Rating: 
Summary: No book has ever taught me more
Review: Card is a great writer, especially if you are a SF/F fan. But this book does a good job of staying with general writing, be it literary, fantastic, or even script writing. He illustrates his points well with his anecdotes. I found the last couple chapters -- the viewpoint chapters -- to be invaluable. Pros and cons are given for first person, third person limited (both deep and light penetration), and third omniscient as well as introducing the third person cinematic narration. He presents a clear preference for third limited with varying levels of penetration while challenging authors to try the others and warning of the pitfalls they might encounter in doing so. This book makes me want to attend any seminar or workshop that Card ever puts on. I am yet to discover any, but this book is better than any I have attended by anyone else. If you have trouble with characters, read this book. If you are good with characters, read it twice.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliance and Simplicity
Review: Characters and Viewpoint (Elements of Fiction Writing), and How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy (Writer's Digest Genre Writing Series) are each invaluable, even if all you do is READ books! This is a master storyteller, divulging clear, concise strategies for creating literature - which is something he does as well as any writer alive (and most of the dead ones!). Both books offer brilliant insight, whether you write Speculative Fiction (Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror) or not! There should NOT be an English or Literature classroom without multiple copies of both! No exaggeration, these books are the genome of great writing. Card writes in a way that engages, even in these nonfiction works. It will stretch your own Viewpoint, and possibly your Character as well - all without ever condescending, or transcending the reader's understanding. I wish i weren't so notorious for exaggeration, because these books changed me as a writer, as a reader, and yes, along with his other works - as a human. Writer's Digest is to be praised for the presentation of these books, and for bringing two essential masterpieces to the writer's tool belt. (I just love a maimed metaphor, don't you?)
Rating:
Summary: You'll need no other book on Chacters!
Review: First off, this book is very readable. I have now read two books by Orson Scott Card, both non-fiction, and they were both very enjoyable. Which is a good thing - who wants to take advice on writing when their writing is horribly boring? More importantly, this is perhaps the only book you'll ever need on writing characters. Not only does it talk about characters, but it talks about your story too.. For instance, how much characterisation is needed within your story may depend on the type of story you are writing. I was also pleased to note that from his chapter on creating humorous characters - The Comic Character, Controlled Disbelief - I was already doing the right thing. What a relief! Another part of this book I really enjoyed were the two chapters How To Raise the Emotional Stakes, and What Should We Feel About the Characters? Very enjoyable!
Rating: 
Summary: A dry and uninspiring text book
Review: Having enjoyed Description by Monica Wood, I decided to buy another book in the series. This time I was out of luck. I'm about half way through, and I'm not only ready to burn this text book at the stake, but also pledge that I will never read an Orson Scott Card book. Okay, that's somewhat of an exaggeration, but I'm certainly not sure that I'm going to finish this one. The simplest way to characterise the faults of this book is to say that its major fault is lack of character. Its suggestions seem trite, and its examples stereotypical and boring. It's not that the book lacks any worthwhile ideas. For example, the discussion of how characterisation is affected by the kind of story (milieu, idea, character or event) is interesting. But it all degenerates into a very formulaic treatment of characters. The author frequently resorts to reminding us readers that even though he's giving all those recipes, we shouldn't treat character creation in this way, and these reminders just enforce the feeling that this is a recipe book. A good example is in Chapter 9, which discusses of the hero. To illustrate how finding the unique quality in a person allows you to break a creative block, the author describes an everyday person named Pete, a name he uses throughout the examples to describe different people, which, to me, is again a problem of characterisation (these are different people; the least he could do was find different names for them). Mr. Card develops a trait we might care about and puts some flesh into the story based on it. But has there been a story there in the first place? When Pete's "story" is first described, there is nothing there. It's a story about someone who doesn't get promoted. Is this a story? What is it trying to say? Even after Mr. Card develops the character and some plot, the "story" still has nothing to say. It's just an exercise in creating a character. We could now find something for the story to say, but shouldn't it be the other way round? Are you writing a story because you care about something, want to give a certain feeling, want to share something that you thought of or dreamt of? Or are you just trying to write a story, any story? Perhaps if you're trying to write for money, that's the way to do it. Maybe that's how Orson Scott Card writes. I have a problem with this. So sure, it may be that going back to a character can get you out of a writer's block. It probably helped the author in his own stories. And I'd much rather read how it helped in a real story than have a textbook example of how this might help. The bare bones textbook example just doesn't work. You find yourself looking at a skeleton, and asking where the meat is. For me, this is the major difference between Orson Scott Card's book and Monica Wood's book. Monica Wood's examples provide some descriptions that may be too over the top for me, with a lot of colour and different senses, and metaphors. This is good, since it pulls me to new heights, and I can always tone this down for my own style. In a sense, Monica Wood's examples embody the descriptive concepts she tries to teach. Orson Scott Card, on the other hand, provides a dry text book with examples that won't belong in any real story. As I said in the review of Description, that book gave me inspiration to make a character more complex. Mr. Card's book doesn't inspire me at all. In that sense, a book about description was more helpful for my characters than a book about characters. It could be that this book is helpful for writers who are truly beginners. It might help writers avoid some errors, and give them ideas on how to construct characters (in a formulaic manner), but I believe that a twenty page article could have taught all those concepts with as much success. For me, it is too much work having to plod through those basic ideas and examples, just to find a new idea here and there. But maybe that's just because I'm writing for fun, and not trying to make it into a profession. With a profession, you expect to occasionally suffer. It adds character.
