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2nd out of 10 books
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8 voters
Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting Dynamic Characters and Effective Viewpoints (Write Great Fiction)
by
Nancy Kress (Goodreads Author)
Create Complex Characters
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...more
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...more
Paperback, First Edition, 232 pages
Published
March 15th 2005
by Writer's Digest Books
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Need help with characters? I do. Since non-fiction is more my thing, I was hoping that this book would assist me with character development. It does! Author Nancy Kress makes good on her promise to provide “Techniques and exercises for crafting dynamic characters and effective viewpoints”.
The author of sixteen novels, Kress is well versed in what makes characters tick. From defining what readers want to putting it all together, she outlines everything needed to create compelling characters. She...more
The author of sixteen novels, Kress is well versed in what makes characters tick. From defining what readers want to putting it all together, she outlines everything needed to create compelling characters. She...more
As the title says, this is a craft book for writers giving helpful guidance on creating believable characters, using emotion effectively and in a way that helps build character and add to the story, and choosing the correct point of view for your story. Nancy Kress is a published author of both fiction and non-fiction.
The more craft books I read, the less often I find anything really new to offer in terms of tips and advice. Usually it's the same information in different dress. Sometimes I find...more
The more craft books I read, the less often I find anything really new to offer in terms of tips and advice. Usually it's the same information in different dress. Sometimes I find...more
This is a helpful book on creating character and one of the more helpful writing books I've read overall. As a writer, for some regrettable reason I have a hard time absorbing the lessons in writing books; this one actually reaches me somewhat. Excellent exercises. Writers should read it unless they've already read many books on character.
I thought this book was very basic in terms of character development. I didn't like the fact that there was a chapter included about different protagonists discussed over a variety of genres. I skipped over that one. I didn't find it particularly useful. I also skipped over special cases of emotion and frustration. In order to have success with these topics, I think consulting a scene and structure book would be more beneficial because these reference books would explain these types of situation...more
4.5*s This book is a bit weak on developing characters (see below), but strong on what to do with your characters once you develop them. Topics such as motivation, emotion, dialogue, point of view, etc. are covered.
If you're looking for examples of characters, try The Complete Writer's Guide to Heroes and Heroines or 45 Master Characters: Mythic Models for Creating Original Characters. There are a number of other similar books, but those are two that I'm familiar with.
If you're looking for examples of characters, try The Complete Writer's Guide to Heroes and Heroines or 45 Master Characters: Mythic Models for Creating Original Characters. There are a number of other similar books, but those are two that I'm familiar with.
I bought a copy of Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint very early into my writing career. I had a story I wanted to tell but no idea how one actually goes about doing it. Certainly, I had left high school with the feeling that I didn't have an artistic bone in my body. The whole Write Great Fiction series came to my rescue.
In this title, an author learns through example. The book is full of great tips, backgrounds on rules and why they are so, and examples of poor writing alongside improved vers...more
In this title, an author learns through example. The book is full of great tips, backgrounds on rules and why they are so, and examples of poor writing alongside improved vers...more
This book is part of the "Write Great Fiction" series, where a whole volume tackles a certain issue in writing. This book starts by identifying character types and strengthening them so they seem like real people. Some of the best advice I gleaned from this section was that you have to put everything about the character on the page, without overstating or making it read like pure description. The hardest thing for me in writing is realizing that no one knows what I know. I wrote a short story on...more
I think I'm going to end up liking this entire series. This book was slightly more obvious to me, but only because I've professionally studied literature for so long. However, one should never underestimate the need to read those tips that seem "obvious," at least as a reminder to 1)Remember what you're doing and 2)Realize that you know what you're doing (at least part of the time). I also learned about several aspects that I had never really considered, and I find these exercises perhaps even m...more
This book was more textbook-like than most of the writing books I have, but I found it quite useful, even if it was slow reading (But not dry! The writing was entertaining.). The parts I found most useful were about using humor and emotion, and the differences between types of point of view. I often get confused between the various types of third person and omniscient, so it was nice to have it explained and see some examples. There are also writing exercises at the end of each section. I haven’...more
I got this book from the library but I'm ready to buy my own copy. A great refrence for firction writers, this book has lots of information about crafting characters and point-of-view. Anything you want to know about creating three-diimensional characters is in this book. From introducing characters to character change, each chapter is broken up into sections for easy reading and refrence and ends with a number of exercises, to get the reader to think in depth about not just the main character,...more
This book wasn't helpful for me. I prefer a book that gets right to the point, provides lot of examples, and doesn't beat around the bush at all or spend all kinds of time explaining things in vague terms. For someone who likes a softer, less direct approach (and quite possibly thinks/reasons very differently from me), this book might be a great reference. For me, it proved useless and it's going out the door.
