Exhibition Statement

Introduction 

What makes a bus driver who fears heights a more interesting character when his routes are the winding mountain roads up to Brazil's Statue of Christ the Redeemer, rather than the flat streets of Houston, Texas? What makes a man who has rigid ideas of gender roles more intriguing when he carries five or six colorful silk hair ribbons in his coat pocket at all times? It is a sense of conflict within a character that a reader wants to understand; an implication of character depth to be explored.

This workshop centers around crafting compelling characters in outlines and short stories, though it is extrapolatable to longer works. From characters as complex individuals to their similarly complex relationships to each other and with their environment, character depth adds intrigue to every other part of a story, and achieving this is the purpose of this workshop. 

History & Distinction

This workshop builds upon the debate between character and plot driven stories by centering the former and allowing plot to act as a conduit for character exploration and growth. The significance of this workshop is the connection to an audience that complexly designed characters can achieve. Given that it is human nature for people to gravitate towards those who present similar depth to themselves, no other element of story can develop empathy and intrigue in quite the same way. In allowing characters a fear, desire, and misbelief that interplay, causing internal tension and ultimately character growth, that is, an internal conflict, an author can adhere to the complexities of the human experience, and better connect with their audience (Emmons, 2018).

Methods

Published authors proved to be an instrumental asset in my research process, their expert advice setting the foundation for my own insights and areas of focus. In particular, Abbie Emmons’ explanation of internal conflict in tandem with Brandon Sanderson’s video series on all manner of science fiction and fantasy writing were my main sources of information. Books on writing were another resource that filled out my main topics and introduced niche points in more detail, such as interpersonal relationships, culture, and description.

In synthesizing my research into a curriculum, I organized the semester’s schedule by topic, prioritizing those that would be needed earliest on, as well as those most central to the workshop’s goals. The structure of the class followed a mirrored format centered around the week’s lecture or activity. Before the lecture would be the first half of the warm up as well as a discussion, in order to gauge prior familiarity with the topic and to generate ideas and interest. Then the lecture, including example characters, and when applicable, an activity to encourage student engagement. Following the lecture would be another discussion incorporated for reflection, and the second half of the warm up, related to the first part, but integrating information from the lecture.

Audience & Impact

It is a truth universally acknowledged that there is no more effective way to learn a topic than to teach it. This has been my experience. Instructing has not only made me explicitly aware of what I do and do not believe to be effective writing techniques, but has also made me interrogate within myself the foundation of my beliefs. Teaching is a perpetual act of rhetorical argumentation: it is not enough to be yourself convinced, rather your logic must be clear enough not only to convince others to agree with you, but also to care. Furthermore, students' insights in discussions offered me new perspectives on topics of characterization and story, and this group collaboration has improved my perspective and approach on my own work.

Through pre-lecture and post-lecture discussions, evolution of students' ideas is similarly apparent. My intention never to replace my students’ own experiences with and understandings of fiction-writing with my own, I was glad to see many of their previous beliefs retained, woven with choice new elements I and their peers introduced. Through discussion, it appeared they experienced to some extent my own experience of improved ideas through the mode of explanation.

It is my hope that anyone viewing our collection of short stories will participate in our exploration of complex characters’ impact on a narrative, and that they, in reading, will be moved by the messages of each.

References

Emmons, Abbie. “THE SECRET TO IRRESISTIBLE INTERNAL CONFLICT (Hook Your Readers on Page 1).” YouTube, YouTube, 19 Sept. 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiR42apkOy4. Accessed 10 Oct. 2022.

Sanderson, Brandon. “Lecture #9: Characters — Brandon Sanderson on Writing  Science Fiction and Fantasy.” YouTube, YouTube, 17 Apr. 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NCiuI6F5O0. Accessed 10 Oct. 2022.

Acknowledgements 

My workshop was a feat that never could have been produced individually, and I would like to thank all those who assisted me in it. Without my workshop participants, and their willing active participation, my experience teaching would not have been a rewarding one. To my TA, Amy, your advice was invaluable and your support during class was just as vital in building my confidence as an instructor. And finally to Gabi, Heather, and Harold: providing a space for students to take on the role of an instructor is not only impressive but an intricate process, and I am so grateful that you committed the time and effort to make it a possibility.