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Everyone loves to write novels—or at least, to have written one (it’s hard work!). As readers and writers, we enjoy exploring characters, motivations, stakes, tension, and conflict. A novel allows space to deeply examine the human condition, but in today’s busy world, short stories are often a better fit for both reading and writing. How do you pare down a 50,000-word saga into a complete, satisfying narrative of 3,000 words or less? Writing short stories is an art: it takes skill to unfold a full story in 20 or so pages. The good news is that it’s also a craft that can be learned. Linda Kay Hardie taught herself to write concisely and powerfully without sacrificing depth or satisfaction. Now she wants to share those techniques with you. The author of dozens of published short stories, nonfiction essays, and poems, Linda Kay offers insight into what short stories are designed to do—and how to achieve that purpose. Her workshop, Killing Him Softly With My Short Story, includes hands-on writing exercises, prompts, and practical tips to help you focus big ideas into short forms. Come prepared with writing materials (tablet, notebook, pen—whatever you prefer) and your ideas.