Characters, Souls and Stages

Question 1:

Think of a character you read about recently:

• If you were an actor, how would you play them?

(Please read on for answers)

Welcome to our fifteenth session. Please buy yourself a ticket at the box office and head to the auditorium.

In today’s session, we are revisiting the topic of character creation, which we last looked at in session two, and we will be exploring some methods from the world of theatre for creating and building characters. We are also making our third stop in the Roman Empire, where we will be learning some early Christian theories of psychology. Please find a seat close to the stage and we will begin as soon as the curtain goes up.

Case Study #2: Thérèse Raquin

Welcome to the second of our additional sessions. I need to apologise first for my long absence from this blog. I have spent most of this year completing an MSc course in Scotland and essays, work placements and my dissertation have been taking up my time. My course is now finished and I will be posting our main sessions regularly again and it is very good to be back. Our case study for today is Émile Zola’s 1868 novel Thérèse Raquin.

P.O.V

Question 1:

How would…

…you describe the couch to someone else?

…someone else describe it to you?

…the couch describe itself?

(Please read on for answers)

Welcome to our eighth session. Please come in and make yourself comfortable.

Following on from showing and telling last time, today we are looking at who can do the showing and telling in a story and the different ways they can use to do it. This is a story’s narrative viewpoint or, more commonly, its point-of-view. Writers have a lot of different options to choose from with viewpoints and we are going to look at what all of them can offer to a story. In our journey through the history of psychology, we are heading further east to India, where we be learning what the founder(s) of another great world religion can teach us about it. Please choose a place where you can see as much as you want to, and let’s begin.

Reasons, Feelings and Appetites

Question 1:

Would you…

• Agree with someone you dislike when you know they are correct or with someone you like even though you know they are wrong?
• Drive to work in bad weather or cycle as you normally do?
• Choose a bowl of organic oatmeal or a bacon cheeseburger?
• Make love or make money?

(Please read on for answers)

Welcome back and thank you for returning for our second session.

In this post, we are arriving at our second stop on our journey through the history of psychology (for the first of several sessions we will spend here); ancient Greece. Psychology is one of many subjects that the ancient Greeks studied in detail and many of their observations are still valid and useful today. We are also continuing our study of the different aspects of fiction writing, and, after looking at story structure last time, in this session, we are going to be exploring the fundamentals of character. Once again, please lie down and make yourself comfortable, and let’s get started.