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joshmorrey's review against another edition
5.0
A great book for understanding characterization in your own writing; the importance of it, when to use heavy characterization and when to not use it at all. I also learned a lot about point of view, something that I thought I understood very well already. Card goes into to depth on when each POV should be used, what the pros and cons are of First Person vs Third Person, Omniscient Narrator vs Limited Narrator, and deep character penetration vs shallow penetration. This book is a must read for any aspiring author or writer.
jameyanne's review against another edition
4.0
I realy enjoyed reading this book. It was a comprehensive review of all the different ways you can build characters and present them in your story, and it used examples I actually know, whichwas an added bonus. I’ll admit that I didn’t fully agree with the author’s views of the drawbacks of first person narration. Though what he said can certainly be true, I don’t thin first person naration pulls me out of the stry nearly as often as he implies. On the whole though, a good book that gave me lots of things to think about.
meli_melo's review against another edition
2.0
I can see how this would be helpful for someone who has never written anything fictional or for a creative writing class/teacher.
tokengeekgirl's review against another edition
2.0
Overview
Overall, I thought it was a good introduction to character creation. Card gives a great deal for writers to think about, especially in thinking about a new character for a novel. While I could see a bit of his own personal bias coming through in some of the examples, it didn't reflect on the actual teachings of the book. The viewpoint portion of the book went deep into several types of POV, which I appreciated.
However, the advice in the viewpoint half of the book was so outdated (especially for current Young Adult authors) as to be nearly useless. Probably good for its time, but that time was the 80s, and writing has moved on. (More on this later...)
The Good..
This is a good reference for character creation, including what should go into a character based on what type of novel you are writing. I especially liked the references to the MICE quotient. In sum, all books are made up of four broad elements: Mileu, Idea, Character, and Event. Depending on which element your story emphasizes, you adjust your character creation and depth accordingly.
Card takes us back to the very basics (What even is a character, anyway?), and leads us through to exploring the deep meanings and motivations of our characters. He also reminds us that we don't have to do this amount of investment for every single character on the page. If the bartender just serves drinks, then let the guy serve drinks. We don't need to know about his sick cat.
The Bad...
This is a basic book. While it goes deep into both character and POV, a lot of what it covers is done much better in longer works that cover more ground. In order to keep the book short and sweet, Card sometimes reverts to lists of things (motivations, or types of characters) without going into techniques for smoothly incorporating the list into a character or story line. I've read lots of craft books, and there wasn't much that was new or interesting here. (Except, of course, what was mentioned above!)
The Ugly...
And now we get to it. Orson Scott Card has definite viewpoints (Ha! see the pun there?) on viewpoint. He almost dismissed First Person entirely, claiming that it was such a limited POV that there were very few stories that could be told that way. He especially didn't like First Person Past Tense, claiming that it needed some sort of framing device to introduce the reader to the narrator. That extra step separates the reader from the story. Well, true.
But very much outdated, especially in the Young Adult market today.
The Verdict: I won't be keeping this book.
Overall, I thought it was a good introduction to character creation. Card gives a great deal for writers to think about, especially in thinking about a new character for a novel. While I could see a bit of his own personal bias coming through in some of the examples, it didn't reflect on the actual teachings of the book. The viewpoint portion of the book went deep into several types of POV, which I appreciated.
However, the advice in the viewpoint half of the book was so outdated (especially for current Young Adult authors) as to be nearly useless. Probably good for its time, but that time was the 80s, and writing has moved on. (More on this later...)
The Good..
This is a good reference for character creation, including what should go into a character based on what type of novel you are writing. I especially liked the references to the MICE quotient. In sum, all books are made up of four broad elements: Mileu, Idea, Character, and Event. Depending on which element your story emphasizes, you adjust your character creation and depth accordingly.
Card takes us back to the very basics (What even is a character, anyway?), and leads us through to exploring the deep meanings and motivations of our characters. He also reminds us that we don't have to do this amount of investment for every single character on the page. If the bartender just serves drinks, then let the guy serve drinks. We don't need to know about his sick cat.
The Bad...
This is a basic book. While it goes deep into both character and POV, a lot of what it covers is done much better in longer works that cover more ground. In order to keep the book short and sweet, Card sometimes reverts to lists of things (motivations, or types of characters) without going into techniques for smoothly incorporating the list into a character or story line. I've read lots of craft books, and there wasn't much that was new or interesting here. (Except, of course, what was mentioned above!)
The Ugly...
And now we get to it. Orson Scott Card has definite viewpoints (Ha! see the pun there?) on viewpoint. He almost dismissed First Person entirely, claiming that it was such a limited POV that there were very few stories that could be told that way. He especially didn't like First Person Past Tense, claiming that it needed some sort of framing device to introduce the reader to the narrator. That extra step separates the reader from the story. Well, true.
But very much outdated, especially in the Young Adult market today.
The Verdict: I won't be keeping this book.
mattwhitby's review against another edition
1.0
I just can't separate the book from the author's repugnant views.
leahegood's review against another edition
Third time reading this (the first was before I had Goodreads) and it's still a favorite.
abigcoffeedragon's review against another edition
2.0
There is nothing very new within these pages that help and aspiring writer, unless you have not read any other books. I do like Orson Scott Card and his writing advice, however, everything here he has said before and others will say again. There are simple explanations as to "Show Don't tell," but then after he states the rule, he breaks it. Some of his examples are also very dated, and most new writers today probably have no idea who Elmore Leonard or Spenser is, though they will still know who Han Solo and Indiana Jones are. The examples are decent, but overall this book lacks what it claims to be able to explain. Character and Viewpoint are defined, but nothing is given to illustrate bad form.
There are better books for this out there.
There are better books for this out there.
erindarlyn's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
4.75⭐️ rounded up
curiousnoel's review against another edition
2.0
Mostly common sense stuff if you're an experienced writer, but a good consolidation of the basics for beginners.