WLT hosts Third Thursday each month, featuring discussions focusing on specific topics of interest to writers and readers, bringing together distinguished panelists for conversations moderated by a WLT staff member.
“Plot grows out of character. If you focus on who the people in your story are, something is bound to happen.” –Anne Lamott
The heart of any story is its characters. You could have the ultimate hook, an intricately plotted outline, and the perfect ending, but if your characters aren’t fully developed, your story will ultimately fall flat. But what does it mean to write fully realized characters? How do you write a character who is wholly unlike you? How do you find inspiration from the people around you in a way that’s authentic and ethical? How do you fully tap into the mannerisms, motivations, and moral compass of another — imaginary or not?
Our three author panelists — Sherri L. Smith, Alex Temblador, and Meg Vondriska (who have all written on and/or taught this topic) — will share their insights on these questions and more.
This conversation will be moderated by WLT Program Director Sarah Renee Beach.
Featured Presenter(s)
Sherri L. Smith is the author of nine award-winning fiction and nonfiction books for young people including the 2021 Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Golden Kite Award winner The Blossom and the Firefly, and the California Book Awards Gold Medalist, Flygirl. Her novels appear on multiple state reading lists and have been named Amelia Bloomer, Junior Library Guild, Children's Book Council, Southern California Independent Booksellers Award, and American Library Association Best Books for Young People selections. She also writes comics, including Wonder Woman, Bart Simpson Comics, and James Cameron's Avatar. Sherri holds a certificate in the Art of Archetypal Fairy Tale Analysis from the Assisi Institute, and a certificate in Enchantivism from Pacifica Graduate Institute, where she is currently studying Applied Mythology. Enchantivism is a form of "activism for introverts" that uses deep storytelling, mythology, dreams and the environment to enact positive change in the world. Sherri currently teaches in the MFA in Children’s Writing Program at Hamline University. She has also taught creative writing at Goddard College and was the 2021 Mina Hohenburg Darden Visiting Professor at Old Dominion University. Her new nonfiction book with Elizabeth Wein is American Wings: Chicago’s Pioneering Aviators and the Race for Equality in the Sky. Her new graphic novel is Pearl (Graphix/Scholastic), with art by Christine Norrie. Learn more at www.sherrilsmith.com │ Instagram: @rhymeswithcapri │ Twitter: @Sherri_L_Smith
Alex Temblador is the Mixed Latine award-winning author of Half Outlaw, Secrets of the Casa Rosada, and Writing an Identity Not Your Own: A Guide for Creative Writers. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Central Oklahoma and was a contributor to Living Beyond Borders: Growing Up Mexican in America and Speculative Fiction for Dreamers: A Latinx Anthology. Her creative work has appeared in Colorado Review, PALABRITAS, D Magazine, among others. Based in Dallas, Alex is the executive director of Write Here DFW and the moderator and founder of the LitTalk series.
Meg Vondriska does not feel like a writer, but that has not stopped her from dreaming up stories in the margins of notebooks since grade school and is certainly to blame for her poor understanding of algebra. She grew up in rural Wisconsin but currently resides in Austin, Texas, with her husband, Ryan, and their dog, Tonks. When she is not writing, she can be found riding her horse or sitting on her patio with a glass of red wine and a good book. Her debut book - A Tale of Two Titties: A Writer's Guide to Conquering the Most Sexist Tropes in Literary History - published in July 2024.
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