Overview

A Two-Night Mini Online Course

Secondary characters play a vital role in storytelling, enriching the narrative in ways that are often overlooked. While protagonists drive the plot forward and capture our attention, secondary characters provide depth, complexity, and nuance to the fictional world. Join author Sarah Aronson to explore one of her favorite topics: The Influence of Secondary Characters. While this is not a full workshop, our goal is that over two, 75-minute sessions you gain a greater understanding of the untapped potential of developing your secondary characters (no matter the genre you are writing).

• Tuesday, May 21, 2024 (7pm – 8:15pm Eastern)
• Thursday, May 23, 2024 (7pm – 8:15pm Eastern)
• Webinar-style program with closed captioning available and limited interaction in the chat.
• You’ll have access to the recordings through June 30, 2024.

Feedback Expected

• None included in the course. There will be limited interaction in the chat feature of the webinar-style program.

It’s a Great Fit If…

• You are writing (or thinking about writing) for kids and teens. This short course will look at the many ways that secondary characters support the story.
• You are getting ready to dig into a revision. Secondary characters deserve their own “pass” when it comes to revision reviews. Learn ways to deepen your secondary characters and then take another pass at your revision to put the learning into practice.
• You’re looking for something short, sweet, and smart! While this is not a full workshop, our goal is over two, 75-minute sessions you gain a greater understanding of the untapped potential of developing your secondary characters no matter the genre you are writing.

Tentative Agenda

At registration: You will receive a Zoom link to use each night of the course.

IF YOU CAN’T ATTEND LIVE:

If you are unable to attend either session for any reason, you’ll have access to the recordings (with closed captioning) through June 30, 2024.

Please note that if you register for the course after the start of the first session, you will not receive recordings immediately.  You’ll receive both recordings after the close of the last session, usually within 24 hours.

All Times are Eastern Standard Time.  Click on the headings below to explore the agenda in more detail.

How It Impacts Kids

Characters connect readers with your story. This short course will help you improve how you build and use secondary characters in a meaningful way.

Testimonials from Our Community

“Sarah is a ball-of-energy phenom. She is inspirational and informative, and I would love to have her in my ear every single morning when I sit down to write.”

“My manuscript rewrite took on a life of its own when I applied Sarah’s prompts to my primary and secondary characters.”

“Highlights does an excellent job keeping the focus on the work for kids. You create an environment that is respectful and inspirational…no easy task. Thank you for that.”

“It was fabulous! Extremely valuable and information packed! The revision of my WIP will be enormously improved because of what I learned about secondary characters. If I could evaluate the course, I would give it maximum positive ratings on ALL categories. Sarah’s delivery was also engaging and entertaining.”

Related Resources

• Are Your Supporting Characters Doing Their Job?
• Great Characters Want Important Things and Make Big Choices
• Get to Know Your Character on a No-Limit Shopping Spree
• Creating Memorable Characters Means Being Patient and Asking a Lot of Questions

Looking for an In-Person Experience?

Check out the Whole Novel Workshops, August 14-19 and October 17-22 at our Retreat Center.