Character Driven Fiction: Making it Happen

Member price:$225
Deadline to register: January 12, 11:59 pm

Instructor: David Seaburn

E.M. Forster suggested that if an author writes that the King died and then the Queen died, there is no plot for the story; but if the author writes that the King died and then the Queen died of grief, the writer has provided a plot line. It is through the nuanced complexity of characters’ internal lives and external actions that plots are driven. Participants in this workshop will learn how to create characters that become people on the page–people who engage each other, and in the process, create stories. In this workshop, we will examine the key elements of plot, the importance of subplots, the value of movement, and dialogue, and how to introduce twists and turns. There will be ample time to write, read, and discuss.

Recommended Bibliography:

• Forster, EM, Aspects of the Novel (New York: Harcourt, 1927)
• King, S, On Writing (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2000)
• McCann, C, Letters to a Young Writer (New York: Random House, 2017)
• Winternheimer, A, The Story Works Guide to Writing Character (Minneapolis: 28.5 Press, 2016)
• Wood, J, How Fiction Works (New York: Picador, 2008)

David B. Seaburn has written six novels, the most recent being Parrot Talk (2017), which placed second in fiction for the TAZ Author’s Awards. His novel, Charlie No Face (2011), was a Finalist for the National Indie Excellence Award in General Fiction. Seaburn is a regular contributor of personal essays to The Psychotherapy Networker magazine. He also writes a blog for Psychology Today magazine entitled “Going Out Not Knowing.” During his academic career, he published over sixty papers and two co-authored books. He is a retired marriage and family therapist, psychologist and minister. He is currently working on his seventh novel, I Think I Died Today.