Nothing engages a reader more than an empathetic character.
When the reader is able to place himself in the shoes of someone within the story, he feels the stakes involved and cares for the story's outcome.
But how can a writer avoid the pitfalls of making characters bland, stereotypical, or unrelatable? How does one avoid the trap of writing unnecessarily lengthy character profiles? How can the writer flesh out the character without sacrificing the pace of the story?
Storywriting Basics: Characterization is a writing course that offers an effective and efficient approach to developing characters. The workshop uses the story design approach to give characters greater depth as the story continues to move forward.
Minimum age for this workshop: 8 years oldNote: Online students aged 8-12 are required to have a parent or guardian to assist the child in accomplishing coursework.
Our course creator
Storywriting Basics: Characterization was created by Dr. Joem Antonio. A published author and playwright, he holds a Ph.D. in Creative Writing from UP Diliman and is an eight-time Palanca Award winner. He believes that writing is a skill that can be learned by even those who weren't magically "born with the talent." Through his writing courses and workshops, he teaches writing as a science, leaving students with clear methods that allow them to move their writing projects forward.
Take this course through one of our writing coaches.
View each coach's class schedules, course fees, and other information by visiting their course page.
Dr. Joem Antonio is a teacher, published creative writer, and print-and-play game designer. You'll find his works at joemantonio.com.
Coach Joem teaches this course regularly online. On occasion, he also conducts workshops at various venues in the Philippines.
Esther Suson is an editor, writer, and writing coach. Read more about her work at hashtagesther.com.
Coach Esther teaches this course regularly online. If you're interested in face-to-face instruction, you may contact her directly.