Class Description
A literary agent-led workshop focusing on character development from a marketplace perspective. Be it memoir or fiction, projects that initially capture an agent’s attention most often get rejected because of flat, stock, or unengaging characters. Are you relying on one of the six stock characters we agents see all too often? Do you have sufficient internal conflict on the page without turning your character(s) into clichés? Have you drowned your poor character(s) with description?
In this one-day intensive workshop, we will tackle these problems and many more. We will study effective character descriptions and scenes that go much deeper than the words on the page. We'll work on an assortment of character development exercises, including a very telling Mad Lib-type exercise for your protagonist. Finally, we'll really get into the skin of our characters by using small group critiques and one-on-ones with the instructor.
Part of GrubStreet's Elements of Craft series, dedicated to exploring craft issues on a deeper level. For more on this series' offerings, click here.
Thanks to the excellent literary citizenship of our donors, scholarships are available for all GrubStreet classes. To apply, click the gray "APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP" button. In order to be considered for a scholarship, you must complete your application at least one week before the start date of a class. Please await our scholarship committee's decision before registering for the class. We cannot hold spots in classes, so the sooner you apply, the better. Scholarships cannot be applied retroactively.
For more detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.
This class will take place using Zoom videoconferencing. About 15 minutes before your class is scheduled to begin, you'll receive an email from your instructor with a link to join the class meeting!
Zoom Participation:
Students are not required to turn their camera on, but are encouraged to participate any way they feel comfortable through functions such as the live chat, emoji reactions, and unmuting the microphone. Learn more about using Zoom here.
Zoom Accessibility:
We ask that instructors enable closed captioning and send a transcript of the session after class. You can also enable closed captioning at any time during the meeting. If your instructor forgets to send the transcript, just send ’em an email!