Interesting Characters from flickr, Creative Commons license

Build Compelling Characters

Our job as novelists is to create characters that our readers love. Or love to hate. Or want to be. Or want to jump into bed with. Our characters need to feel real, engaging, and compelling, not just our main characters, but also our secondary characters and villains. But how to actually do that?

In this course, we’ll cover how and go over some tools, like GMC (Goal, Motivation, and Conflict, from Deb Dixon) and how to draft a useful backstory. And we’ll go beyond the standard tools to cover identity/belief shifts, examine world building as it relates to the character, excavate your characters’ archetype and function in the story, and draft each character’s emotional range.

Taiyoucon 2011 Digitals: Group shots by Kevin Dooley, creative commons license, flickr

You’ll come away from this hands-on month-long course with detailed character sketches for your stories. A great course to take to prepare building your next novel or novella. Especially for genre novelists.

Build Compelling Characters for Readers to Fall in Love With
Presented by Beth Barany

Dates: July 1 -30, 2014
== > Sign up deadline June 28, 2014
Fee: OIRW Member $20
Fee: Non-Member $25

Instructor Bio:

Beth Barany, Award-winning author; Teacher & Coach

Beth Barany is a certified creativity coach, NLP Practitioner, and keynote speaker. She helps novelist get their writing done and out into the world. She’s the bestselling author of THE WRITER’S ADVENTURE GUIDE and OVERCOME WRITER’S BLOCK. Her most recent book for writers is TWITTER FOR AUTHORS. Beth writes young adult fantasy and paranormal romance. Her young adult epic fantasy novel, HENRIETTA THE DRAGON SLAYER, won the Grand Prize in the 2012 California Book Fiction Challenge. More about Beth Barany on her site: www.bethbarany.com.

On Twitter: twitter.com/beth_barany.

Check out her free 5-day Writer’s Motivation mini-course: http://bethbarany.com/5daycourse.htm