A Mighty Nice Man.” Dialogue / Character / Plot
·       Shirley Jackson, “Mrs. Anderson.” Dialogue / Character.
·       Stephen King, “The Gingerbread Girl.” Plot / Structure / Style.
·       Ander Monson, “To Reduce Your Likelihood Of Murder.” Style / Voice.
·       Alice Munro, “Free Radicals.” Dialogue / Character / Plot.
·       Joyce Carol Oates, “Wolf’s Head Lake.” Tone / Mood / Voice / POV.
·       Davy Rothbart, “How I Got Here.” POV / Character / Voice.
·       Joy Williams, “Charity.” Plot / Dialogue.

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I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Gabriela! Are you already a reader of short fiction? What lessons have you drawn from it to inform longer works—or maybe writing in a completely different context, like business writing? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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