SFUAD’s Student Writers Association (SWA) has recently launched a new series of craft seminars aimed at enterprising students hoping for more opportunities to expand their work. Led by their peers and held during lunch hours so as to accommodate students’ busy schedules, each session individually focuses on an aspect of creative writing, such as character development, dialogue or plot. “The seminars are meant to reinforce what we’re learning, as well as adding some new ideas on those very topics,” says Jen Hanson of SWA, the mastermind behind the seminars. “I felt that there are some areas of craft that classes cannot delve deep into, as there are a wide range of things which need to be taught and learned. In creating these seminars, my hope, and SWA’s hope, is that students will have an opportunity to really dig deep in specific topics.” Amaya Hoke, a sophomore Creative Writing major from Texas, took on the task of hosting the first seminar on Oct. 13. Entitled “Split ‘Em Open,” the session focused on character and characterization. “It was definitely a joyful experience, so many people showed up!” enthuses Hoke a few weeks after her seminar. “I gave the attendees an option of two exercises. They could create a schedule for their character, like 8 am – wake up, just to try and show the daily life of a character. Another was to try to portray how their character was by describing the contents on the inside of their car. There were some pretty amazing results!” Hoke chose to focus her seminar on characterization because “I’ve always been really passionate about characters, I feel like they make the story. I feel like if a writer can’t love and dedicate time to their characters, then who can love...