Develop memorable individuals, tailored to your story.
Being a brilliant wordsmith isn’t enough. You need a character who is interesting and flawed enough to hook a reader and make them want to stick around long enough to unravel their mysteries. Do you love your imaginery friends, but aren’t sure how best to convey them? Then this interactive workshop is just the inspiration you need to make them come alive on the page.
This workshop will be conducted on the RWA Moodle platform and will run over four weeks. It is designed as the ideal prerequisite to Treat Backstory Like a Pungent Spice workshop which will be held in August, 2017, but it also works as a stand-alone.
During this workshop participants will:
· Learn what makes readers relate to characters and cheer for them.
· Delve beyond the usual height and hair colour, to really figure out what drives their character.
· Exploit their character’s flaws and fears to put them through the wringer.
· Develop a psychological profile.
· Learn techniques to reveal character as part of the story, instead of information dumping.
· Explore how important having the right antagonist is.
· Learn what makes readers relate to characters and cheer for them.
· Delve beyond the usual height and hair colour, to really figure out what drives their character.
· Exploit their character’s flaws and fears to put them through the wringer.
· Develop a psychological profile.
· Learn techniques to reveal character as part of the story, instead of information dumping.
· Explore how important having the right antagonist is.
Lessons will be uploaded on Tuesdays and Fridays. Also, on Tuesdays there will be an exercise that participants can work through on their own, and ask questions if they have any. On Tuesday nights Sandy will offer an informal 1-hour online chat session, where participants can ask questions, share tips and network. On Fridays participants will be given homework, which they have all weekend to do. (Although, Sandy is happy to give feedback at any stage during the workshop, on any of the topics.). On two
Commitment:
The workshop is structured so people can put as little or as much effort into it as they wish, and participate as much or as little as they wish. The average weekly time commitment to particiate in all facets would be ~3 hours.
The workshop is structured so people can put as little or as much effort into it as they wish, and participate as much or as little as they wish. The average weekly time commitment to particiate in all facets would be ~3 hours.
About the presenter
Sandy Vaile is a motorbike-riding daredevil who isn’t content with a story unless there’s a courageous heroine and a dead body. She writes romantic-suspense with attitude, and is published by Crimson Romance.When she’s not writing fiction, Sandy composes procedures for high-risk industrial processes, judges competitions for Romance Writers of Australia and Romance Writers of America, and runs the Novelist’s Circle critiquing group. She lives amongst the South Australian vineyards and was a chef in a past life, hence the food analogies. Connect with Sandy at: www.sandyvaile.com
Course Dates: 29 May - 25 June, 2017
Cost: RWA Member—$30. Non-RWA Member—$80.