Rating: 
Summary: Great Book! Minor Quibbles about gender.
Review: This was an excellent writer's reference, which explores gender and roles in writing. Is your character a Charmer? Bad Boy? or Free spirit? Each section defines the Character's basic traits, likely occupation, and gives examples of character's which fall into each from television in film. Further, each section goes on to describe how characters interact with each other.My only quibble with this book, is the manner in which it is divided by gender. Some of the archetypes could easily be either male or female: such as Crusader, Nurturer, Free Spirit, Charmer, Warrior etc. But these were carefully slanted towards either feminine or masculine. For instance, I can easily see a male "Crusader" a female "Lost Soul" or a Female "Warrior" and yet this cross-gender archetypes were not explored. Perhaps in a later edition? Overall, an excellent reference, sure to delight!!
Rating:
Summary: What I wish I'd Had
Review: When I was taking Writer's Workshop back at Bowling Green, there was a lot of talk about characterization, but not a heck of a lot of solid advice on how to do it. As a "concrete" sort of guy, I like exact methods for accomplishing what I'm after. This book gives a very easy to understand, structured framework for keeping control of your characters and their conflicts. (If you're ambitious and want to see 'live' examples, check out the movies recommended in the back!) These archetypes are sort of like other archetypes lists you've probably seen. Ever since Jung, archetypes have been hot, but these are the first I've seen that help me create a good, believable, well-motivated character and keep him that way throuought 120 pages of script. If you want to write fiction of any sort, you really should read this book. Honest!
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