About this Course
At the center of a good story are the characters in it. In this course aspiring writers will discover how to build and bring to life complex, vivid and unforgettable characters. We will study the choices a writer makes to bring all characters to life on the page, and we will perform written exercises in order to develop a variety of writing and pre-writing techniques, in order to create a variety of characters. We will learn how to use our own life experiences, and the people we know (and how not to!). We will develop inner (thoughts and feelings) and outer (appearance, habits, behavior) lives for our characters and see how that can lead us to richer and more interesting stories. We will breathe life into our characters and let them surprise us
What You'll Learn
- Build complex and vivid characters
- Develop diverse writing and pre-writing techniques
- Use personal experiences to enrich character development
Prerequisites
- Basic computer and internet skills
- Ability to follow instructions and complete exercises
Instructors
Amy Bloom
Distinguished University Writer in Residence and Director of the Shapiro Center for Creative Writing