April 23, 2014 by Angie Ng

Vivid: Making Characters Come Alive

Event:  Vivid: Making Characters Come Alive
Type:  Workshop (Storytelling • Reading • Writing • Publishing)
Date:  26 April 2014
Trainer:  Verena Tay
Targeted Participants:  New/Seasoned Writers of Fiction/Plays (Age >16)
Price:  SGD55.00 (10% discount for Kinokuniya Privilege Card Members)
Registration:  alap@bookcouncil.sg
Venue:  Singapore Training & Development Association (STADA)
Organizer:  National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS – The Book Council)

WORKSHOP SYNOPSIS
No matter how hard you try, you’re stuck: your characters on the page remain 2-D and their dialogue just clunks along and drags down the pace of your story.

Have no fear. Vivid can be your answer, whether you write fiction or plays. Let seasoned writer VerenaTay share with you tips on how to make your characters appear like living, breathing 3-D persons that speak naturally. And in no time at all, you will be on your way towards creating vibrant characters that your audience can immediately recognise and appreciate.

AIMS
Equip participants with the skills to —
♦  Become a more acute observer of the sights and sounds within your environment;
♦  Improve how you infuse your real life insights about people within your character portrayals;
♦  Develop more nuanced ways of describing characters and representing speech patterns

About the trainer:  Verena Tay
Website:  http://verenatay.com/writer

¶  Singaporean theatre actor, director and writer for over 25 years
¶  Published three collections of plays:
–   In the Company of Women (SNP Editions, 2004)
–   In the Company of Heroes (Math Paper Press, 2011)
–   Victimology (Math Paper Press, 2011)
¶  Honorary Fellow at the International Writing Program, University of Iowa (Aug–Nov 2007)
¶  Her first collection of short stories – Spectre: Stories from Dark to Light (Math Paper Press, 2012)
¶  Edited two anthologies of short stories:
–   Balik Kampung (Math Paper Press, 2012)
–   A Monsoon Feast (DFP Productions/Monsoon Books, 2012)

Verena Tay now focuses on writing fiction and is studying part-time for an MFA in Creative Writing (City University of Hong Kong, 2012–14).

More Information
Academy of Literary Arts and Publishing (ALAP)
Ms Premadevi
Vice Principal
Email: alap@bookcouncil.sg