Class Description
It's often said that there are two kinds of writers, plot driven, and character driven. This class is for the latter, for writers who let their characters take the lead. When you follow your characters into the story, it can feel like you're hiking through an unfamiliar forest without a map, with a cryptic guide who is either going too fast, or not fast enough. Along the character driven way, doubt and insecurity may creep in, taunting you saying that there's no structure, or nothing really happens, resulting in roadblocks, sinkholes, and even abandoning the unique story you want to tell. This class will teach you character driven craft techniques for each stage of the writing process: early drafts, revisions, and workshop strategies. You will be equipped with a list of constructive questions to ask when receiving feedback from your peers or collaborators. With generative writing exercises, you'll practice how to productively write from a character driven lens. As well as learn how to find the structure in what you do have on the page. This class is taught from a playwriting perspective, but is well suited for novelists and screenwriters, at all levels. A workshop for character driven writers looking to understand and hone their process.
Thanks to the excellent literary citizenship of our donors, scholarships are available for all GrubStreet classes. To apply, click the gray "APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP" button. In order to be considered for a scholarship, you must complete your application at least one week before the start date of a class. Please await our scholarship committee's decision before registering for the class. We cannot hold spots in classes, so the sooner you apply, the better. Scholarships cannot be applied retroactively.
For more detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.
This class will take place using Zoom videoconferencing. After registering, a yellow Resources tab will appear in this section containing a link to join class. Please note that you will need to be logged into view the Resources tab.
Zoom Participation:
In our experience, the intimate nature of a writing workshop benefits from on-camera participation. Students are of course welcome to turn their camera off whenever they need to, but it is a community norm for cameras to be on most of the time. You can learn more about using Zoom here.
Zoom Accessibility:
You can enable closed captioning at any time during the meeting by clicking the CC button at the bottom of the screen. If you'd like to access the transcript after class, please make sure to let your instructor ahead of time that you'd like a copy.