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Building Character

  • Glickman Library 314 Forest Avenue Portland, ME, 04101 United States (map)

An In-Person Fiction Writing Workshop

In this generative writing workshop, writers are invited to work with a character they are already writing or to build a new character from the ground up. These characters may be fictional or nonfictional. Through automatic writing, using the constraint of timed prompts, writers will experience their characters in a variety of different settings, behaviors, memories, and relationships in order to begin a new project or add depth and complexity to an existing one. We will work through two sets of twelve prompts, the first set designed to explore the personality and inner world of the character, and the second designed to bring the character into scenes with others and the external world. We’ll examine some approaches to characterization from Zadie Smith, Leslie Marmon Silko, Jamaica Kincaid, Fanny Howe, and others, as inspiration for strategies to implement in our own writing.


Alex Toy is a fiction writer from Maine. She holds an MFA from Brown University and a PhD in English and Literary Arts from the University of Denver. Her work is featured in Annulet, Astrolabe, DIAGRAM, and elsewhere.


ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED
All MWPA workshops require advanced registration. We accept registration by phone, mail, and online via our website. We cannot guarantee registration in the final 24-hours before a workshop, and can rarely accommodate day-of registration.

PAYMENT & CANCELLATION POLICIES
If you need to withdraw from a class after registering for any reason, please email or call the MWPA immediately. You may be eligible for a partial refund or credit, depending on how far in advance you cancel. → MORE INFORMATION

QUESTIONS
For any questions regarding this workshop, please contact programs@mainewriters.org.

REGISTER BY PHONE
Call 207-228-8263 and register with your VISA or MasterCard.


$60 Members/$100 Nonmembers


REGISTER BY MAIL
If you prefer to pay by mail, please print this registration form (downloadable PDF) and mail it to the MWPA with a check or credit card information.

SCHOLARSHIP
The MWPA is proud to offer one partial scholarship to this workshop for members-only. Scholarships are awarded on a combination of need and merit. Email programs@mainewriters.org to see if the scholarship is still available. Application Due by May 20 at 9:00 a.m.
→ MORE INFORMATION

MWPA WORKSHOP POLICIES
Registration in any MWPA workshop, program, or event constitutes your agreement to our terms and conditions. → MORE INFORMATION

Earlier Event: June 1
Advanced Memoir