Originally posted on http://kricketwrites.blogspot.com/
This book is part of the Write Great Fiction series. I bought the whole series a couple years ago at a great price and I've been working my way through them (life makes me a slow reader sometimes).
As the title states, this book is all about characters. Kress covers a lot of topics in this. From choosing and defining your characters, to properly expressing their emotions, to deciding what kind of point of view is best for your story.
What I l...more
This book is part of the Write Great Fiction series. I bought the whole series a couple years ago at a great price and I've been working my way through them (life makes me a slow reader sometimes).
As the title states, this book is all about characters. Kress covers a lot of topics in this. From choosing and defining your characters, to properly expressing their emotions, to deciding what kind of point of view is best for your story.
What I l...more
This book focused a lot on characters, their background, what type of person they are, and their emotions. At least those were major points I found the most interesting. The exercises helped flesh out my characters and really instilled the fact that they are a majority of the story. A weak character can be the downfall of a potentially well-liked book. So, yeah. I got what I need out of this.
It's funny, Nancy Kress' stories don't always do it for me, but she knows her writing chops. I've gotten feedback that people don't always connect emotionally with the characters in my stories. After reading this book I have some specific ideas how to address this. The book benefits by not having to cover every aspect of writing (there are other books in this series on dialogue, plotting, description, etc.). I know of Nancy Kress because of her genre writing, and this book is definitely genre fr...more
Some excellent material here for aspiring writers. The single greatest lesson it teaches is the importance of characters and how much they drive the plot of any successful story. All too often, writers (even published writers) treat their characters as secondary to the story, forgetting that it is generally the characters themselves that most readers will seek to identify with, love with or despise. It is the connection between a reader and a character that matters most, and Nancy Kress emphasis...more
I read this whole series during a short period of time, so it's hard for me to break them down and give individual reviews. I found every book in the series useful and this one taught me what I needed to learn to ensure I created authentic characters the reader could connect with, and so much more as well.
This book, by Nancy Kress, was OK. Sure, it got me thinking about my characters but.. did it really do anything else?
I read the majority of it, occasionally skipped around. [I don't need to read about first person, I'm in third. I don't need to choose genre characters, it's literary.] It was helpful but... I just didn't care for it much.
And yet I find myself wanting to suggest it to people. There are some really good ideas in it, and true I am thinking about my characters differently. But I thin...more
I read the majority of it, occasionally skipped around. [I don't need to read about first person, I'm in third. I don't need to choose genre characters, it's literary.] It was helpful but... I just didn't care for it much.
And yet I find myself wanting to suggest it to people. There are some really good ideas in it, and true I am thinking about my characters differently. But I thin...more
Some of these series books on how to write are less than great. But the ones by Nancy Kress are usually very helpful. She just has a really good talent for explaining things to you without making it sound condescending or confusing.
Somewhat traditional but useful. All of Nancy Kress's stories are top-notch so it's good to get some insight into how she thinks about character. Little summaries at the end of each chapter are a little embarassing, though.
I liked this book. It really gave me some awesome pointers. I am not sure how much it really helped with emotion in my writing at all, but I suppose it could have helped with other things. Who knows.
I gained some very valuable tips that I think will definitely help my writing. I'd recommend this book ro anyone looking for advice with developing their characters.
As a reader I always love the novels that have fabulous characters. So I want mine to be as strong as possible. This was a great tool in my arsenal.
A bit higher level than other books of this type. The chapter on POV is particularly interesting.
I found this book very helpful. There were several chapters worth skipping since they didn't apply to my current projects, but it will be a great reference.
Very good on helping to get good characterization.
A good book that was easy to read.
May 16, 2011
Manuellart
added it
Excellent. The whole series is.
Interesting insights but most of it I know already.
Very useful book on writing.
Apr 23, 2010
Sheri
added it
Fantastic!!
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Nancy Kress is an American science fiction writer. She began writing in 1976 but has achieved her greatest notice since the publication of her Hugo and Nebula-winning 1991 novella
Beggars in Spain
which was later expanded into a novel with the same title. In addition to her novels, Kress has written numerous short stories and is a regular columnist for Writer's Digest. She is a regular at Clarion...more
More about Nancy Kress...
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Nov 01, 2010 05:05pm
Nov 01, 2010 05:31pm