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WHEN: June 1, 2026 – June 30, 2026 via GroupsIO
Course Description:
STEM characters have an intrinsic appeal. As writers, we want to explore that scientist hero, like our own Iron Man, or craft a woman working in a set of fields where it’s hard to shatter that glass ceiling. Or maybe we just enjoy characters of any gender who know how to use tech or come up with that clutch engineering solution in the last act. No matter why you want to write a character from a STEM field, it’s hard. You may not have much experience with the sciences first hand. In this course, I’ll talk about how to research STEM concepts enough to make your book feel authentic, what it’s actually like to go through a Ph.D. program heavy in research, and what some of the tropes and stereotypes of the STEM/genius-type character are and how to avoid those pitfalls.
About the Instructor:
Margaret Bates graduated Magna Cum Laude from Duke University with a B.A. in psychology and a minor in lemur biology. Additionally, they were ABD while studying toward their Ph.D. in childhood development at The University of Alabama at Birmingham and hold a master’s degree in industrial/organizational psychology from the University of Baltimore. They have decades of experience in academic writing and editing. Also, they have worked with creative writing students as well as undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Baltimore’s writing center as an on-staff writing tutor.
Currently, they have returned to academia and are earning a master’s in professional writing from Towson University. Their research focus areas include both the ramifications of tropes in romance as well as how romance readers’ personal values drive their book-purchasing decisions. They also work with the Towson University Business Department as a writing tutor.
Register:
