Writer’s Workshop with Lee Upton
On Saturday, June 27, 2026, the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group had their monthly meeting at the Palmer Township Library and afterwards there were two sessions presented by author Lee Upton.
I joined the GLVWG over the winter holiday. I knew nothing about the group outside of the facts that it was a writers group based in the Lehigh Valley.
I have found it to be of great benefit to me personally and a group I engage with weekly through their Writer’s Cafe, which is a place online you can read and get feedback from fellow writers.
The other ‘regular’ and on-going benefit is the monthly membership meeting. It follows the business meeting of the board and precedes a free to members writer workshop.
This month Lee Upton facilitated a discussion on character development. Lee and I happened to enter the library at the same time and I not knowing who she was at the time, found her to be very open, pleasant and engaging personally, prior to realizing how well thought out and at ease she was when facilitating.
A few things I really liked that she brought to my attention was the to assume your characters are never finished, and to ensure that the character changes the reader by the end of the story. Maybe I knew this or kind of thought it in some way, but both ideas clicked with me when she made them.
She also delved into some frameworks she used with her character development. She spoke of dimensionality – time, relationship, and control, as well as the flow and drivers that create the character arc.
She shared her approach, answered questions, and offered several exercises to the in-person and online audiences.
A few other ideas she tossed out that were fun to consider included considering what lie your character might tell and why? What secret would they keep?
All in all, well worth the time and a great way to spend a rainy summer day.
Ross Raymond Nunamaker 