BOOKS on Creating Characters
THE ABSOLUTE BEST BOOK THAT ANY WRITER CAN BUY (whether you are a screenwriter, novelist, short story writer, etc.): The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers, 3rd Edition by Christopher Vogler
The Woman in the Story: Writing Memorable Female Characters by Helen Jacey
Inspired by female psychology and gender issues, this howto book casts a refreshingly honest and empowering womencentric light on every stage of the screenwriting process.
The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide To Character Expression by Angela Ackerman
One of the biggest problem areas for writers is conveying a character's emotions to the reader in a unique, compelling way. This book comes to the rescue by highlighting 75 emotions and listing the possible body language cues, thoughts, and visceral responses for each. Using its easy-to-navigate list format, readers can draw inspiration from character cues that range in intensity to match any emotional moment. The Emotion Thesaurus also tackles common emotion-related writing problems and provides methods to overcome them. This writing tool encourages writers to show, not tell emotion and is a creative brainstorming resource for any fiction project.
Rivet Your Readers with Deep Point of View by Jill Elizabeth Nelson
Dear Novelist: Would you like your readers to live your stories, not merely read them? Deep Point of View anchors your readers inside the point of view character(s) of your novel. This handbook shows you how to perform the transformation from ordinary narrative to deep narrative in clear, easy-to-master steps. I invite you to sweep your writing to the next level with a technique that creates immediacy and intimacy with your readers and virtually eliminates show/don't tell issues.
Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting Dynamic Characters and Effective Viewpoints by Nancy Kress
How do you create a main character readers won't forget? How do you write a book in multiple-third-person point of view without confusing your readers (or yourself)? How do you plant essential information about a character's past into a story?
Write Great Fiction: Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint by award-winning author Nancy Kress answers all of these questions and more! This accessible book is filled with interactive exercises and valuable advice that teaches you how to:
Write Great Fiction: Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint by award-winning author Nancy Kress answers all of these questions and more! This accessible book is filled with interactive exercises and valuable advice that teaches you how to:
- Choose and execute the best point of view for your story
- Create three-dimensional and believable characters
- Develop your characters' emotions
- Create realistic love, fight, and death scenes
- Use frustration to motivate your characters and drive your story
Writer's Guide to Character Traits by Dr. Linda Edelstein
What makes a person commit a white-collar crime? Who is a likely candidate to join a cult? Why do children have imaginary friends? How does birth order affect whether or not a person gets married? When does mind over matter become a crippling problem?
Writer's Guide to Character Traits, 2nd edition answers all of these questions and many others. With more than 400 easy-to-reference lists of traits blended from a variety of behaviors and influences, you'll gain the knowledge you need to create distinctive characters whose personalities correspond to their thoughts and actions - no matter how normal or psychotic they might be. In this updated and expanded edition, you'll also find:
Plus, you'll learn about common - and not so common - psychological, physical, and relationship disorders; delve into the minds of criminals; find out what it takes to be a professional athlete, scientist, and truck driver; discover what life is like for a gang member, suicidal teen, and alcoholic; and more.
Writer's Guide to Character Traits, 2nd edition answers all of these questions and many others. With more than 400 easy-to-reference lists of traits blended from a variety of behaviors and influences, you'll gain the knowledge you need to create distinctive characters whose personalities correspond to their thoughts and actions - no matter how normal or psychotic they might be. In this updated and expanded edition, you'll also find:
- Comprehensive instruction on how to use this book
- New statistical information to help you create true-to-life characters
- Corresponding exercises that show you how to put the material to work in your stories
- A quick-reference index to make cross-referencing a snap
- Idea sparkers to get your thoughts out of your head and onto the page
Plus, you'll learn about common - and not so common - psychological, physical, and relationship disorders; delve into the minds of criminals; find out what it takes to be a professional athlete, scientist, and truck driver; discover what life is like for a gang member, suicidal teen, and alcoholic; and more.
45 Master Characters by Victoria Schmidt
45 Master Characters will make your characters and their stories more compelling, complex and original than ever before.
You'll explore the most common male and female archetypes—the mythic, cross-cultural models from which all characters originate—and learn how to use them as foundations for your own unique characters. Examples culled from literature, television and film illustrate just how memorable and effective these archetypes can be—from Gladiators" and "Kings" like Rocky Balboa and Captain Ahab to "Amazons" and "Maidens" like Xena and Guinevere.
The mythic journeys of heroes and heroines—the progression of events upon which each archetype's character arc develops—are also examined. Building such a "journey" into your character's story will enable you to stop worrying about what happens next and get on with telling your tale. It's a power-packed method for creating characters that stand the test of time!
You'll explore the most common male and female archetypes—the mythic, cross-cultural models from which all characters originate—and learn how to use them as foundations for your own unique characters. Examples culled from literature, television and film illustrate just how memorable and effective these archetypes can be—from Gladiators" and "Kings" like Rocky Balboa and Captain Ahab to "Amazons" and "Maidens" like Xena and Guinevere.
The mythic journeys of heroes and heroines—the progression of events upon which each archetype's character arc develops—are also examined. Building such a "journey" into your character's story will enable you to stop worrying about what happens next and get on with telling your tale. It's a power-packed method for creating characters that stand the test of time!
The Complete Writer's Guide to Heroes and Heroines by Tami D. Cowden
Many books attempt to show writers how to create believable characters. This one is unlike the majority: it specifically identifies 16 "master archetypes," complete with thumbnail sketches and descriptions of specific qualities, flaws, background, styles, and possible occupations. The authors, all writers and writing instructors, detail eight male and eight female archetypes in Sections 1 and 2 and then in Section 3 discuss how the characters can interact and evolve, often warning that "a writer cannot simply lift the archetypes from these pages." Although these archetypes from these pages." Although these archetypes are admittedly rather stereotypical (e.g., the Chief, the Bad Boy, and the Warrior, or the Seductress, the Waif, and the Nurturer), the book does provide a thought-provoking exploration of character development and its myriad possibilities. Useful examples from literature, television, and cinema are included in the appendex.
