These last weeks exercise focused on the creation of the main character. We followed the examples of Robert Louis Stevenson. « Stevenson’s extensive travel exposed him to a variety of unique and bizarre individuals, many of whom found their way into his novels. » They say.

Hence we took historical characters the students are fond of, and turned them into our contemporary protagonists. We had as different people as Nikola Tesla and Gilles de Rais, Beyoncé and Ninon de Lenclos. Great characters, great stuff to start fantasizing.

We wanted our characters to grow – so we had to decide on which personality traits we would base their arch.

Then, pick a genre, and basically try and build their story and their change to the better while using the heroes journey.

It is interesting that the outcome was good and structured. Practicing the craft might feel odd to aspiring authors, yet it appears to me that’s a good way to explore one’s imagination while acquiring structure skills.