Developing Fictional Characters
September 22, 2022 through September 25, 2022
at The Bowers House Writers Retreat
$750 includes lodging meals and tour( $600 reserved before Aug 25)
Application: Charles Prier
(706) 246-9421 or (706) 436-9632
charles@priernet.com
The Writers Guild at The Bowers House September Retreat focuses providing experienced writers featuring an intensive three-day workshop on creating memorable characters. The essential phrase “know your character backwards and forwards” encapsulates the focus of this three-day workshop. Charles Prier, Retreat Director and Fiction Writing Ambassador of The Bowers House leads this event beginning with an evening orientation, social and snacks Thursday September 22, 2022. Six prolific writers will participate in an intensive workshop on Friday and Saturday and will be treated to meals locally prepared and inspired, in a 100-year-old historic registry railroad hotel, followed by an assigned writing exercise. A brief history and town tour of Canon and the local meadery owned by a Bowers cousin happens Saturday afternoon, and a certification and wrap up Sunday brunch bring farewell recognition Sunday.
A retreat for experienced writers featuring an intensive workshop on creating memorable characters led by Charles Prier, Retreat Director and Program Manager at The Bowers House
I The fundamentals of character invention
II Building Characters
III Reader/Character relationships
IV Character-to-character relationships
An Overview of the Retreat Plot, theme, setting, point of view, dialogue, and pacing are important craft elements used to construct a story. These affect and, more importantly, are affected by the competency of characters. The comprehensive development of memorable characters brings together all these elements fine-tuned to deliver outstanding stories. Through craft study, guided group discussions, partnered exercises formulating fictional characters, coaching, and critiques, the planned colloquium will provide the participants with the knowledge and practice to significantly improve their writing skills. Discussions topics include:
Begin with the Character
Character Properties Flaws and Habits
Likability
Character Motivation
Character Arcs
You Are Not Your Character
Basing Your Characters on Real People
Characters as metaphors
Exploiting Cultural Influence in Character Development
an intensive workshop on creating
memorable characters led by Charles Prier,
Retreat Director and Program Manager
at The Bowers House
Developing Fictional Characters This quarterly Writers Guild Workshop Retreat is helmed by the direction of Charles Prier, who for the last 12 years has led monthly meetings and personally coached and mentored retreat participants and Writers Guild members in their writing efforts, many from beginners to published authors. At meetings and on an individual basis Charles provides individual and group instruction and members share skills, offer kindly criticism and supply information on markets, contests, and conferences. Charles edits and publishes his own work and that of other writers. Most of all, Charles inspires and encourages with matter of fact, easy to understand instruction and advice on a peer level. Our next Writers Guild at The Bowers House retreat this winter will be customized for the beginning fiction writer, with the implementation of a barter residency program with individual coaching by Charles.
