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Workshop Descriptions & Instructors
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Mystery Characters Clues To Effective Mysteries
Creating Characters For A Mystery Series
Mystery Characters Character is at the heart of all great fiction—including the intricately plotted mystery novel. This course will examine the three types of characters essential to the genre: the protagonist, the victim, and the villain. We’ll discuss the trios of accomplished crime writers, and I’ll lead you through a series of exercises that will help you develop or deepen your own trio. As you create characters for your mystery, you’ll also create “mystery” in your characters—secrets and paradoxical desires that fuel all types of fiction. This course will focus on generating new material. Clues To Effective Mysteries All writers must create vivid, significant details, but mystery writers must also devote a great deal of attention to their placement. When mystery writers plant clues, they employ a range of strategies designed to guide—and, yes, manipulate—the reader’s attention and response. Our examination of these strategies will serve two purposes. We’ll observe and practice several ways of creating emphasis, and we’ll strengthen our understanding and use of narrative fundamentals such as conflict, dialogue, and setting. This course, which will focus on generating new material, is for mystery writers and other narrative writers who enjoy crime fiction and want to use it to improve their craft. Creating Characters For A Mystery Series Kay Scarpetta. Easy Rawlins. V.I. Warshawski. What makes a character compelling enough to sustain a mystery series? How is creating a series character different than creating a character for a stand-alone novel? These questions will guide us as you create or develop your own series character. By engaging in a series of exercises, and by discussing well-known series characters—as well as your own—we’ll tackle the following questions: How can I make my character unique without resorting to gimmick? How much of a past should I create for my character? How will my character evolve from one investigation to another? How can I best use supporting characters? You do not need to bring previously written material to this class, but if you have some writing on a series character—a scene, a chapter, a sketch—you’re welcome to share it. Please limit yourself to ten double-spaced pages. Biography
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by Instructor Sponsored by the Division of Continuing Education Last updated on January 10, 2008 |
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