Are your important characters living up to their potential? If not, how can you help them do so? In this dynamic class we’ll use passages from classic and contemporary fiction to discover some of the techniques authors have used to create admirable main characters—which, as it happens, often entails creating more potent and plausible villains or antagonistic forces. Using passages from Austen, Tolstoy, Larry McMurtry, David Mitchell, Kasuo Ishiguro, Premee Mohammed, Suzanne Collins, and others, we’ll reverse engineer the secrets of character sympathy and memorability with the goal of applying what we learn to our own fiction.

Instructor bio:

Tim Weed is the author of three books of fiction. His short stories have won multiple Writer's Digest fiction awards and his upcoming novel, The Afterlife Project, was a finalist for the Prism Prize in Climate Literature. Tim’s work has appeared in Literary Hub, The Millions, The Morning News, The Writer’s Chronicle, Talking Points Memo, and many others. He’s on the core faculty of the Newport MFA in Creative Writing and is the co-founder of the Cuba Writing Program in Havana, Cuba.

Limited to 15 participants

Fiction

Tuition: $85. Sign-up deadline: March 31