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Title: The Writer's Guide to Character Traits by Linda N., Ph.D. Edelstein ISBN: 1-58297-246-X Publisher: Writers Digest Books Pub. Date: February, 2004 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.79 (28 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: a wonderful addition to any writer's library and resources
Comment: I was pleasantly surprised by the enormous amount of valuable information that this ambitious text presented in an easily accessible and truly informational format. The examples given are clear and understandable and the information itself is invaluable. This book should be on a writer's shelf next to the Thesaurus and Dictionary. It will undoubtedly help writers to create more authentic characters and more realistic interactions between characters who encounter each other and a variety of scenarios as booksand stories unfold. I think it will be a great resource when authors are struggling with which type of character to introduce into their writings. Well done.
Rating: 4
Summary: A great way to flesh out your characters
Comment: I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but when I picked it up looking for assistance, I found the format extremely useful and easy to employ.
Edelstein gives us "people ingredients -- components that work together naturally, coherently, and authentically." _The Writer's Guide to Character Traits_ is, in many ways, a simplified _Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders_ that drops much of the information which would be less useful for writers, and presents the crux of each personality style, disorder, et cetera.
There are chapters on many useful subjects, such as psychological disorders, criminal styles, sexual styles, love and marriage, career traits, and many others. Edelstein's career as a psychologist has given her a vast experience in observing people and the ways in which they behave, and she distills it down to very concise, informative lists and chapters, while giving advice on how to create believable characters by selecting traits she mentions.
This isn't so much a book to be read cover-to-cover as it's a reference to be flipped through when needed. There are a few general informational chapters that will be helpful to read all the way through, but by and large, it's a "search for X Type of Character" resource.
I really recommend this book for any writer of fiction.
Rating: 3
Summary: Lots of great info, poorly documented and structured
Comment: This book includes a lot of very useful and interesting information. It's all there, everything they say is true: personality summaries, sexual abnormalities, profiles of murderers, etc. If you are the target audience for this book, you will probably benefit from this information. (FYI: I bought it for characters to create in games.)
However, I found it incredibly difficult to actually use this book. Everything is listed in a bullet-like format, so each point is incredibly brief and usually incomplete. You don't get an understanding for these concepts, you get a summary. This makes it difficult to actually put the content to good use.
On to the nit-picky issues:
There are a number of times when the use of headings in the book made it difficult to tell what I was actually reading. I would be in one section, and suddenly I was reading about a completely different topic - the section had changed, but there had not been a heading to indicate the transition. You learn quickly to ignore the formatting of the headings, as it doesn't seem to actually be useful.
There are a number of typographical errors in the book, also, far more than I would expect from a book that actually gets published. However, it isn't an extremely expensive book, so this isn't a major complaint. If this kind of thing bothers you, keep it in mind.
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Title: The Complete Writer's Guide to Heroes and Heroines by Tami D. Cowden, Caro LaFever, Sue Viders ISBN: 1580650244 Publisher: Lone Eagle Publishing Company Pub. Date: 19 June, 2000 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: Creating Character Emotions by Ann Hood ISBN: 1884910335 Publisher: Writers Digest Books Pub. Date: February, 1998 List Price(USD): $14.99 |
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Title: 45 Master Characters: Mythic Models for Creating Original Characters by Victoria Schmidt ISBN: 1582970696 Publisher: Writers Digest Books Pub. Date: September, 2001 List Price(USD): $19.99 |
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Title: Writing Dialogue by Tom Chiarella ISBN: 1884910327 Publisher: Writers Digest Books Pub. Date: February, 1998 List Price(USD): $14.99 |
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Title: Beginnings, Middles & Ends (Elements of Fiction Writing) by Nancy Kress ISBN: 0898799058 Publisher: Writers Digest Books Pub. Date: May, 1999 List Price(USD): $12.99 |
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