Character Development – The Deep Dive
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Character Development – The Deep Dive
Learn how to create characters that will stick in your reader’s mind long after they’ve closed the book.
Anna Davis, founder and director of Curtis Brown Creative will help you create central characters who will be as real for you as people you know in your actual day-to-day life – and who will refuse to leave you alone until you’ve told their story.
You’ll get to know your protagonist inside and out as you explore their personality, psychology and backstory in your Character Life-Book, deciding on everything from their eye colour to their deepest desires and fears. You’ll also learn how to give them real motivation for their actions, so that readers will want to follow them through the pages of their story. By seeing the world through the eyes of your protagonist, you’ll discover how to influence your reader’s opinion of them through your chosen narrative perspective. As well as fully fleshing out your central character, we’ll show you how to create your cast of supporting characters.
Brilliant course from start to finish!
Tutor
Anna Davis
Anna Davis is the founder and Director of the Curtis Brown Creative writing school. She is the author of five acclaimed novels which have been published in twenty languages. She has been a journalist and Guardian columnist, as well as a Curtis Brown literary agent. She taught creative writing at the University of Manchester and in many other settings before founding Curtis Brown Creative in 2011.
WHAT DOES THIS COURSE GIVE YOU?
- Video modules: Work through six modules comprising teaching videos and substantial notes by Anna Davis. Topics range from character motivation to narrative perspective.
- Writing tasks: Weekly writing tasks to help you explore and understand the teaching topics and progress your novel. Weekly posts to the forum from your tutor will reinforce these lessons.
- Resources & notes: You’ll get access to extensive teaching materials, including writing prompts and a list of recommended reading.
- Professional feedback: An expert CBC editor will give brief written feedback on several of the students' practical assignments every week, with all students receiving feedback on one of their writing tasks. Students are also given the option to purchase additional end-of-course feedback from our expert editors.
- Student forum: Find your writing community on our private student forums. Upload your completed writing tasks, give and receive peer-to-peer feedback, and discuss the week’s topics with your fellow students and the CBC team.
COURSE SCHEDULE & DELIVERY
You can follow the course at your own pace, our online courses are designed for flexible study. Allocate time for studying to fit in with your schedule, from wherever you are in the world. To get the best out of it, we recommend spending four-six hours a week on the course.
WEEK 1
Character genesisWEEK 2
Character from the insideWEEK 3
Character from the outsideWEEK 4
Past & present
ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK
All students will be given the option to purchase feedback on their final task from a CBC editor.
- CBC report: For an additional fee of £125, you can obtain a detailed 500-word report on your work (of up to 3,000 words) from one of our editors.
- CBC report + tutorial: For an additional fee of £200, you can obtain a 500-word report from one of our editors and have a 30-minute video or telephone tutorial with them to discuss your work.