Wednesday, September 16th, 7-9pm Eastern
Online; 20 students max
$75
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Compelling fiction often emerges from characters who act against expectation—morally, socially, or emotionally. In this intensive, two-hour session, we’ll identify where writers unconsciously intervene to justify or redeem a character’s behavior, and experiment with stepping back from those impulses. We will focus on sustaining narrative tension across scenes without over explaining or resolving too soon. Through close readings of contemporary authors such as Susan Choi, Constance Debré, Avni Doshi, and Percival Everett, we will explore how contradiction, ambiguity, and structural restraint deepen characters and strengthen a story’s emotional force.
This session combines psychologically-informed craft discussion with guided generative writing exercises. Students do not need to come prepared with existing work, though writers are welcome to apply the techniques to a work-in-progress if they choose. By the end of the session, participants will leave with new writing that embraces moral risk, along with strategies for engaging with discomfort and sustaining ethical complexity on the page.
Enroll in this class.
About the Instructor
Uttama Kirit Patel is a writer, editor, and author of the novel Shape of an Apostrophe (Serpent’s Tail, 2025)whose work has been featured in The Tribune, Vogue, BBC, LitHub, Times of India and Wasafiri, among others. She holds an MPhil in Psychology from the University of Cambridge, has been a semi-finalist in the Raymond Carver Short Story Contest, and was nominated for the PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers. Uttama is the founder of South Asian Parent magazine, an adoptive mother, and a writer who brings psychologically-informed approaches to narrative revision and craft. Find her on Instagram @uttama
Student Testimonials
"As a poet and journalist, I've taken scores of workshops with orgs such as Tin House and Brooklyn Poets, and Uttama's was easily one of the best I've ever done. We had only two classes and she packed them with relevant and insightful readings and assigned us complex prompts. In just one week, I was able to create a character from scratch and solidify the character's complex layers. The hallmark of a great teacher is their ability to dredge out work that you didn't even know you're carrying within, and Uttama did just that. Looking forward to taking more of her classes."
“This workshop was wonderful. I really appreciated how you structured it. I would absolutely take it again."
"It was truly so wonderful working with you -- not just the class that packed in so much, but also the openness you brought as the instructor."