17/03/23 – Kate Poels

Friday 19 May 2023

10:45 to 12:45

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF CHARACTER: FROM BACKSTORY TO BELIEFS TO BEHAVIOUR

When you meet someone for the first time you may notice certain things about them: how they look, how they speak, what they say. This tells us something about the person and helps us form an impression of what makes them tick. But what sits behind this?

This workshop will introduce you to the psychology of personality. It will help you develop rounded characters that readers really engage with. By the end of the session, you will have a psychological profile for your main character and tools to create realistic beliefs, behaviours and backstory – so they are ready to ride the ups and downs you have in store for them in your novel!

Julia Stone has a professional background in psychotherapy and psychology; knowledge which she brings to writing her psychological suspense novels. (She assures you she is nothing like the therapist in her debut!)

She studied at Faber Academy and in 2018 she won The Blue Pencil Novel award. HER LITTLE SECRET was published by Orion Dash in 2021 and THE ACCIDENT in 2022. Her other creative outlet is art: she makes and exhibits ceramics and volunteers at a centre for the disabled where she runs the pottery. Aside from this, she works as a coach/therapist with other creative people, helping them deal with issues that are getting in the way of their writing or artistic ambitions.

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