Want to add more dimension to your settings and characters? In this dynamic two-part workshop, you will discover how to transform ordinary prose into a vivid, texture-rich world where every detail does heavy lifting. You will learn how consumer brands can provide insight into a character's life and psychology, how quirky personality traits can naturally spark plot, conflict, and humor, and how to masterfully balance the classic debate of "showing vs. telling." Beyond character anatomy, we will explore "place as character," analyzing how the unique mores, rituals, and unspoken rules of a setting actively shape and challenge its inhabitants.

This two-part workshop will be a combination of lecture, writing, discussion, and optional sharing. By the end of the workshop, you will write an original scene driven by a character’s distinct eccentricities or craft a atmospheric setting, perhaps with strange rituals and happenings reminiscent of Shirley Jackson’s chilling classic, "The Lottery."