Advanced Characterization starts 3/26/24 at the U. of C. Graham School Writer's Studio

Characters are the driving force behind stories.? Indelible, passionate,? single-minded characters set stories in motion and provoke fierce oppositions that churn up story drama ripe with complications. Crafting characters of this caliber and placing them in high wire do or die situations sells stories across genres.

Join a committed group of writers as we go beyond the basics to write complex characters with tangled histories, misguided agendas, and flawed world views, driven forward by a core of unassailable truth.? We’ll pit them against other characters and sources of conflict to generate compelling plotlines, create suspense, and evoke deep subplots that add up to stories rich in meaning and entertainment value.

Participants will complete in-class and at-home exercises, workshop their work in class, and read, support, and critique each other’s work.? Participants will workshop their work twice in class during weeks two through seven.? They may also submit shorter submissions during their non-workshop weeks and receive peer and instructor feedback on all work submitted.? All submissions are due by 3:00 p.m. CT on the Sunday preceding each Tuesday class.?

Prior to the first class watch the study film as the foundation for our introduction to course concepts on the first day of class and begin reading the study novel so that we can integrate it into our class discussions.?

For more information, see University of Chicago Graham School Writer's Studio