At the center of a good story are the characters in it. In this course aspiring writers will discover how to build and bring to life complex, vivid and unforgettable characters. We will study the choices a writer makes to bring all characters to life on the page, and we will perform written exercises in order to develop a variety of writing and pre-writing techniques, in order to create a variety of characters. We will learn how to use our own life experiences, and the people we know (and how not to!). We will develop inner (thoughts and feelings) and outer (appearance, habits, behavior) lives for our characters and see how that can lead us to richer and more interesting stories. We will breathe life into our characters and let them surprise us.

Creative Writing: The Craft of Character
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Creative Writing: The Craft of Character
This course is part of Creative Writing Specialization

Instructor: Amy Bloom
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Wesleyan University

Wesleyan University

Wesleyan University

Wesleyan University
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Reviewed on Jun 16, 2016
This course was very interesting and the assignments were good. I thought it relied too much on conversations with other authors but overall it was enjoyable and I learned new skills.
Reviewed on Aug 11, 2020
An exceptional course with a great insight into the creation of characters in creative writing. Heartily thanks to Amy Bloom and the team for such thorough guidance through the course.
Reviewed on Mar 14, 2023
The different perspectives from the guest writers helped me to understand how writers craft character. Amy Bloom did an excellent job facilitating and guiding the speakers to help students learn.

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