Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting Dynamic Characters and Effective Viewpoints (Write Great Fiction)

I found this book to be very useful at helping me work through some issues with the characters in my novel. The relatively narrow focus means Kress can delve deeply into each of the issues she covers. The first seven chapters are about deciding and showing who your characters are, including how their outer presentation might not match their inner thoughts, and how they might (or might not) change over the course of the book. I appreciated the level of detail here. I thought I had a pretty good handle on my main characters, but every chapter encouraged me to think about something new, or in more depth than I had before. The middle four chapters deal with how to think about and then show your characters' emotions. This time around, I especially appreciated the chapter on how different types of people respond differently to frustration, and how to express that for your main characters. This is key for just about any story, since whatever it is your characters want to achieve, if they got it easily you'd have a short book! The last four chapters go into wonderful detail about point of view strategies. I appreciated how the author gave the pros and cons for each type, including which are currently more popular, without coming down hard on either a literary or a commercial stance. That is, she never says, "This is better, and you should do it this way," but instead says, "If you decide to do it this other way, you should know what difficulties you'll face."Throughout the chapters, Kress uses examples very effectively. When she refers to classic characters, she usually uses several, so that if you haven’t read all of the same books, hopefully you recognize at least one or two (she also describes them). If you haven't read any of the books, you'll be at a disadvantage. But I'd think reading a synopsis online would give you enough of an idea of, say, Anna Karenina or Mr. Darcy to understand what Kress means.Since this is a book that I already know I'll be going back to again and again, I appreciate how well-organized it is, with clear sub-section headings within each chapter so you can quickly find the part you want to re-read. At the end of each chapter, Kress gives a recap of the chapter and includes several exercises to try. I didn't see much point in the recaps, but they didn't take up much space. The exercises were hit and miss. I usually don't actually do exercises anyway, but I like to think them through. When the exercises were specific to the characters in my WIP, they made the most sense to me. And some of the exercises about observing others' behavior (e.g., in public, or interacting with friends) and thinking about how that applies to writing were also interesting. However, many of the writing exercises were completely unrelated to the reader's WIP characters and seemed off-track; presumably anyone reading this book wants to apply it to a current project.Overall, it's a great craft book, and I would definitely recommend it.

This is well written. I learned from this book. The author has a good understanding of character and writing. I helped me in writing my latest novel

This is part of the Write Great Fiction series from Writer's Digest. Each book in the series covers one broad aspect of writing fiction, and of course there is some overlap as well.The first part of the book deals with creating and representing characters in your writing. There is advice on all the usual topics: character name, character appearance, character bio, and so on. There's more, too: the pros and cons of using yourself or someone you know as a model for a fictional character, and how to get character ideas from the news or other sources. The differences between main characters, secondary characters, and minor characters are discussed. There are numerous examples of how the details the writer uses to describe a character's clothing, home, speech, and so on contribute to character development.Representing character motivation is covered, along with good advice of how (and how not) to present a character's back story. Portraying emotion is explained well, with an emphasis on the tangible signs of emotion and character behavior.There are two chapters on special character issues: characters in genre fiction and humorous characters.For me, the most valuable part of this book was the discussion of point of view. Kress moves beyond the basic definitions (first person, third person limited, third person omniscient, etc.) to discuss the actual mechanics of making a chosen point of view work consistently. There is an excellent discussion of the concept of distance in third person viewpoint; this brought a lot of my questions and issues about third-person writing into focus. A whole chapter is devoted to multiple viewpoint, and how to navigate them.I would recommend this to anyone wanting to work on making deeper characters or managing the challenges of point of view in their writing. It wasn't as helpful to me personally as Plot and Structure, but that reflects my own level of understanding in the two subject areas.

This book has been so helpful to me!I have been working on my first novel for almost three years and I think I have finally found why it’s taken me so long - my characters aren’t strong enough! The exercises in this book have helped me strengthen my characters and have a better sense of direction and purpose in my writing. I can’t wait to get back into my writing, thanks to this book, that motivation is back and stronger than ever!

A well written book about the craft of writing. Still reading but helpful so far.

4,5/5.One of the best books on writing in my collection.Free from the "word salads" - repetitions & re-formulating - so many other guides use that makes you feel like it's a transcript from a speech, or worse, listening to someone trying to get you fired up about joining a pyramid scheme or a religious sect.The advice is solid with just enough examples to support the argument.A note on paper quality:The paper is grey-white, rather than white, and you can see the letters printed on the other side through the paper. Not great. I value decent quality paper since I underline words and make notes.

One of the best books on the craft of writing I've come across in a long time.

this is a must have if you want to learn how to write good stories. At least for beginners which I consider myself to be. Good luck with your work!