Inner and Outer Weather: Character in Fiction

Instructor: Jonathan Calloway

Age range: 18+

A fascinating fiction class to stretch your writing muscles, led by MFA Candidate, Jonathan Calloway. Join Jonathan as he discusses how our stories’ characters, like ourselves, each carry a lifetime’s worth of experience, much of which the outer world is oblivious. We look at how writers can help readers feel a fictional character’s inner life from the outside, through imagery, language, and subtext. Through generative writing exercises and close readings of excerpts from a wide range of fiction authors, we investigate how perception can be used as a tool toshape evocative environments, sharpen focus, and redefine the boundary between the individual and the whole. You will have the opportunity to share and receive direct feedback from instructors and fellow participants, as well as acquire a set of tools to further your ownunique explorations of the caverns of character development.

About the instructor: Jonathan Calloway has lived in Finland and China where he studied folklore and taught English as a second language, respectively. His fiction examines mental health, mythology, trauma, and the natural world. His short stories have appeared online in Pif Magazine and in print in Yale’s The Perch Magazine. He currently has two novels in the works and is pursuing an MFA at VCFA.

Location: VCFA Online Zoom Class

Tuition: We offer a sliding scale tuition to make our classes as accessible as possible. We suggest:

• $10 if you’re making ends meet
• $20 if you’re financially stable
• $30 if you’re financially flourishing

Questions? Email virginia.booth@vcfa.edu