Creating Characters: A Writer's Reference to the Personality Traits That Bring Fictional People to Life

· McFarland
5.0
4 reviews
Ebook
256
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

A frequent problem area for fiction writers is characterization. If writers jump headlong into a story with only a fuzzy notion about the people who are in it, the result is a collection of characters who are cliched, stereotypical and not very interesting. Creating Characters is an easy to use reference work that looks at character development from many different angles. The book does not tell writers how to write. Instead, it generates a thought process by asking crucial questions about characters' internal and external traits, wants, needs, likes, dislikes, fears, beliefs, strengths, weaknesses, habits and backgrounds. Following these questions, the writer will find an ever deeper and wider array of options. Thus, Creating Characters helps writers delve as deeply into a character's psychology as they want. All characters, and the stories they people, can be made richer and more compelling.

Ratings and reviews

5.0
4 reviews
A Google user
August 31, 2012
I can't start a book without it. I would always check it out from my library, but this really is a book you NEED to own. It doesn't give you stereotypes, but gives you real traits, and real weaknesses and fears that you can use to make your characters really pop. It asks you questions that may make you come up with a completely new character, and even parts of a scene. I don't know what I'd do without it.
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A Google user
September 17, 2012
This is a great reference, nothing that you couldn't probably find through hours of research and googling but the majority of things you need all one book. You still need to be creative but this helps for sure, make sure you check out the free sample!! I personally think this is a very good book to have in your reference library and is something that you will more than likely refer to many times, those who talk down on this probably just need to learn how to utilise it.
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About the author

Author Howard Lauther of Cincinnati, Ohio, accumulated the notes and insights for this project over many years of writing.

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