In this four hour workshop, participants will explore how genre techniques—mystery, suspense, romance, and speculative fiction—can elevate literary writing. No matter what style of fiction you write, understanding and practicing genre fiction is one of the best ways to improve your writing and create those meaningful but page-turning stories that readers, publishers, and editors love. Struggling with plot? We’ll look at how mystery writers use structure and story beats. Want more tension in your writing? Try writing a story of suspense using the principle of escalation. More emotion? Romance. Want to express a philosophical idea? Try it through the heightened imaginings of speculative fiction. Participants will pick a genre (or combine two) and write one short story of up to 1250 words – 5 pages.
Facilitated by Claire Mulligan. Claire holds an MFA in Screenwriting with a focus on adaptation and has over fifteen years’ experience as a story consultant, editor, and creative writing instructor for both screen and prose. Her historical novels The Reckoning of Boston Jim and The Dark have been nominated for the Giller Prize, the BC Book Prize, and the Canadian Authors Award, and her short fiction has won over a dozen awards. Claire has adapted several of her own short stories—and those of other writers—into short screenplays. Her first produced adaptation, The Still Life of Annika Myers (2019), won multiple audience favourite and acting awards. Her second short film, Obscura, received the 2024 Leo Award for Best Screenwriting and Best Short Film, as well as the Directors Guild of Canada funding award.
She teaches online courses in short fiction, historical fiction, and Greek classics, and also teaches with UVic Continuing Education.
