Are characters different in short stories than in novels?

We invite you to explore that question at our monthly

Writers Night Out

January 21, 2026

6:30 PM on Zoom

MEMBERS ONLY

(Please click our Membership Link for information on joining Cape Cod Writers Center)

Character Development in Short Stories

When we write a short story, we usually try to portray a character undergoing a transformation. If we want this change to resonate, our readers will need to develop an intimate understanding of who this person is, what their life is like, and the consequences of this transformation for their future—all in just a few pages. How can we achieve this? In this workshop, we’ll discuss a host of practical methods we can use to bring our characters to life, so that even a small change can bear immense significance.

Colin Corrigan

Colin Corrigan is a writer and a writing teacher from County Kildare in Ireland. His short fiction has been published by Amazon and The Fiction Desk, and anthologized  in Surge: New Writing from Ireland and Stinging Fly Stories. He lives in Spain with his wife and two young children, and teaches writing online for GrubStreet and Writers.com. storyenergies.bsky.social. https://storyenergies.substack.com/.

To attend, please email us at writers@capecodwriterscenter.org with “WNO January 21, 2026” in the subject heading.

The next Writers Night Out is on February 18, 2026. The topic is Writing an Adventure Story. This WNO will also be on ZOOM.