Creating Characters
How to Build Story People
Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Language Arts, Writing & Publishing, Authorship
| Author: | Dwight V. Swain | ISBN: | 9780806183855 |
| Publisher: | University of Oklahoma Press | Publication: | November 28, 2012 |
| Imprint: | University of Oklahoma Press | Language: | English |
| Author: | Dwight V. Swain |
| ISBN: | 9780806183855 |
| Publisher: | University of Oklahoma Press |
| Publication: | November 28, 2012 |
| Imprint: | University of Oklahoma Press |
| Language: | English |
A jargon-free manual on the basics of developing interesting fictional characters
Vibrant, believable characters help drive a fictional story. Along with a clever plot, well-drawn characters make us want to continue reading a novel or finish watching a movie. In Creating Characters, Dwight V. Swain shows how writers can invent interesting characters and improve them so that they move a story along.
“The core of character,” he says in chapter 1, “lies in each individual story person’s ability to care about something; to feel implicitly or explicitly, that something is important.” Building on that foundation—the capacity to care—Swain takes the would-be writer step-by-step through the fundamentals of finding and developing “characters who turn you on.” This basic but thought-provoking how-to is a valuable tool for both the novice and the seasoned writer.
A jargon-free manual on the basics of developing interesting fictional characters
Vibrant, believable characters help drive a fictional story. Along with a clever plot, well-drawn characters make us want to continue reading a novel or finish watching a movie. In Creating Characters, Dwight V. Swain shows how writers can invent interesting characters and improve them so that they move a story along.
“The core of character,” he says in chapter 1, “lies in each individual story person’s ability to care about something; to feel implicitly or explicitly, that something is important.” Building on that foundation—the capacity to care—Swain takes the would-be writer step-by-step through the fundamentals of finding and developing “characters who turn you on.” This basic but thought-provoking how-to is a valuable tool for both the novice and the seasoned writer.
