Character-driven stories are not a fad. Readers may come for the plot, but they stay for the characters, and you’ll hear terms like “agency” thrown around often enough to make you wonder if plot matters at all.

The truth is that character and plot are not opposing forces. In fact, each is wholly dependent on the other.

In this workshop, we’ll discuss how to design a plot around your characters for a truly character-driven approach. We’ll cover what exactly makes a “strong” character. (It’s not lifting weights!) And we will explore how you can shift your perspective to strengthen your story’s stakes and help readers become more invested.

We will also discuss one of the best methods for improving the speed and quality of your writing: deep outlining. If you shuddered at the word “outline,” don’t worry. You can incorporate these techniques with or without the deep outlining method.

At the end, we will workshop attendees’ characters. So bring your character sketches and plot synopses, and let’s create some character-driven stories.