Live Workshop
24 August | 18:00 BST |Â Hosted by Char
Learn how to leverage backstory to figure out your outline, craft organic character arcs and find your story purpose. Great for discovery writers.
Are you a writer who loves to dream up vivid, complex characters—but when it comes to outlining your story, you feel stuck?
You’re not alone.
Many of us find ourselves captivated by our characters, but the plot remains elusive, leaving our stories wandering without direction.
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What if the secret to a gripping plot was hidden in your characters’ pasts?
What to Expect from the Workshop
The workshop isn’t just a lecture—it comes with an interactive, hands-on experience designed to transform how you approach storytelling. Here’s how it works:
Live Lesson with Char
We’ll kick off with a live lesson where we dive deep into the power of backstory. Here’s what we’ll cover:
- Create a Backstory That Matters: Learn how to craft a backstory that isn’t just filler, but a vital part of your character’s journey.
- Link Backstory to Present Character Arcs: Discover how to seamlessly connect your characters’ past experiences with their present actions and motivations.
- World-Build Through Backstory: Explore how your world's history and lore can become a starting point for developing your main character's story.
- Draft an Outline Based on Backstory: You'll get a step-by-step method to turn your characters’ pasts into an idea-driving outline.
- Integrate Backstory with Present Story: Finally, learn how to weave the backstory into your current plot, creating a narrative that’s both cohesive and compelling.
Character Hot Seat Exercise
After the lesson, it’s time to put your characters to the test.
In the Character Hot Seat exercise, you’ll choose one of your characters to take the spotlight and pose as them.
Here’s how it works:
- You’ll step into your character’s shoes, get into their headspace and think as if you were them.
- Char and fellow attendees will ask probing questions, helping you uncover any gaps in your character’s backstory or development.Â
This exercise is a powerful way to see how well you know your character and identify areas where you can deepen their story.
Ideally, you will choose a character you know needs some work, so that this exercise can highlight problem areas you might not be able to catch on your own.
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And after?
You'll receive a recording of the workshop to keep and rewatch, as well as any relevant notes from the lesson.
Your Teacher
Hi, I’m Char!Â
I have a BA in Filmmaking & Screenwriting, as well as an MA in Creative Writing from Edinburgh Napier University.
I started The Plottery in early 2022 and have since coached and worked with 50+ writers on a 1:1 basis, as well as hundreds more through workshops and online courses towards finished manuscripts.
My expertise is in developmental feedback, and I've got a keen eye for strengthening prose and pushing its boundaries to create interesting and unique narrative styles. I feedback an average of 40,000 words a week through my coaching program & standard editing, and I read strong literary pieces to dissect them, learn from them, and apply that to my work.
Lauren
I had a bad habit of treating scenes like they existed in a vacuum, and so I had been editing my scenes as rigid individual moments, but Char helped me look at how the arc should function over the course of the entire book, not just in single scenes.
She really drilled me on emotional journeys, and her advice has helped me tighten the connective tissue between my chapters, leading to a much more cohesive, compelling story.
Jaclyn
I can honestly say I am much more confident in my project now. Char was able to help me learn how to view my work with more of an editor's eye and that has made all the difference.
Matter of fact, I'm actually excited because I know her suggestions have put me on the path to creating an even better story than I could have ever imagined.
Laura
My project has changed enormously; it feels so much more focused; it feels so much more like a novel. I understand a lot more about the expections of what a novel should be and how you execute things, tools and techniques you can use.
Working with Char has made writing feel more enjoyable, but also more focused and professional!
