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RCLAS Writing Workshop: “CREATING BELIEVABLE CHARACTERS AND SETTINGS”

Facilitator:  Ruth Kozak           Reserve your spot: secretary@rclas.com     

Date: Saturday May 26, 2018  Time: 1:30pm – 3:30pm

Location: Anvil Centre, Room 411B, 777 Columbia Street, New Westminster

Workshop Fees: RCLAS Members $15/Non-members $25

Pay via Paypal here: https://rclas.com/workshops/

Description: Whether you are writing a short story or novel, when you create characters it is important to make each one distinct and different in order to keep your story interesting. In a novel that has a lot of characters, readers can have a hard time keeping track unless there are clear distinctions. When you introduce a new character, you must provide a clear impression of that character’s uniqueness. Characters, even in fantasy stories, need to seem ‘real.’ Try to create characters so memorable that they stay in the readers’ minds for the rest of their lives.  What is their back-story? What made them like they are? How do they speak? What do they think about? What are their aspirations?  All of these things are important ingredients in building characters.

How to do this will be the subject of this workshop.  This will include not only writing description, dialogue but also tips on how to keep track of your characters, what and how much research is needed, keeping Bios of your main characters and how much information is needed for minor characters?

How do you create believable settings?  The settings of your story are important and should engage the reader.  Paying attention to detail, using all 5 senses, are some of the techniques that will be discussed, along with necessary research if you are writing from a past time. Even fantasy story settings must seem believable.  Whether you are writing from present time to ancient times details of setting are important.

Author, Ruth Kozak, wrote her novel  SHADOW OF THE LION based on a historical time-line with mostly historical characters but some fictional.  How did she write these characters, including a child, warriors and women, so that they seem so real to the reader?

Ruth’s historical novel SHADOW OF THE LION: BLOOD ON THE MOON was published by MediaAria-CDM of UK in 2014. Volume 2 THE FIELDS OF HADES was published in 2016.

Ruth has been a travel journalist since 1982. She edits/publishes an on-line travel zine. She taught writing classes for VSB and currently conducts workshops at the Heritage Grill (formerly at WAVES) in New Westminster, Brock House, Jericho, and does a variety of in-home workshop or presentations to writing groups as well as editing and writing coaching. She has also participated in the ‘LitFest New West” at Douglas College. www.ruthkozak.com