Students, community members, faculty and staff filled the Guillot University Center Performance Center to listen to critically acclaimed writer Justin Cronin speak at 11 a.m. March 10.

Cronin is a Harvard graduate and the author of the vampire trilogy including, “The Passage”, “The Twelve” and “The City of Mirrors.” “The Passage” and “The Twelve” are on the New York Times bestseller list.

Cronin read excerpts from “The City of Mirrors” during the event and discussed some of his writing techniques.

He pays attention to two specific things when developing his characters, Cronin said.

“One is, because this is true in human life, everybody is carrying a stone,” he said. “Everybody’s got something they’re not talking about, but it’s the stone they carry for life. The other thing I do is, I’m attentive to human contradiction, because nobody is just one thing.”

Cronin’s information about character development was helpful since she struggles with character development, said junior professional writing major Stephanie Preslar.

“I really enjoyed the reading,” said senior Katie Lindsay. “(Cronin) was well-spoken and eloquent, while at the same time being very conversational about his writing style. I really appreciate writers like that.”

The event is a part of UNA’s Writer Series. The goal of the Writer’s Series is to introduce students to authors from different genres, according to UNA’s website.