This afternoon writing workshop, led by Sam Berman, focuses on understanding how a short story is constructed by closely examining a single text: George Saunders’s “My House.” Rather than surveying multiple works, the course slows the reading process down, allowing participants to study how individual craft choices—at the level of sentence, paragraph, and structure—create meaning and emotional impact.

“My House” is an ideal story for this approach. Brief, unsettling, and darkly funny, it demonstrates how voice, tone, and implication can carry a narrative with minimal plot. Through guided discussion and close reading, we will analyze how Saunders establishes voice, uses repetition purposefully, withholds information, and builds moral and emotional tension without explicit explanation. Particular attention will be paid to how form and content interact, and how the story’s ending reframes what comes before.

The workshop blends discussion, short lectures, and low-stakes writing exercises that encourage participants to experiment with the techniques under consideration. While the emphasis is analytical, the goal is practical: help writers identify transferable strategies they can apply to their own work.

This course is suited for fiction writers at any level, as well as readers interested in how contemporary short stories function beneath the surface. Participants will leave with a sharper eye for craft and a clearer sense of how intentional choices shape powerful fiction.

A digital copy of “My House” will be sent to registered attendees, and the workshop will begin with Sam reading the story aloud.