Driven by Character

3 Mondays, June 17—July 1, 7 pm —9 pm

It’s a popularly held opinion that there are only two types of stories: narratives driven by plot and narratives driven by character. But all stories are character driven stories. Readers don’t care how amazing the plot is, if your protagonist has the personality of sawdust, they’re not reading it. In this course, we’ll explore how to deepen our characters. Learn how to draft compelling inner and outer motivations, how to give your characters personality and voice, and most importantly, how to raise the stakes and make your reader feel deeply for your hero.

Brian Wood holds an MFA in Creative Writing from San Jose State University. He has served as the Managing Editor of Reed Magazine, as well as Fiction Editor for POST. His work earned him a Ludwig Scholarship for Excellence in Creative Writing, as well as James Phelan Awards for Short Fiction and Familiar Essays. Most recently, his story collection was a finalist for the BOA Editions Short Fiction Prize. He has ghostwritten five published books, but good luck getting him to tell you about them.