Elements of Fiction Writing - Characters & Viewpoint: Proven advice and timeless techniques for creating compelling characters by an a ward-winning author

A must read for any author of fiction. Regardless of your skill level, this book will improve your storytelling and characterizations.

Fabulous book! Clear, concise and informative. Enjoyed the plethora of examples, and ease of reading.

It was quite insightful on how to create characters, their world view, their manner of speech and bad examples. It covered the viewpoint which is difficult to understand at first but appears the be true.In essence, there is a lot of factors to think about when creating the characters. The only downside of the books is 'Pete' and 'Nora'. The examples could have just used random other names. I decided on buying the book from an Amazon recommendation of another similar book, Linda Serger's Character something.Thank you, author. This is one of the most important books I own.

Elements of Fiction Writing is a series of instructive books on the craft of writing, each written by a different author. Characters & Viewpoint is an installment by Orson Scott Card, and I found it to be a great educational read.The book covers in great depth a range of topics, from inventing characters through to portraying them on the page. It looks at understanding what characters you need, how to develop their identity and history, the roles they should play in the story, and how to make it come alive. It also looks at the types of stories you may be telling, how that might affect which characters you choose to focus on, and the points of view you may want to use.If you’ve ready Scott Card’s How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy, then you will notice some overlap between the two books. However, the overlap is in the basic information on story construction, and this book dives much deeper into writing believable and engaging characters.I found this book to be clear and engaging, written in a style that made me feel I was sitting in a comfortable chair across from the man himself, listening as he talked about the topic. At the same time, it’s well structured, making the advice it provides easy to digest. This is important, as the pages are dense with techniques, hints, and tips.The bottom line? I knew I needed to work a little smarter (and harder) on creating deeper characters, which is why I turned to this book in particular. It delivered, giving me a new outlook on the process and (I hope) more believable and engaging characters in my stories.

Come già nel precedente "How to write Science Fiction & Fantasy", di cui questo è un'integrazione (e di cui riprende alcuni punti, come l'insistenza sul MICE: Milieu, Idea, Character, Event, quale struttura portante di ogni romanzo che voglia catturare l'attenzione del lettore), Scott Card fornisce, nei vari capitoli in cui è articolato il libro, una serie di validi e chiari consigli di scrittura, focalizzati sulla costruzione del personaggio e sui vari modi per farlo agire e parlare.Linguaggio chiaro, esempi calzanti: anche se non parlasse di scrittura, il libro meriterebbe di essere letto per come è scritto.Consigliato sia per gli aspiranti scrittori sia per chi vuole capire i meccanismi narrativi, in particolare della SF e del Fantasy.