Mastering Characterization to Elevate Your Writing 4-Week Zoom Workshop

Characterization is an essential literary tool of writing a novel or  short story and is the foundation of all great literature. Mastering  characterization can help you drive the plot forward and develop a world  that engrosses the reader.

In this 4-week course, we’ll examine the literary devices used to  develop characters--such as narration, dialogue, interaction, and  interiority--and also study how to combine indirect and direct  characterization to create characters that are interesting and realistic  (and not necessarily likeable).

Along with studying some of the greatest characters in literature,  we’ll also look at examples from screenwriters, actors, and playwrights  to understand alternative methods to develop characters. Lastly, we’ll  discuss how to create diverse characters with sensitivity and accuracy.

Writers will participate in exercises for character development and  will workshop a short story that will use character as plot.  Participants will leave the course with a keen understanding of  characterization and a starting point to develop a character for a novel  or short story.

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

• Writers will leave the course with a keen understanding of the literary tools for characterization.
• Writers will develop a character for a novel or short story.
• Confidence to develop diverse characters.
• Workshop a short story that will use character as plot.