Characters and Viewpoint (Elements of Fiction Writing)

Rating:
Summary: A Probing Look Into Character and Viewpoint
Review: The book is divided into three parts: Inventing Characters, Constructing Characters, and Performing Characters. Card discusses a wide range of related topics: factors that make or break a character, the different types of stories (Milieu, Idea, Character, Event), how to write emotional scenes, transformations in the lives of characters, show and tell, and the benefits and drawbacks of each point-of-view (POV)---among others. Each chapter flows with a conversational, succinct style, leaving the reader with no excuse for misunderstanding. The final chapters on (POV) were well worth the money I paid for the book. Card explores POV deeply, deeper than any other writer of writer's books that I've read. Between paragraphs, I thought about my own stories and how they grossly lack POV unity (now back to the computer to revise). He uses illustrations, draw by Janice Card, to clarify his points (not that he needed to). After reading the last chapter, I set the book down and thought, "that's a damned good book." It's plain that Card loves fiction and has a thorough comprehension of what good fiction is; this book radiates it fully.

Rating:
Summary: Not much on POV
Review: The book was average. I actually wanted something on POV but Card, although I understand he's a good sci-fi writer, barely touches upon the profound nature of POV which (from a literary POV) can be tricky. The Characters section (most of the book) went over all the obvious stuff. Again, there was no in-depth examination of fictional characters, and nothing above and beyond the rudimentary steps and formula to creating a character. Then again, after reading several other how-to write books, maybe I was expecting too much.

Rating:
Summary: Exactly what i needed
Review: This book was pretty much exactly what i needed to help add some depth to my characters. It wasnt that this book taught me anything new--because if it does than you just dont know enough to be a writer--but it by reading it it forced me to think about the aspects of my characters in various different ways. OSCard makes you question your characters from so many different angles that (just by trying to answer the questions) you are bound to give your characters the depth that each of us has.

In summation, if you have any experience in writing this book should give you the guildlines to making all your characters wholly believable people.

Rating:
Summary: ...
Review: This is the first book of this sort that I've read. While it had it's negative points, it caused me to think about certain aspects of writing that I hadn't to that point. It helped me to understand why I liked what I liked about the last story I wrote, and why there were parts I didn't like.

Writing takes work and this book won't make it easier (no book will, I suspect), however, it'll get you to think about how to make your characters and story stronger.

If you've already taken english classes on the topic or attended seminars or read other books, there is a good chance you don't need this book. However, it does come from a nice lay viewpoint which I found helpful.

Rating:
Summary: dated
Review: When this book came out, it was one of the few to go beyond the basics and to do it in a clear, useable way. Today, a number of books have gone beyond this book on the problem of characterization, so the book is dated. And since the book is very brief, it is not as in-depth as the title makes it appear.
The discussion of point of view follows the all-too-familiar pattern of listing the possibilities and discussing each one. First person and third person are the two main categories, with omniscient, limited omniscient, and shifting as subheads. Only a few words about the advantages of each and these are the same found in most introductory books on fiction writing. You want to use the most effective point of view, so you'll need to get another book to tell you which those are and to show you why. Still, if you've read only an introductory book on fiction writing, this might be a good next step.