OutWrite Writing Workshop: Stereotypes

OutWrite Writing Workshop: Stereotypes

When

January 31, 2018    
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Bookings

Bookings closed

Where

The DC Center
2000 14th Street NW, Suite 105, Washington, DC, 20009, DC

Event Type

Loading Map....

John Copenhaver, teacher and author of DODGING AND BURNING, will discuss why certain character types are necessary and why working against type is necessary too.

In fiction, stereotypical characters are often the result of lazy writing. At best, they are a turnoff and at worst they’re offensive. At times, though, fiction writers must rely on secondary stock characters to advance plot, give texture to setting, and support richly drawn principle players. Because these secondary characters aren’t fully developed, invariably they begin to fall into pat stereotypes: the bad boy, the femme fatale, the dewy-eyed ingenue, the wise fool, the quirky gay best friend, etc. In this workshop, we’ll examine a few stock characters and discuss how to write against type in a way that won’t undermine our storytelling, but will help us to avoid cliché and bad writing. We’ll read samples from published authors who have written stock characters compellingly and try our own hand at breaking stock characters out of their stereotypes.

 

Bookings

Bookings are closed for this event.