Whether you’re starting a new project, working on a rewrite, or want to learn new skills - join us to hone your craft.
All Classes take place 100% online utilizing free video conferencing software ZOOM so you can participate from anywhere in the world with an internet connection!
Some writers talk about creating connections with their characters so deep that the characters feel like real people. But how do you bring memorable, three-dimensional characters to life enough to make that connection?
In this workshop, equally suitable for fiction writers and screenwriters, we will discuss various movie/TV/Novels scenes and dissect them to see what makes the characters memorable. You will learn the power of subtext: how to embed details of motivation—thoughts, wants, goals, secrets, flaws, and delusions—into physical behavior, speech patterns, and specific habits that echo throughout your story. You will also learn how to distinguish your central character from every other character and from his or her environment, as a means of further establishing the character in the world of the story.
You'll receive handouts and a series of questions you can pose for your own work which come from “Dating Your Character.”
Come to class with your most important characters in mind, and leave with a better understanding about how to bring them to life.
This 2 Week Clinic Will Cover:
- What elements of characters engage the audience?
- Why characters are the most important and most difficult part of the writing process?
- How to design compelling and unforgettable characters.
- In class exercises.
- Live Q&A!
Marilyn R. Atlas is a talent and literary manager, author, and award-winning producer. Among her credits as a film producer are REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES for HBO, which won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival and is currently being developed as a Broadway musical for 2022. A CERTAIN DESIRE, starring Sam Waterston; and ECHOES, which won the Gold Award at the Texas International Film Festival. In addition to producing a variety of programming for the cable/pay TV market, Marilyn has produced live theater. She co-produced the West Coast premiere of the musical “God Bless You Mr. Rosewater” by Ashman and Menken (the writers of ENCHANTED and TANGLED). She also co-produced the award-winning play “To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday,” which was made into a film starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Peter Gallagher. In 2014, she co-produced the play “Detained in the Desert” at the Guadalupe Theater in San Antonio, TX. Her additional credits as a producer in live theater include “Today’s Special” and “As I Sing.”
Previously, Marilyn developed the BRIDES’ MARCH for Lifetime Television as well as a limited television series. Additional credit was the Lifetime movie THE CHOKING GAME based on the YA book by Diana Lopez aired in Summer 2014. She produced the musical version of REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES in Los Angeles in 2009. REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES is currently in development as a musical for Broadway for 2024.
Marilyn has long been committed to issues surrounding diversity in Hollywood. As a member of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers, she spoke at many of their writers’ and producers’ retreats. Atlas is a mentor in DIVERSE WOMEN IN MEDIA INITIATIVE. She has lectured at the DGA sponsored LA Asian Film Festival, as well as various other symposia for the Sherman Oaks Experimental College. She is a founding member of Women in Film’s Luminas Committee, which supports the portrayal of women in non-stereotypical roles in film and television. She has spoken at events such as The San Francisco Writers Conference, the Santa Fe Screenwriters Conference and Richard Krevolin’s USC Screenwriting Retreat.
Marilyn has been a guest speaker at various colleges and writers’ conferences all over the country, including at Harvard, UCLA, USC, Emerson, Providence College, University of Incarnate Word, University of Redlands, and the University of Wisconsin. She has spoken at the Texas Bar Association and was a guest lecturer at Whittier Law School. She has served as the professional-in residence (in theater and film) at Ball State University and was the speaker at the International Writer’s Conference at Hollins University. Additionally, she was a guest lecturer in the Writing Program at USC, where she previously taught a class every year on creating three-dimensional, non-stereotypical characters. In Italy, she spoke at the International Women’s Writer Conference in 2014 and Publishing Day in 2016.
In addition to Marilyn’s film/TV credits, she has sold (first time) novels “Chasing the Jaguar” to Harper Collins, “Hungry Woman in Paris” to Grand Central Publishing, “Ave Maria Bed & Breakfast” to Hachette Publishing, and the “Last Ride of Caleb O’Toole” to Source Books.
Marilyn is currently developing a TV pilot based on the Gary Phillips series of novels “High Hand” and “Shooter’s Point” featuring strong-willed African-American protagonist Martha Chainey. She is additionally developing a Chinese historical epic with the Metan Development Group and the Wolper Organization, as well as THE TROUBLE WITH DREAMERS in association with NEO Studios and the pilot UNDER THE DEVIL'S SKY. Marilyn is featured in the book “Write Now!” from Penguin/Tarcher. She is also the co-author of a relationship-based, screenwriting guide called “Dating Your Character,” about an organic approach to character creation for Stairway Press’s 2016 catalog.
Cancellation Policy: You may cancel for a full refund up to 5 days prior to the start of the class. Cancellations requested after this period will be ineligible for refunds.
Please ensure you are familiar with our Code of Conduct.