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79th out of 321 books
—
503 voters
The Writer's Guide to Character Traits: Includes Profiles of Human Behaviors and Personality Types
by
Linda N. Edelstein (Goodreads Author)
From serial killers to business tycoons to politicians, The Writer's Guide to Character Traits profiles the mental, emotional, and physical qualities of dozens of different personality types. With this book's highly accessible format, writers can mix and match the traits of specific personality types to create original, complex characters. Unique personality styles and typ...more
Paperback, 331 pages
Published
May 28th 2004
by Writers Digest Books
(first published 1999)
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Stereotypes exist for a reason; usually, because there's an element of truth to them. With The Writer's Guide to Character Traits, psychologist-professor Linda Edelstein has created a kind of Psych 101 for Writers. Her goal is a "friendly reference" for writers who want "to create believable characters and need accurate information about personality and behavior." Sure, disparage it if you like. But wouldn't you like to know which of your protagonist's offspring is most predisposed to warming up...more
Aug 02, 2012
Hunter
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
fiction writers
Shelves:
writing
Good reference tool for creating more indepth characters, giving the writer the ability to think about the character's childhood influences and personality traits which define their actions and reactions today. Bullet-pointed and indexed to help with selection.
Naturally, there could be 200, 300 maybe 500% more careers, traits or disorders that could have been listed here, but these are good starter subjects for pointing you to where you may like to explore.
My copy was borrowed from the local l...more
Naturally, there could be 200, 300 maybe 500% more careers, traits or disorders that could have been listed here, but these are good starter subjects for pointing you to where you may like to explore.
My copy was borrowed from the local l...more
Nov 18, 2012
Rae
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
writing-manual,
writing-reference
This book is more of a quick reference or jumping off point than an in-depth look. There's many lists and charts which make looking up aspects of a condition or disorder easy. Childhood and adolescence are covered as well as adulthood. In addition to various disorders and conditions the book covers group dynamics as well as body language and nonverbal cues. These sections make handy cheat sheets for any writer.
While many conditions and disorders are covered, none are covered in depth. However th...more
While many conditions and disorders are covered, none are covered in depth. However th...more
Several stereotypes, not all correct.
A few good points in some places.
Looking forward to the publication of The BookShelf Muse.
A few good points in some places.
Looking forward to the publication of The BookShelf Muse.
Mar 27, 2008
Theodora
rated it
1 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people who love canned characters
Recommended to Theodora by:
on the shelf at the writers' colony
This book really stunk.
I found this book difficult to use. I wanted to find traits for, say, a salesman. I've done sales so I have a general idea, but wanted a thorough discussion. The discussion is brief (about 11 bullets) and included as one of 42 careers the author discusses. No career for 'military', 'researcher', 'teenager' or 'home maker'--all careers of people in my upcoming novels.
I recognize this may be an expectation I placed on the book which was never the author's intent to fulfill. I share it so no one e...more
I recognize this may be an expectation I placed on the book which was never the author's intent to fulfill. I share it so no one e...more
May 15, 2010
Jennifer
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
books-for-writing-research
Human nature is a tricky thing. But this gets your basic Psychology 101 book and condenses it down to bullet points and easily understood concepts. I think this book is a fantastic start to any character and the most important part, does NOT forget to include children, which I think can be ignored. Want to know how a 2 year old might deal with divorce? They have common habits for all stages of childhood. Fabulous book. Fabulous.
This book is perfect for any writer, and is by far the best character reference book I have stumbled upon. Inside are detailed chapters of all types of character traits plus numerous writing exercises that will help get into the mind of said character. I've never been so engrossed! A definite read for anyone who wants to create well rounded, eccentric characters instead of cardboard cutouts.
I've read only portions of this book, but it's not exactly the type of book you can read cover-to-cover. This book is good as a reference tool for writers, because it lists personality traits and disorders that various classifications of people have, which can help writers make their characters more believable. So far I've been disappointed with the amount of information the author lists. I'm sure there's only so much a journeyed psychiatrist can include in a book that covers character traits of...more
A fantastic book. I read about 95% of it cover to cover even though it's not really intended to be done like that. It definitely helped me flesh out two characters in two different stories so far. I would recommend this book for anyone that wants to add depth to characters that they are working on. If you're a writer, keeping this book around most definitely cannot hurt.
