IT TAKES A VILLAGE: WRITING SUPPORTING CHARACTERS WORKSHOP

REGISTRATION DATES: NOW THROUGH June 14, 2023

WORKSHOP DATES: June 18 – 24, 2023

REGISTRATION FEE: $25

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP:
An exploration of world-building, development of the plot, and main characters through secondary characters.

At the end of the day, no matter what the genre or trope, whether it’s happening in Alabama or on Mars, we are all trying to create the best possible characters to tell our story.

Writers spend a lot of time on their main characters – our heroes, our villains. We want them to be unique and memorable, leaping off the pages or screen to grab the reader and pull them into the world.

But that world needs to be populated. By names and faces (and the nameless and faceless) who bring forth information, distractions, difficulties, and even just color and commentary. They are the supporting characters and to forget to give them the attention and depth they deserve is to short-change both yourself and your readers.

We’ll talk about the different types of supporting characters, their function, the do’s and don’ts to making them memorable (and how not to let them take over), and how to tell the difference between a supporting character and a misplaced main character.

This workshop lasts for one week and will include text-based lessons, discussion topics, and assignments. The assignments will involve practicing what you are learning in each of the lessons. Tere will respond to questions and comments during the workshop as needed.  Commenting on this workshop will close beginning June 26, 2023. You will continue to have 30 days to access the workshop once commenting is closed, allowing you to visit the workshop, and download and save any information you choose to. July 26, 2023, is the date this workshop will be archived and no longer accessible.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR: TERE MICHAELS

Tere Michaels writes happily ever afters in the big city – with heaps of snark, angst, and humor. Her focus is on characters and all the ridiculous ways they trip through life and love. She has written over fifteen books including her popular Faith, Love & Devotion series, the superhero saga, The Vigilante, and her latest series, Broadway or Bust.

She has been presenting workshops on the writing process for over ten years and currently teaches on the SavvyAuthors platform. She has done presentations and workshops for chapters of RWA, RT Booklovers Convention, Liberty States, Sisters in Crime, Outreach International Writers, inc., Hearts Through History, and Horror Writers of America. Previously, she co-taught and managed RT Booklovers Convention Boot Camp, and curated the Professional Development program for the Book Lovers Convention. 

Currently, Tere operates The Writing Garage, whose services include Plot Whispering, developmental editing, private writing groups, and writing retreats. 

You can reach her via her website, www.teremichaels.com, or on Facebook and Instagram.

REGISTER HERE

NOTE FROM THE WFWA WORKSHOP TEAM

This workshop is part of our new "BITE-SIZE LEARNING WORKSHOP" series which offers text-based learning, self-paced, and modest instructor interactions.

Most of our Bite-Size Learning Workshops (BSLW) will have no pre-recorded videos. These workshops were designed to offer "text-based" learning with lessons posted daily or almost daily on our workshop platform.

BSLWs were designed with all member budgets in mind and to further education opportunities. We also designed these workshops with busy lifestyles in mind. BSLWs are self-paced, meaning you visit the workshop forum on your terms, with no need to follow a rigid schedule. You interact with other workshop attendees and/or the instructor if you choose to. Our BSLWs on average will be one week in length, some a few days longer to fit in all the lessons if the instructor wishes to space things out a bit. Each workshop will also be available for a maximum of 30 days after the workshop closes to commenting beginning the morning after the workshop completion date (which will typically be a Sunday).

We will have one BSLW the last week of each month from February through November 2023.