Rating:
Summary: A very good premier on writing.
Review: I bought this book to see if I could figure out how to write a story. I have not completed the story yet, but this book has helped, and I had a lot of fun reading it.
Even if you are not planning to write, it explains why some stories just feel wrong (sometimes I could notice something was amiss when reading something or watching a movie, but could not explain exactly what until now) and how to prepare the reader for what is coming in the right way.
It increases its pace progressively, so that the last chapters are more information packed than the first. It is impressive how Card rewrites a few lines and completely changes the effect while keeping the same idea.
The book refers to two movies a couple of times: Beverly Hills Cop (1984) and The Princess Bride (1987). The book was initially published in 1988, so they were fairly recent. I'd recommend watching the movies before reading the book. You don't have to, but the book would have been more enjoyable for me if I had had the stories fresh.
Rating:
Summary: Best Book On Writing That I Have Read
Review: I have been struggling to write fiction for some time now. I have read countless books on style, character, dialogue, grammar, and so forth. Then, I finally purchased Characters & Viewpoint. Wow, what a great book. I have learned so much from this book. Orson presents the material in a very intelligent manner. He has so many insights and yes, rules and directions. Well, at least guidelines and then he supports these guidelines with logical arguments. This has been the most insightful book that I have read on writing and I am very much looking forward to reading some of his other work. This book has made Orson a mentor to me and I am sure that a little bit of him will be in everything that I write.
Rating:
Summary: Best Book On Writing That I Have Read
Review: I have been struggling to write fiction for some time now. I have read countless books on style, character, dialogue, grammar, and so forth. Then, I finally purchased Characters & Viewpoint. Wow, what a great book. I have learned so much from this book. Orson presents the material in a very intelligent manner. He has so many insights and yes, rules and directions. Well, at least guidelines and then he supports these guidelines with logical arguments. This has been the most insightful book that I have read on writing and I am very much looking forward to reading some of his other work. This book has made Orson a mentor to me and I am sure that a little bit of him will be in everything that I write.
Rating: 
Summary: Gave me more than I hoped for
Review: I'll just be upfront: I love this book. It gave me just the kind of information I needed on making great characters and chosing the right viewpoint and penetration. As an added bonus it also gives you a few pointers on good storytelling. Basically, it's real theme is "how to thrill the reader". The book is filled with excellent examples as well, which really illustrates the point the author wants to make. I have made a dozen pages of notes... The only minor nag is the continuous recycling of the character names Pete and Nora in all self-written examples! Eventhough the characters themselves fulfil different roles in each example, their names are always the same. Of course, it takes a great book to even notice this slight hiccup.
Rating:
Summary: Thought provoking
Review: If you are dedicated to treating your characters with the dignity they deserve, then Card's book is the one for you.
My experiences can be divided into two categories - the 'Wow, That's Exactly What I Need' category, and the 'Store in the Subconscious and It'll Pounce on Me Later' category. Either way, this is great writing fuel.
Above all, I was surprised by how many of his tips were so unconventional. Case in point would have to be the chapter on whether or not you need to delve deep into characterization at all. Card suggests that deep, engaging, three-dimensional characters may not always be what the reader is looking for if their goal is to focus on action or milieu...
This book is light on cliches and heavy on experience. Is it good advice? I'd suggest picking up any book from the row of Orson Scott Card titles in the book store. The answer is printed in black and white.
Rating:
Summary: All you want to know and more
Review: Orson Scott Card, a well-known, successful sci-fi writer, master of the craft of characterization, gives us with this book one of the few writing-reference volumes that flawlessly delivers everything it promises and more. Whether you want to write fiction of any genre, or scripts and plays, and whether you are a beginner or an experienced writer, this book has tons of essential, useful and solid information to offer.
Written in a clear, engaging style and organized in a user-friendly format this thoroughly informative volume is divided into three parts (Inventing Characters, Constructing Characters and Performing Characters) that cover everything you need to know to breathe life and believability into your characters and mold them to accurately fit your story, including among others:
*The factors that make a good character
*How to come up with ideas for your characters
*How different types of stories relate to the characters
*How to give emotion to the characters
*The different types of characters
*Transformations in the lives of characters
*The pros and cons of each point-of-view
The author's suggested exercises reinforced by the excellent examples that illustrate his exposition are helpful additions that allow the reader to immediately apply the lessons learned. Humorous anecdotes and important advice on general storytelling (sources for ideas, plot twists, story structure) are an added bonus.
With this book, you will not only learn how to create great, memorable characters, but you will also attain a greater appreciation of fiction, whether in book or film format, by gaining understanding of the processes required in all aspects of characterization.
With a great binding, sure to resist constant rereads and quick consultations, and a modest price this book is the best value on the market for the advice offered.
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