I love so much about this book. For anyone looking to ease the character creation process - or, make their characters more three-dimensional - this book is a fantastic resource.
Indeed, my singular complaint about this book, is that the synopses left me hungry for more. But, isn't that what great books do? (Yes, but I still frown on it from a reference book.)
Cheers!
Indeed, my singular complaint about this book, is that the synopses left me hungry for more. But, isn't that what great books do? (Yes, but I still frown on it from a reference book.)
Cheers!
This would be a great book if I was a writer. Not only does it give you ideas to use as part of a written characters trait, but what to use to describe the character even further. But since I'm not a writer, I did enjoy paging through it, looking for hints of what to look for when reading a book.
This book probably won't tell you anything you didn't already know, but it's a handy reference to have around when your brain is on overload and you're looking for a slightly different way to think about your character(s). Worth having on your shelf for those odd moments.
this isn't a "read it from cover to cover" book. It's more of a reference to sue while you're writing. Serves as a nice place to start when you are building a character for a story and you don't know too much about his occupation or psychological profile.
I have an older version of this book, but I still find it incredibly helpful. It makes a great reference book for creating realistic types of characters that you're not familiar with.
Apr 03, 2012
Bethanie
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Writers beginning their research
Meh.
For a little perspective, this book is basically a collection of human behavior traits, symptoms of mental disorders, and personality types of certain individuals. Though helpful when you're trying to get an idea of how a character might act (For example, if you're writing a teenaged arsonist, it's helpful to get an idea of what would motivate them) but is it a one stop shop for human psychology? No. It's basically a collection of stereotypes. Use it, if you must, to get a better perspectiv...more
For a little perspective, this book is basically a collection of human behavior traits, symptoms of mental disorders, and personality types of certain individuals. Though helpful when you're trying to get an idea of how a character might act (For example, if you're writing a teenaged arsonist, it's helpful to get an idea of what would motivate them) but is it a one stop shop for human psychology? No. It's basically a collection of stereotypes. Use it, if you must, to get a better perspectiv...more
Good as it goes but does not encompass enough "types". Needs to have many more types added. Still, it is helpful as a jumping off place.
This book is an absolute MUST HAVE for any serious writer. The author gives you details about every type of person and how they will act based on different environmental or biological factors, from how a middle child in a family will behave (with or without his parents divorced) to a person who is a serial killer, to how a rape victim may or may not cope...pretty soon you will realize, everyone in life is a character in some form or another, and there really is no such thing as "normal". This bo...more
A constant reference tool for imagining new characters, indispensable if you want to write characters that live and breath.
Not too helpful - mostly had lists. Didn't realize I already had an older copy of this book.
Very helpful when it comes to keeping your characters real and believeable.
Contains a lot of lists!
More boxy than I am comfortable with.
I found this book simple and helpful.
great using now as reference
The book pools together some interesting psychological information about people, including problems they have, the behaviour caused by those problems, and how their relationships with those problems tend to evolve over time. I found the last two chapters on group interaction and physical appearance/body language the most useful. I expect that I will be consulting the book regularly while I'm writing.
I'd call this book a good jumping-off point. It gives a decent overview of a wide variety of character traits for different kinds and groups of people, but can be a little light on the details.
Use this book to figure out what you want to research further. For more in-depth information, look elsewhere.
Interesting book and helpful at points, though not quite as practical as I had expected. I keep grabbing it during writing to make my characters consistent and 'logical' but I can't always find what I'm looking for. Still, it's useful as a reference for character development.
Aug 25, 2011
Cheryl
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
educational-references
Very informative and helpful, especially for those who inspire to be writers. The breakdowns of all the character character traits -- personality and human behavior -- can help build strong characters with ease. I love how the book is formatted and not a combated read.
May 02, 2009
Angela
marked it as to-read
Had to return to library. Will take out again soon. I found this book very useful for writing, what little I skimmed of it. I may have to purchase my own copy. Good reference book.
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