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Course name
Fiction Writing: Developing Characters 4 – Friends, Buddies, and Teammates – Oh My! (X-16)
Live course taught by Cherise Papa for Spring 2025 High School Fiction Writing: Developing Characters
Summary

Learn how to write characters who have a close connection with this four-session course that raises your writing skills and creativity. You will come away with new knowledge of how to create unique characters united through friendship while using high-level writing skills – and having fun!

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Instructor: Cherise Papa

Course Description: Join this four-session course and learn the craft of writing characters who are friends, family, teammates, sidekicks, buddies, and confidants – all people we love. And let’s not forget the close companionship of the human-animal connection! Honorable friendships and tight alliances, both human and animal, make for excellent and powerful stories. Adding characters to our story who support our heroes with emotions and empathy creates a new level of commitment and loyalty. But perhaps most importantly, especially as people of faith, we are inspired by such characters. When you join this short course, you’ll hone your creativity, improve your writing skills, and learn how to communicate the emotions of powerful human bonds in a compelling and transformative way. 

Special notes

Course materials are provided FREE by the instructor. This course is the fourth course in a four-part series. Be sure to sign up for all four short courses to learn how to develop compelling characters in your storytelling.

Total classes

4

Class dates

Thursdays, February 20 to March 13, 2025

Starting time

11:30 AM Eastern (10:30 Central; 9:30 Mountain; 8:30 Pacific)

Duration

50 minutes

Prerequisites

None

Suggested grade level

8th-12th grade

Suggested credit

One-third (⅓) of a semester’s credit for Writing or English Combine with any high school or middle school 4, 6, or 8-week course for a total of 12-16 weeks per semester for one (1) full semester’s credit. Recommend continuing the Character Development Series (X-14, X-15, and X-16 courses).

Outline

Course Outline:

Class 1: Writing Friend Bonds – the buddy relationship
Class 2: Writing Family Bonds (includes “found family” plots)
Class 3: Writing Human-Animal Bonds – My Side of the Mountain,
Class 4: Writing Groups and Teams

Materials

  • All materials are provided free by the instructor. All documents are turned in as Microsoft Word documents. If you do not own Microsoft Word 2007 or a later version, you can use a system such as Google Docs that converts to Word documents FREE.

Homework

Students will practice the concepts learned in class, with reading materials and resources between each class. One (1) to three (3) hours per class is expected for homework.

Fees

Fee: $89 if you sign up on or before November 15. $109 after November 15 for all 4 classes. (Registration closes one week before the first day of class. After that date, registrations are not guaranteed. There is a $20 surcharge for late enrollments after the course is closed.)

Course name
Fiction Writing: Developing Characters 4 – Friends, Buddies, and Teammates – Oh My! (X-16)
Instructor
Cherise Papa
Semester
Spring 2025
Category
Writing ➤ Fiction Writing: Developing Characters
Grade level
High School
Editors
Erin M. Brown, MA, MFA, Aubrey Heki, Sharon Hamric-Weis, Bonnie Donlon, Donna Graziose
Monitor
Kathleen Delia Miller
Start time
February 20th, 2025 at 11:30 AM ET
Course type
Live
Price
$109
Seats available
25 seats available
Seats remaining
13 seats remaining
Relative due dates
Relative due dates are disabled for this course.

About Cherise Papa

Cherise Papa, English B.S., has worked for ten years as a fiction editor helping authors create the books of their dreams.

Currently Ms. Papa is working as a managing editor and building a small press to help authors publish series in indie markets. She also volunteers at Fyrecon and is working behind the scenes at a different press to help publishers enter into new digital markets.

Her passion for story and helping writers discover that passion for themselves has driven her love for editing and teaching. Ms. Papa lives in on the Virginia coast with her husband and three young children, where they enjoy family adventures and fostering their children's creativity through the arts, music, play, and more books and board games than they can count.

You can find her live teaching the Fiction 11 series and grading the Fiction X series.

Click here for more info about Cherise Papa!

Image for monitor
Kathleen Delia Miller

Kathleen Delia Miller resides in Indiana near the beautiful Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Originally from Chicago, Kathy enjoys life as a Hoosier! Kathy loves spending time at the beach with family and friends, reading, cooking, writing, gardening, visiting art galleries and farmers markets. Kathy and family have been blessed to travel the world! Her most favorite pilgrimages were to Rome where she experienced a Papal Mass with Pope Benedict XVI, followed in the footsteps of Saint Francis and Saint Clare in Assisi, visited the Holy House of Loreto also in Italy, and the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock in County Mayo, Ireland.