Reviews

Dynamic Characters Writer's Digest Hardcover, Jun. 1998

Since this is an educational book there are no reviews available. The table of contents is presented in it's place. TABLE OF CONTENTS PROLOGUE:    WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE AND WHO NEEDS THEM? PART I:    CREATING STRONG AND BELIEVABLE CHARACTERS: THE EXTERNALS       CHAPTER ONE: BEAUTY AND/OR THE BEAST          Choosing Descriptive Details       CHAPTER TWO: WHAT'S IN A NAME?          Using Monikers to Convey Character       CHAPTER THREE: ZIP CODE, PLEASE          The Role of Setting in Creating Character       CHAPTER FOUR: WHAT DID YOU SAY YOU DO?          Using the World of Work to Enhance Characterization       CHAPTER FIVE: SAY WHAT?          Characterizing Through Dialogue       CHAPTER SIX: THE ARTFUL DECEPTION          Making Dialogue Read Naturally (Even Though It's Not Natural)       CHAPTER SEVEN: WHEN LESS IS MORE          Pruning Character Descriptors To a Manageable Number       CHAPTER EIGHT: DON'T I KNOW YOU?          Basing Characters on Real People PART II:    CREATING STRONG AND BELIEVABLE CHARACTERS: THE INTERNALS       CHAPTER NINE: SHE'S GOT AN ATTITUDE          Using Inner Reflections to Characterize       CHAPTER TEN: LOST IN THOUGHT          Making Clear What, When, and How Your Character Is Thinking       CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE PYGMALION TRAP          How to Not Let Your Assumptions Torpedo Characterization       CHAPTER TWELVE: AIRY DREAMS AND SOLID NEWS          How to Use Dreams and Newscasts to Build Characterization       CHAPTER THIRTEEN: THE BAD GUYS          How to Make Your Villains Both Compelling and Plot-Useful       CHAPTER FOURTEEN: DO I WANT TO KNOW YOU?          How to Create an Unsympathetic Protagonist Without          Driving Your Readers Away       CHAPTER FIFTEEN: THE INTELLIGENCE DOSSIER          A Wrap-Up System for Investigating Your Character PART III:    CHARACTER AND PLOT       CHAPTER SIXTEEN: THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD          How to Start Anywhere and Arrive At Plot       CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!          Plot, Character, and Violence       CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: WHOSE STORY IS IT, ANYWAY?          How Point of View Begins With Character and Leads to Plot       CHAPTER NINETEEN: ALSO FEATURING...          Secondary Characters and Plot Construction       CHAPTER TWENTY: THE CHARACTERS, THEY ARE A-CHANGING          How to Make Character Change a Believable Part of Plot       CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: SEEING IS BELIEVING          A Concrete Example of How Character, Change, and Plot Intertwine       CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: "BUT IT REALLY HAPPENED!"          Basing Plots on Real-life Events       CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: ARCHETYPAL ATTRACTIONS          Using Rich Old Plots In Rich New Ways       CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: I SEE A PATTERN EMERGING          The Connections Among Characters, Plot, and Theme       CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: THE CHARACTERS AND THE WRITER

Copyright ©1999 Nancy Kress