Character 2: Action
Character 2: Action is an Intensive, meaning it happens in a short time span (1 day in NYC, or 2 days on Zoom, or 3 weeks Online). It’s open to writers of any level. Farther down, you can view a syllabus for this course.
If you feel you’re solid with conceiving characters, you may go straight to Character 2. If you’re in doubt about this, start with Character 1; it will be valuable even if some of it is review.
Characters are the beating heart of every story. When we’re made to feel their presence, the entire story awakens, and we follow those folks wherever they go—likable or not, young or old, familiar or foreign.
Whether you’re working on fiction, nonfiction, or a script, we’ll show you how to breathe life into characters that we see and believe and care about.
Character 1 teaches how to conceive characters—where they come from, who they are inside and out, what their contradictions are, where their desire lies, and what makes them fascinating.
Character 2 teaches how to bring characters to palpable life on the page, making them real enough so we feel like we could live next door to them or bump into them on the street.
The course explains how plot cannot be planned without a detailed understanding of your protagonist's desires, history, and motivations.
Stephen Kurens
retired attorney
Notes
This is a cross-genre course, applicable to any kind of storytelling, including nonfiction.
Upcoming Classes
Price
Registration fee $25, paid once per term
3-Week
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Online
Anytime, week-long sessions
Tuition: $185
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One-on-One
Tuition:
Mini - $395, Private - $775
Available on Zoom
Syllabus
This course gives an overview of how to bring characters alive on the page, in any genre. Course components:
Lectures
Writing exercises
New York City/Zoom classes
The syllabus varies from teacher to teacher, term to term. Many topics will be similar to those covered in the Online classes.
Online classes
Week 1
It’s Alive!: Methods of revealing character—telling, physicality, dialogue/voice, actions, thought, other ways. Dosing the revelations—what and when to reveal, arc of perception.
Week 2
Reaching for the Light: Pursuing desire. Making choices. Experiencing change. The roots.
Week 3
Multiplicity: Assembling a cast. Relationships. The multiple roles each person plays.
Note: Content may vary among individual classes.
Teachers
Lisa Namdar Kaufman
Lisa Namdar Kaufman wrote the animated feature film Baldy Heights (Bleiberg Entertainment/Pitchipoy Productions), and the TV drama In the Prime of Her Life, which aired on Israel’s public broadcasting station. She has written short films that have been shown at festivals around the world, from the Cannes International Film Festival to the Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival. She has served as story editor on the documentary film 8000 Paper Clips and TV shows in development with Sony, ABC, and Happy Madison. She has taught at Columbia University and the New York Independent Film Workshop. She holds a BA from Brown University and an MFA in Film from Columbia University.
Read morewrote the animated feature film Baldy Heights (Bleiberg Entertainment/Pitchipoy Productions), and the TV drama In the Prime of Her Life, which aired on Israel’s public broadcasting station. She has written short films that have been shown at festivals around the world, from the Cannes International Film Festival to the Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival. She has served as story editor on the documentary film 8000 Paper Clips and TV shows in development with Sony, ABC, and Happy Madison. She has taught at Columbia University and the New York Independent Film Workshop. She holds a BA from Brown University and an MFA in Film from Columbia University.