How to Make Your Characters Snap, Crackle, and Pop [Steve Almond]

This is a Workshop for Democracy. The instructor will be contributing 100% of his teaching pay to the organization Black Votes Matter [https://blackvotersmatterfund.org/donate/]. The instructor asks that students pay Hugo House a discounted fee for the class, and contribute the balance of your fee to a candidate or cause of your choosing. The suggested donation is $100, though students are free to contribute more if they wish. Before class, we will briefly discuss our contributions, and how to be citizens of good faith in this vital moment.

Ever read (or write) a story where the hero or heroine just doesn’t seem to pop? I have. Like a thousand times. This intensive (but fun-filled!) seminar will investigate why some characters leap off the page, while others just sit there. We’ll look at the work of Joyce Carol Oates, Sylvia Plath, Jane Austen, and others in an effort to examine all the untapped ways that authors can create layered, multi-dimensional characters. And we’ll work on an in-class exercise to bring the lesson home.