Writing Authentic Characters
$240
Writing Authentic Characters is a four-week course for writers who want to understand their characters more deeply and make them feel believable and relatable to readers. Whether you are new to writing or already working on a piece of your own, we’ll explore:
- What influences a character, what they want, and what may be getting in their way.
- How research and observation can help you understand a character’s background.
- Motivation and subtext, and how these can affect the plotline.
Each week will include examples from fiction or film, discussion, and guided writing exercises. In the final week, you’ll spend more time developing a short extract, either from your own work or from one of the prompts provided, using the techniques from the course to strengthen the character’s motivation and subtext.
Access Program
We want our writing classes and seminars to be accessible to everyone, regardless of income and background. We understand that our tuition structure can present obstacles for some people. Our Access Program offers writing class and seminar tuitions at a reduced rate. Most writing classes have at least one access spot available.
Please apply here for access rate tuition. Contact Susan Moore at susan@literary-arts.org if you have questions.
Toyin Taiwo
Toyin Taiwo is a writer, theatre and film director, qualified English and Drama teacher, and CELTA-certified educator with over a decade of experience teaching English, Drama and creative writing in the UK and internationally. She is the author of Dear Diary: The Truth Behind the Mask, published by Kingston University Press in 2026. Her writing has been shortlisted for the Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize and longlisted for the Penguin Michael Joseph Undiscovered Writers Prize and the Guardian 4thWrite Prize. Her screenwriting was also a finalist in the Dubai International Cineverse Screenplay Awards. Toyin’s theatre work has been presented at Lagos Fringe Festival and Alliance Française de Lagos, and a filmed stage production she wrote and directed is licensed for worldwide academic streaming through Alexander Street, part of Clarivate.
