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Rating: 
Summary: Lists Galore!
Review: 1) I love lists and lists of things to reference when I need them and this book fit the bill.2) If you are as uneducated as me, you'll rely heavily on a thesaurus to help understand many of the descriptive words presented here 3) I needed to learn Microsoft Access Database for a job and decided to convert this book into a software format. The database is HUGE!! I can't believe the amount of work that went into creating this book. More choices for character tweaking than you can shake a stick at. This book gives you options! 4) It is a reference book on my desk next to Timetables of History and Elements of Style.
Rating:
Summary: Good Guideline to Start a Solid Character Base
Review: After finishing this book, I found myself brainstorming for character ideas. I had the feeling this was meant to help make an existing character more believable or used as a reference to get character ideas. I found the thesaurus to be a handy tool for brainstorming and writing exercises. Though some of the thesaurus phrases might seem cliched (particularly expressing emotion), most of it gave me better insight into character portrayal. Another useful aspect of the book is the interviews from a panel of successful writers for their advice on various topics. I found the different point of views to be helpful. When I went back to do some editting, it helped me to focus on possible troublespots. The best part about the book is the amount of character traits and flaws available. They had everything from phobias to hobbies, with brief explanations where things might get confusing. I didn't care too much for the clothing section, since a lot of it is vague, but it did point me in the right direction for dressing up my characters. If you are stuck on character building, or want to flesh out existing characters, this is a good book to start out with. Four stars for usefulness and the many times I went back and used it.
Rating: 
Summary: A book no writer should be without
Review: Ask anyone who is someone in the writing field and they'll tell you: one the most (if not "the") most important aspects of fiction writing, is the way you, as a writer, present your characters. Well, if you are among the evergrowing community of writers, you simply can't do without this book. This is very much a Bible for character building and I can certainly guarantee that you'll come up with darn good profiles and a very organized outline to begin any story. The book is divided into three sections. The first one is a transcript of a discussion among six currently published authors and their advice on character building. The second part is my favorite in the book: a "character questionnaire", that lets you build an extremely detailed profile for your main characters in a novel, so that you don't make any mistakes in the narrative. Seems very much as detailed as an FBI file must be, including everything from name, height, eye color; to political ideas, opinions on abortion, favorite dress-code and restaurant, etc. The third part is the thesaurus, geared specifically towards characterization: body attributes, foreign names, types of nose, etc. Keep this volume beside your word processor. Use it often. It's a tool that could make all the difference, especially if you are a begginning writer.
Rating:
Summary: A book no writer should be without
Review: Ask anyone who is someone in the writing field and they'll tell you: one the most (if not "the") most important aspects of fiction writing, is the way you, as a writer, present your characters. Well, if you are among the evergrowing community of writers, you simply can't do without this book. This is very much a Bible for character building and I can certainly guarantee that you'll come up with darn good profiles and a very organized outline to begin any story. The book is divided into three sections. The first one is a transcript of a discussion among six currently published authors and their advice on character building. The second part is my favorite in the book: a "character questionnaire", that lets you build an extremely detailed profile for your main characters in a novel, so that you don't make any mistakes in the narrative. Seems very much as detailed as an FBI file must be, including everything from name, height, eye color; to political ideas, opinions on abortion, favorite dress-code and restaurant, etc. The third part is the thesaurus, geared specifically towards characterization: body attributes, foreign names, types of nose, etc. Keep this volume beside your word processor. Use it often. It's a tool that could make all the difference, especially if you are a begginning writer.
Rating:
Summary: Mostly For New Writers
Review: I write in my free time, although it's not a professional aspiration, and I think that this is a very good and useful guide to developing characters. However, I would caution about the character descriptions, as some of them are very overdone. Other of the lists are useful.
Rating:
Summary: A Writer's Bible for Characters!
Review: If you are a beginning writer, you NEED this book. I've critiqued a lot of manuscripts, and without exception, the authors could benefit from this book and did, once I suggested they buy it. Of the three writing books I keep beside my computer, this is the most used. I love it!
Rating: 
Summary: Good for checking yourself
Review: If you really need this book to create characters for stories, then you're in trouble. Any character created solely from this book would be robotic, fake, and one dimensional. I bought this book because it looked like something that could keep me honest, so to speak, to make sure that I wasn't missing anything in the creation of my own characters.
There is an extensive character questionnaire in the book that can be useful if you want to test yourself, to see how well you know your own characters. But you shouldn't use it to create a character. Characters come alive in your mind and in your soul, not on a form.
Rating:
Summary: Mostly For New Writers
Review: Informative, but only skims the surface really. For new writers, this is a good beginning resource. But for more experienced writers, this will not be of much help as it really does not go too deeply into its claim of Building Believable Characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Well
Review: On one hand it's good for new writers and on a rare instance it MIGHT help a writer that knows what he or she is doing but that is unlikely to occur. The character questionaire I use on occassion but that's really the only good thing I've found about it. Most of the rest I already knew about. Personally, if you want a good book on characterization, read "Characters and Viewpoint" by Orson Scott Card
Rating:
Summary: Useful but limited
Review: This is a wonderful book for nailing down a charcter's appearance and their basic personality. I loved the thesaraus of noses, eye color, etc. The personality index can really be a motivational tool. However, the facial expression section is at times simply laughable. "heart wrung with pity" is simply terrible and "lump in one's throat" is older than the hills. Avoid copying anything from this section. Another complaint is the accent section, as the reviewer below pointed out. A writer's book I once read said that accents are to be avoided "as they are not read so much as translated". I completely agree with this opinion. "Oi Loik to avoid accents, mite" All in all, buy this when worrying about very general character creation, it can be a real help
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