October Third Thursday: “Writing Fully Realized Characters”
October 17, 2024 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM CDT
Free
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“Plot grows out of character. If you focus on who the people in your story are, something is bound to happen.” –Anne Lamott
The heart of any story is its characters. You could have the ultimate hook, an intricately plotted outline, and the perfect ending, but if your characters aren’t fully developed, your story will ultimately fall flat. But what does it mean to write fully realized characters? How do you write a character who is wholly unlike you? How do you find inspiration from the people around you in a way that’s authentic and ethical? How do you fully tap into the mannerisms, motivations, and moral compass of another — imaginary or not?
Our three author panelists — Sherri L. Smith, Alex Temblador, and Meg Vondriska (who have all written on and/or taught this topic) — will share their insights on these questions and more.
This conversation will be moderated by WLT Program Director Sarah Renee Beach.
Buy our panelists’ books and support indie bookstores! You can find our October Third Thursday booklist here.
CONTINUING YOUR WRITING JOURNEY
Featured Presenter(s)
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Sherri L. Smith is the author award-winning fiction and nonfiction books for young people including the 2021 Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Golden Kite Award winner The Blossom and the Firefly, and the California Book Awards Gold Medalist, Flygirl. Her novels appear on multiple state reading lists and have been named Amelia Bloomer, Junior Library Guild, Children's Book Council, and American Library Association Best Books for Young People selections. She also writes comics, including Wonder Woman, Bart Simpson Comics, and James Cameron's Avatar. Sherri holds certificates in the Art of Archetypal Fairy Tale Analysis, Enchantivism, and Applied Mythology. She currently teaches at Hamline University. Her latest nonfiction book with Elizabeth Wein is American Wings: Chicago’s Pioneering Aviators and the Race for Equality in the Sky (Putnam). Her graphic novel Pearl (Graphix/Scholastic), with art by Christine Norrie, received five starred reviews. Her upcoming novel, Candace, the Universe, and Everything, brings together three generations of Black girls in a story about friendship, wormholes, and interdimensional magpies. Learn more at www.sherrilsmith.com
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Alex Temblador is the Mixed Latine award-winning author of the writing craft book, Writing An Identity Not Your Own, and two magical realism novels, Half Outlaw and Secrets of the Casa Rosada. In addition to receiving her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Central Oklahoma, Alex's creative work has been published in literary outlets like PALABRITAS, D Magazine, Colorado Review, as well as two anthologies — Living Beyond Borders: Growing Up Mexican in America and Speculative Fiction for Dreamers: A Latinx Anthology. Alex has taught creative writing seminars, workshops, and classes with WritingWorkshops.com, the Women's Fiction Writers Association, the Writer's League of Texas, StoryStudio Chicago, WorldShift: The Speculative Fiction Writer's Summit, Texas Book Festival, Macmillan Publishers, Abydos Learning Conference, and more. When she's not writing her next book, Alex works as an award-winning journalist, travels the world, sews, and gardens in her home base of Dallas. -
Meg Vondriska does not feel like a writer, but that has not stopped her from dreaming up stories in the margins of notebooks since grade school and is certainly to blame for her poor understanding of algebra. She grew up in rural Wisconsin but currently resides in Austin, Texas, with her husband, Ryan, and their dog, Tonks. When she is not writing, she can be found riding her horse or sitting on her patio with a glass of red wine and a good book. Her debut book - A Tale of Two Titties: A Writer's Guide to Conquering the Most Sexist Tropes in Literary History - published in July 2024.
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