SHORT STORY COURSE #1 – On Character with Leone Ross

WORD FACTORY PRESENTS:

Short Story Course 2018 — Workshop 1

On Character with Leone Ross

In the first of our short story course workshops, you will explore the essentials of character development and voice. Come prepared to explore text before and during the session, to write, reflect and take away exercises to strengthen your work.

This masterclass will take as its basis Leone Ross’s own four-tiered approach to creating multidimensional characters: Shrink, Sadist, Parent, God. By ‘playing’ these roles in relation to characters, we have the opportunity to appreciate them as ‘real’ people, a mind-set that Ross believes is the key to making them come alive on the page. If we care about our characters, if we know them, our readers will care about them; if we can discuss them as if they breathe somewhere in the world, we can appreciate our responsibility to them. The death-knoll for characterisation is to write in generic terms, but how can we individualise and particularise when the short story writing demands so much in a limited word count?

Using a combination of mini-lecture, discussion and short writing exercise(s), this class will consider areas such as the importance of emotions and psychology (‘Shrink’); how important it is to have ‘bad’ - and complex ‘good’ - things happen to our characters (Sadist’); how helpful it can be to resist judging them (‘Parent’) and finding a balance between free-written expression and serious craft-based editing (‘God). Students should bring a short piece of their own writing to share (800 words max) preferably completed microfiction, but excerpts of writing with an emphasis on characterisation can also be used. Writers will also be sent ‘Sunday In The Park’ by Bel Kaufman in advance of the workshop to explore on the day.

Tutor Leone Ross is a novelist, journalist and short story writer published in the UK, US and France. She is a recipient of the London Arts Board Writers Award and has been short-listed for the Orange Prize. In 2010, Wasafiri magazine placed her book Orange laughter on its 25 Most Influential Books list. She is a Senior Lecture in the Creative Writing department at Roehampton University and has worked at Cardiff University, Trinity College Dublin and the Arvon Foundation.

Class size limited to 25 places.

THE COURSE LEADERS

Leone Ross | Tessa Hadley | Sharon Eckman | Toby Litt | Cynan Jones

INDIVIDUAL WORKSHOPS

Attending the full course offers continuity, a great learning experience as well as the best value. However, it’s also possible to book individual workshops.

Use the links below to read full details about each of the specific workshops:

• ALL FIVE WORKSHOPS
• Workshop #1: Character with Leone Ross - Saturday 17 March 2018
• Workshop #2: Beginnings & Endings with Tessa Hadley - Saturday 21 April 2018, morning
• Workshop #3: Being Heard with Sharon Eckman - Saturday 21 April 2018, afternoon
• Workshop #4: Plot with Toby Litt - Saturday 12 May 2018
• Workshop #5: Make The Cut with Cynan Jones - Saturday 16 June 2018
• Special Reading Salon - TBC. July 2018

DISCOUNTED TICKETS & PRIORITY BOOKING FOR FRIENDS

As a "friend" of the Word Factory, one of your benefits are discounted tickets to all our Masterclasses and Salons. You also get priority booking. Find out more and become a valued member of a community of fellow writers…

Friends can book tickets from 30 January 2018. Everyone else has to wait until 20 February 2018.

BECOME A FRIEND HERE

VENUE

The course will be run on Saturday mornings at Waterstones, Piccadilly unless otherwise stated. Please note: there is a slim possibility the venue will change but would still be in central London.

Further information: sophie@thewordfactory.tv

DISCLAIMER

This information is correct at the time of publishing. The Word Factory reserves the right to alter the programme if necessary. Anyone who has bought a ticket will be notified of any changes immediately.

SHORT STORY CLUB

Join the Word Factory’s short story club and enjoy an espresso shot of great literature followed by a thought-provoking discussion. It’s fun – and free!

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