The Art of Character: Creating Memorable Characters for Fiction, Film, and TV

Full disclosure: I've read all of Corbett's novels. He's one of my favorite crime writers. I've also taken a writing class with him, which isn't cheap. His help on my book was invaluable. Now for only $17 or less, you can get a valuable book on writing, like taking a master class. Thing is, it's not about "character," it's about how to create a living person in your work. A living person with drives, wants, and needs, values, an unconscious, with secrets and contradictions, and wounds. A person with heart rather than a "personality type." On and on the book goes from a simple premise, like a philosophical treatise, getting deeper and deeper into the self, the examined life, even marveling at the ultimate fiction of this self. A very rich and profound writing book. The many examples were very helpful. Finally, my epiphany: other characters define the main characters. "We don't know ourselves by ourselves," Corbett writes. For me, this book is a godsend. It helps lift me out of my overbearing subjectivity when I write, and helps me to really create fully realized characters in a "teeming" world. My only negative is that he also used some examples from television, which I didn't know about--but after all, the book is for "fiction, film, and TV."

I teach screenwriting at the university level; and it's been - literally - years since I've found a decent book on character. I was really pleased with this one, and I've added it to the syllabus. One of the first things I tell my students each semester is that there is no book that is magically going to make you a better writer. Only writing can do that. But a good book can help you think and brainstorm in productive ways. Corbett used to be a detective, and he approaches character development from an investigative perspective as well as a developmental one. He also includes some helpful exercises. The book isn't perfect, or magic - but it's a keeper.

Lots of stories and examples here from classic creative work that most people will be familiar with. This was an enlightening read for me, and will be refreshing for anyone who is familiar with archetypes and human psychology. This is it in practice.I like the calls to self-examination as a way to understand the character types. Makes it a more practical read.

The Art of Character is one of the more unique books I've seen on the market about creating characters, in that it primarily focuses on the "big ideas" that an interesting character should have. Lots of character creation methods tend to focus on the details that surround a character and waffle on what exactly makes a character interesting, but Corbett starts off right away by addressing important concepts like what a character wants, contradictions, secrets and more. There's no chaff or fluff - you learn immediately what makes this character jump off the page.I personally found this essential, because what draws us to characters mainly involve their desires and their inner conflicts. By focusing on that first, Corbett helps establish a strong framework which other details can hang on, as opposed to other methods where the ideas for a character seem to jumble. And countless examples help illustrate how these ideas come into play in other media people love.My main complaint for the book is namely the writing style, but I'll admit it's a personal nitpick. Corbett is less direct than other instructional authors, and for people who crave some step-by-step checklists, you may need to puzzle it out first. But it's not vague by any means, and I do encourage you to study Corbett's words carefully, because they'll flip around your approach and make it all the better. This book is the 80/20 rule in action - spend 20 percent of the effort for 80 percent of the results. With this book, you'll get results.

This is a wonderful book.I was struggling with my characters, realizing that I had to dig more deeply into the "why" of their actions. This book has excited and reinvigorated me.Yes, I agree with the one star reviewer that Mr. Corbett's writing style can be a bit, er, clumsy. Corbett seems to love fifty cent words and he plunks those words into what I feel are unnecessarily long sentences. The result sometimes ruins the flow of his wonderful and creative advice.I love this book anyway. The exercises are extremely helpful and have really assisted me in polishing my characters. Already they have so much more depth and are so much more interesting.I highly recommend this book, along with Alan Watts' 90 Day Novel. These two books can be a good start to a great novel.

Corbett's guide is more than just some paint-by-numbers attempt at creating story character, nor does it suggest a number of details or attributes needed to make a fictional character work. The Art of Character is an examination of the process for creating emotionally rich and deeply engaging story people. With meaningful examples from film, television, novels, and plays Corbett shows how the aspects of fictional character development work. A number of helpful exercises are included with each chapter to help further illustrate the process and enlighten the writer. I would definitely recommend this book for any author wanting a better understanding of how character relates to plot and how characters can relate to each other in meaningful ways. This will be the book I turn to again and again for story creation directions.

Excellent addition to my collection of books on writing. Corbett's take on breathing life into characters is insightful, and his understanding of what makes a character work reflects his deep understanding of what it is to be human, what makes humans work - including the fact that sometimes there's no clear-cut answer, because truth be told, we humans can be messy and unpredictable at times, delightfully endearing at others, and we can surprise, in ways one would never have considered. Definitely worth adding to your collection, great for beginning and advanced writers alike.

El libro es bueno, pero la calificación va hacia el servicio de Amazon, me llegó doblado y dañado.

As described

Excellent

Good on content , heavy on language hence goodness is diluted. So many examples distract, as readers are not expected to have rich expenses so difficult to relate and understand too.

There was some amazing reviews on this book, so I went into it expecting to be well-educated. The first few chapters of the book dragged for me, perhaps due to the high expectations I felt let down. I literally have no marks or notes in the book until well into chapter 4. However, I kept going, I mean, everyone says this is a really great book and it is! After those dull foundation chapters he gives you the meat, and suddenly (really it is all common sense that somehow we all seem to miss as we write) he gives you the insight you need to bring your characters to life. So the rest of my book is all underlined, and marked and starred, as it got good! He also makes the point that Good Vs. Good is of higher story value of the best character plots over Good Vs. Evil. And as we all know, that evil characters are more intriguing than a purely good character, he explains why! All points I needed to hear and have struggled with over the years to understand, now it is clear to me. Hope this helps you decide if this book is for you.