CW 92 — Character Transformation: Unlocking the Mystery
Quarter: Summer
Instructor(s): Rachel Smith
Date(s): Jun 26—Jul 31
Class Recording Available: Yes
Class Meeting Day: Thursdays
Class Meeting Time: 5:30—8:00 pm (PT)
Tuition: $655
Refund Deadline: Jun 28
Unit(s): 1
Enrollment Limit: 18
Status: Open
Quarter: Summer
Day: Thursdays
Duration: 6 weeks
Time: 5:30—8:00 pm (PT)
Date(s): Jun 26—Jul 31
Unit(s): 1
Tuition: $655
Refund Deadline: Jun 28
Instructor(s): Rachel Smith
Enrollment Limit: 18
Recording Available: Yes
Status: Open
“Everyone thinks of changing the world,” said Leo Tolstoy, “but no one thinks of changing himself.” Yet literature is profoundly concerned with character change. What brings it about, and how do we feel it on the page? Do we write it implicitly? Explicitly? How do we capture the ever-changing mystery of human beings?
In this immersive course, we will explore character change through craft readings, the study of a novel, writing prompts, discussion, and mindfulness exercises. We’ll begin by looking at Nancy Kress’s building blocks of character change, studying the elements that combine to create change that’s both persuasive and plausible. Next, we’ll explore Donald Maass’s idea of cascading change: the way characters collide into each other, events, and obstacles, making change inevitable. Finally, we’ll consider variations such as change that happens through culture or generations, change that doesn’t fit expected arcs, and characters that don’t change. We will look for the changes in our own perspectives and imaginations that happen when we stop "knowing" what's meant to come next. You’ll finish with pages of new writing, the skills to create compelling and surprising character arcs, and a newfound wisdom about your own capacity for change.
In this immersive course, we will explore character change through craft readings, the study of a novel, writing prompts, discussion, and mindfulness exercises. We’ll begin by looking at Nancy Kress’s building blocks of character change, studying the elements that combine to create change that’s both persuasive and plausible. Next, we’ll explore Donald Maass’s idea of cascading change: the way characters collide into each other, events, and obstacles, making change inevitable. Finally, we’ll consider variations such as change that happens through culture or generations, change that doesn’t fit expected arcs, and characters that don’t change. We will look for the changes in our own perspectives and imaginations that happen when we stop "knowing" what's meant to come next. You’ll finish with pages of new writing, the skills to create compelling and surprising character arcs, and a newfound wisdom about your own capacity for change.
RACHEL SMITH
Writer
Rachel Smith’s writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Seattle Times, The Rumpus, Brevity, and elsewhere. She has received residencies and fellowships from the MacDowell Colony, Marquette, and the Elizabeth George Foundation and has taught creative writing at Stanford, the University of San Francisco, and the University of Mississippi, where she received an MFA in creative writing. She is at work on a novel. Smith was a Stegner Fellow and William Chace Lecturer at Stanford. Textbooks for this course:
(Required) Yaa Gyassi, Homegoing (ISBN 978-1101971062)