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Exploring the Strange and Ordinary: How Karen E. Bender Builds Character Depth Through Fantasy
by Writing Workshops Staff
4 weeks ago
In a world filled with anxieties and uncertainties, how do authors create characters that feel authentically human? Award-winning author Karen E. Bender has a particular gift for answering this question through her fiction, especially in her latest collection, The Words of Dr. L and Other Stories.
Finding the Extraordinary in the Ordinary
When Bender talks about what draws her to write, she reveals a fascination with the intersection between reality and something more unusual. In her recent Lit Hub interview with Jane Ciabattari, Bender shared her perspective on fiction: "The most interesting fiction, to me, contains this element of strangeness, whether it's set in the real world or an alternative one."
This approach to storytelling allows Bender to explore contemporary anxieties through characters who feel deeply real, even when placed in somewhat speculative scenarios. Her work demonstrates how the external and internal worlds of characters connect and influence each other, particularly through a character's fantasies and theories about the world around them.
The Magic of Character Interiority
What makes a character leap off the page? What makes readers care about fictional people who don't actually exist? The answer lies in interiority: that rich inner life that makes characters feel three-dimensional.
Bender's approach to building character depth involves a delicate balance between showing a character's external reality and revealing their inner fantasies, theories, and plans. This technique gives readers privileged access to the character's mind and heart, creating an intimate connection that sustains interest throughout a story.
As Bender noted to Ciabattari about her writing process: "I tell my students to trust their subconscious, as it will take you to what you want to say." This trust in the creative process allows her to develop characters whose inner worlds feel authentic, surprising, and compelling.
Learning From a Master
For writers looking to enhance their own character development skills, Karen E. Bender is offering a unique opportunity to learn directly from her experience and expertise. On Thursday, May 22nd, 2025, she'll be leading a Zoom seminar titled Building Interiority in Characters Using Fantasies & Theories.
This two-hour workshop will explore how to use a character's unique fantasies and theories about the world to build their interior world. Participants will examine stories by acclaimed authors Charles D'Ambrosio, Mavis Gallant, Sandra Cisneros, and Roberto Bolano, analyzing how these writers incorporate characters' fantasies and theories into their narratives.
The seminar combines literary analysis with practical application, as the first hour will focus on close reading discussions, while the second hour will be dedicated to hands-on writing exercises designed to help participants develop their own characters through fantasies and theories.
Why This Workshop Matters
Readers crave authentic, complex characters who reflect our complicated world. Learning to write convincing interiority is a vital skill for fiction writers. Bender's approach offers a concrete technique that writers can apply immediately to their works-in-progress.
This workshop is particularly valuable because it:
- Provides specific, actionable techniques for building character depth
- Offers insight from an acclaimed author with multiple award nominations
- Includes both analytical learning and practical application
- Creates a structure for continuing to develop these skills after the workshop ends
An Opportunity Not to Miss
Karen E. Bender's credentials speak for themselves. Her story collection Refund was a finalist for the National Book Award, shortlisted for the Frank O'Connor International Prize, and longlisted for the Story Prize. Her collection The New Order was also longlisted for the Story Prize.
Her fiction has appeared in prestigious publications including The New Yorker, Granta, and Ploughshares, and has been reprinted in Best American Short Stories. She has won three Pushcart Prizes and continues to explore the contemporary human experience through her thoughtful, sometimes speculative approach to fiction.
Karen's Building Interiority in Characters Using Fantasies & Theories seminar is priced at $75 and will take place via Zoom on Thursday, May 22nd, from 7-9 PM EST. For those who can't attend live, the session will be recorded and made available afterward.
To reserve your spot in this valuable workshop and learn directly from one of contemporary fiction's most insightful voices, visit WritingWorkshops.com today. Your characters, and your readers, will thank you.
