I'll be running a workshop for the Speculative Fiction New Zealand Society! The details below, and click HERE to register.
Characterization and the Unconscious
Presenter: Karin Lowachee 15 May, 1 – 3 pm
The characters that populate a narrative are the backbone of a story’s world, but creating compelling, whole characters that embody the facets and nuances of humanity can be a challenge. In this workshop, we will explore techniques of point-of-view to anchor characters in a psychological reality, discuss the role of the unconscious in the development and “on the page” writing of characters, and consider the connection of how point-of-view and characterization lead to both the “voice” of the character and the authorial voice, ie: style—both of which impact how a reader interacts with characters. We will utilize breakaway rooms for participants to experiment on their own, then reconvene to share and discuss the results of the exercises. Developing characters can go beyond a dossier understanding of them, whether they are the stars of the show or simply the dayplayers in a single scene.