Judy's review
Characters and Viewpoint (Elements of Fiction Writing)
by Orson Scott Card
Judy's review
Characters and Viewpoint (Elements of Fiction Writing) by Orson Scott Card
Judy's review
rating:
bookshelves:
writing
recommended for: Fiction writers of any stripe, esp. newer writers.
I didn't understand why people were so annoyed with Card's sample characters until I read it myself. By the end of the book, I was literally skimming and skipping passages that mentioned either of them. I very rarely do that, even when I'm suffering through a story. Luckily he left 'Nora' and 'Pete' out of his 1990 book about writing SciFi and Fantasy.
A lot of what Card says in this book we may know intuitively from sampling fiction in our culture. Still he is very good at pinpointing several modes of characterization and POV and explaining how they work/fail. This book is strongly recommended for people who want a clear and focused take on characterization.
He uses great examples from literature to make his points. I only wish he did this more often in this book. Still, Nora and Pete won't annoy everyone, and OSC is insightful enough to make it a worthy read.
A lot of what Card says in this book we may know intuitively from sampling fiction in our culture. Still he is very good at pinpointing several modes of characterization and POV and explaining how they work/fail. This book is strongly recommended for people who want a clear and focused take on characterization.
He uses great examples from literature to make his points. I only wish he did this more often in this book. Still, Nora and Pete won't annoy everyone, and OSC is insightful enough to make it a worthy read.