Fallen Heroes: Sixteen Master Villain Archetypes by Tami D. Cowden
"The villain is the hero of his own story - and is every bit as important as the heroic characters. This book contains the lectures and exercises from Tami Cowden's popular online class on villain archetypes. The workshop identifies and examines the motivations of the 16 literary villain archetypes, and shows what happens when heroes and heroines turn to the dark side. Here's what participants have said about the workshop: -I really enjoyed this class. Seeing these archetypes spelled out like this really gives perspective instinct does not. -Not only did this give me some really good tips on villain archetypes, but seeing the thought process behind creating a character for the archetypes helped me with your hero/heroine archetypes as well. -WONDERFUL class, again!!! It was quite a thrill figuring out which archetype matched up with the villianess of my WIP :) . I have your exclamation about motivation stuck to my wall, just as a reminder. --I did get a chance to apply this to my characters. I put a lot more thought into my characters' motivations and I think I will have a stronger book for it. The workshop really helped me make a more consistant characters and to work through how my characters act. -I'm having trouble getting a handle on my villain in my next book, and these archetypes are really helping me. -The exercises were enlightening as well as a fun way to get into the heads of these characters. - You have given me good ideas for use in my current WIP and I'm certain I'll be using some of the others archetypes in future works."
1,000 Character Writing Prompts: Villains, Heroes and Hams for Scripts, Stories and More by Bryan Cohen
From the author of 1,000 Creative Writing Prompts, this 150,000+ word reference tool can serve writers who need characters and need them now! If character development is your problem, this detailed reference tool for any writer is the solution. Imagine if every time you sat down to brainstorm for your stories, scripts and more, you had a notebook full of character ideas ready to spring to life on the page. This time-saving, idea-generating tome can ensure that from protagonist to checkout girl, your characters are fully developed and captivating. Covering a variety of genres, time periods and styles, 1,000 Character Writing Prompts, adds nuance and depth to the typical character stereotypes many writers rely on.
The book includes the following archetypes:
* Superheroes, sidekicks and secret agents
* Monsters, demons and strange creatures
* Optimists, pessimists and screw ups
* Zombies, werewolves and vampires
* Lawyers, doctors and butchers
* Rebels, ninjas, actors, villains, pets, babies and many more!
Each of the 1,000 character ideas ends with a question or command to push you past your writer's block and into a creative flow state for your future writing sessions.
The book includes the following archetypes:
* Superheroes, sidekicks and secret agents
* Monsters, demons and strange creatures
* Optimists, pessimists and screw ups
* Zombies, werewolves and vampires
* Lawyers, doctors and butchers
* Rebels, ninjas, actors, villains, pets, babies and many more!
Each of the 1,000 character ideas ends with a question or command to push you past your writer's block and into a creative flow state for your future writing sessions.
A Writer's Guide to Characterization: Archetypes, Heroic Journeys, and Other Elements of Dynamic Character Development by Victoria Lynn Schmidt
In the best novels, characters undergo dramatic changes that keep readers turning pages. A Writer's Guide to Characterization shows you how to develop such meaningful character arcs in your own work--stories of transformation that will resonate with readers long after the story ends.
In this comprehensive guide, author Victoria Lynn Schmidt examines cross-cultural archetypes to illustrate how they can make your work more powerful and compelling. Plus, you'll learn how to draw from Jungian psychology to add complexity and believability to your characters.
Schmidt also provides:
In this comprehensive guide, author Victoria Lynn Schmidt examines cross-cultural archetypes to illustrate how they can make your work more powerful and compelling. Plus, you'll learn how to draw from Jungian psychology to add complexity and believability to your characters.
Schmidt also provides:
- 40 lessons on character development (with examples from well-known films and novels) that you can apply to your own work
- Questionnaires and exercises to help you select male and female archetypes and adapt them to your story
- 15 classic animal archetypes (including the coyote, snake, tiger, and butterfly) you can use to build convincing character profiles
The Art of Character: Creating Memorable Characters for Fiction, Film, and TV by David Corbett
Former private investigator and New York Times Notable author David Corbett offers a unique and indispensable toolkit for creating characters that come vividly to life on the page and linger in memory. Corbett provides an inventive, inspiring, and vastly entertaining blueprint to all the elements of characterization—from initial inspiration to realization—with special insights into the power of secrets and contradictions, the embodiment of roles, managing the "tyranny of motive," and mastering crucial techniques required for memorable dialogue and unforgettable scenes. This is a how-to guide for both aspiring and accomplished writers that renders all other books of its kind obsolete.
Elements of Fiction Writing - Characters & Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card
Award-winning author Orson Scott Card explains in depth the techniques of inventing, developing and presenting characters, plus handling viewpoint in novels and short stories. With specific examples, he spells out your narrative options–the choices you'll make in creating fictional people so real" that readers will feel they know them like members of their own families.
You'll learn how to:
You'll learn how to:
- draw the characters from a variety of sources, including a story's basic idea, real life–even a character's social circumstances
- make characters show who they are by the things they do and say, and by their individual "style"
- develop characters readers will love–or love to hate
- distinguish among major characters, minor characters and walk-ons, and develop each one appropriately
- choose the most effective viewpoint to reveal the characters and move the storytelling
- decide how deeply you should explore your characters' thoughts, emotions and attitudes