Writing Class!!!

Hooray! I'm enrolled in an online writing class, yet again!
This one is called "Writing the Short Story." Knowing how to write short stories is a useful skill to have, because it's a way to get published quickly and there are a lot of money-giving contests out there for short stories. But short stories are, in my opinion, way harder to write than novels. (Novel count: two in post-production, one in pre-production. Short Story count: zero.) How do you introduce and develop a plot, realistic characters, and emotional interest with so little space? The fewer words you have to work with, the harder it is to make readers care about the story. So you have to be really deliberate in your word choice. No time for flowery descriptions and drawn-out conversations, no purple prose. Just the bare essentials. And somehow get (and keep) the reader interested. Wha???
So that's why I'm taking a class on it. I've gotta learn the secrets of such a mystifying skill!
It's lovely to have writing homework again. Perfect way to spend my next three Thursday mornings. (Sorry, concert choir.)
I should have a writing update appearing soon...!