‘The short story is a literary fragment that insists on immediacy, brevity, intensity. My stories—irrespective of setting—are character-based: a character’s relationship with themselves, with others, and with the world around them.’

‘An expert can break all of this down and help a writer work through suggested areas of improvement, one layer at a time.’

‘With few exceptions, writers don’t figure out their plots on the first attempt, whether they’re sitting down and plotting it out in advance or figuring it out as they draft. Plotting is a skill that requires an understanding of the mechanics of story, and that will develop as you apply yourself to the task of writing and rewriting.’

We spoke with one of Australia’s leading teachers of creative writing, Anthony Macris, about the fundamentals of writing characters, ahead of his workshop at Writing NSW, Creating Dynamic Characters, on Saturday 23 November.