- New this year at SavvyAuthors!
- New!!
- Level
- Mixed
- Basic and Premium Members Prices
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Premium Members $25 & Basic Members $35
**Register by June 7 and save $5, use code CHARACTERSCARRINGTON2021 at checkout!**
- Category
- Characters, Genre, Plotting, POV, Voice, Worldbuilding
- $5 off Early Registration Coupon-expires 1 week before class starts
- CHARACTERSCARRINGTON2021
Have you ever wanted to write characters that are nothing like you? Are you intimidated by this idea but still feel your new character *must* be blind/deaf/have PTSD for the story to go forward in the best possible way? Join Emily Carrington for Creating Authentic Disabled Characters.
- Syllabus
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Week 1:
Introduction:
- Basics about research, permission given, and the ableist culture
- Language, Culture, and Prejudice
- Exercise: List the disabilities that immediately come to mind and describe some of the research you’d have to do to make these characters authentic. Choose one disability; come up with three research resources and email them to me.
- New experiences for the author
- New challenges for the characters to overcome
- Education and entertainment for readers
- Definitions:
- ADA
- Dictionary Definition
- SSA
- Exercise: Why would you need to know what category your character falls into? List three reasons and email them to me.
Stereotypes: Helpful and Not So Much
- Superhero versus supervictim
- Exercise: Write a character description of a disabled character that paints them as an everyday person (or magical creature who’s not *exceptionally* super in any way)
- The best way to answer this question is with another question. Why wouldn’t you be allowed?
- “because I’m not part of that community.”
- “Because I don’t know anyone who’s disabled so I have no one to ask.”
- “Because disability is like religion or race—a sensitive topic.”
- “Because there’s no way to know everything about disability so I’ll always be a stranger in a strange land.”
- “Because I’m (insert disability here). I’m not (insert different difference here).
- Exercise: Pick a scenario from those listed below and a disability. See where your imagination leads you.
- Scenario: woman/man on the run from ex-husband meets Mr. Right.
- Scenario: Single parent meets child’s teacher; sparks fly.
- Scenario: Character is a head hunter for a secret organization and a disabled applicant appears in the office.
- Disabilities: blindness, deafness, arthritis, connective tissue disorder, cancer, chronic depression, autistic spectrum disorder
- Lists of Resources