Writer in Residence Workshop: Characters are Everything

 An author has to figure out how to make the reader care about the people in his book. A novel is a story about someone. In a mystery, it’s the sleuth. In a romance, it’s the lovers. In a thriller, it’s the guy in trouble. In order to tell someone’s story, an author must know who he is. In order to make the reader care about her, you have make a real person out of her. So how do you do that?  In this session we will learn some proven techniques for creating compelling characters in fiction.  Presented by Writer in Residence Donis Casey.

Donis Casey is the author of the Alafair Tucker Mysteries, a historical mystery series, set in Oklahoma in the booming 1910s, featuring a sleuthing mother of ten children. She has twice won the Arizona Book Award for her series and was a finalist for the Willa Award and the Oklahoma Book Award. Her first novel, The Old Buzzard Had It Coming, was named an Oklahoma Centennial Book.  Donis is a former teacher, academic librarian, and entrepreneur. She was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and now lives in Tempe, Arizona.