Dr Christelle Davis’ short story workshop, conducted on 13 March, 2020, was the second in the series of writing workshops from the newly launched creative writing project. In response to the COVD-19 outbreak, the workshop was held via Zoom to ensure the health and safety of students and staff.

Evident in the high attendance rate, the overall interest in writing short stories was extremely high and participants were eager to experiment with short story writing. Within the session’s one-hour time span, Dr Davis explained the techniques behind the composition of a compelling short story and analyzed a few examples to illustrate these points. Mini writing activities were given throughout the workshop to enhance participants’ creativity and writing skills. Participants particularly enjoyed writing micro-fiction/flash-fiction at the beginning of the workshop. Among the topics discussed, which included plot development, symbolism and literary devices, Dr Davis also gave some pointers to break the common writer’s block and generate motivation to write captivating short stories. As a result from the great enthusiasm and positive reaction from the participants, the EAC project team is thrilled to keep up with the intervention in the following academic year.