Creating Personas

Rating:
Summary: Somewhat helpful, mostly disappointing.
Review: My first complaint: while I realize this was obviously a low-budget publication, someone could have bothered to proofread the book. It is so riddled with typos, misspellings, and other errors that I got a headache reading it. For instance, she insists on being pretentious and spelling "role" with the French carat over the "o," which is incorrect in English. She also consistently refers to the Society for Creative Anachronism as the Society for Creative Anachronisms. Since she implies she is part of the Society, I would think she could verify the actual name.

Second, I found the book lacked organization. It feels more as if a veteran improvisational actor is rambling about her experiences and less like instruction. Topics lead from one to another in tangential fashion, making searching for one topic difficult, if not impossible.

Third, the book was far too wide a scope. Ms. Crockett attempts to aim this book at faire actors, fantasy/sci-fi roleplayers, SCAdians, historical re-enactors, and anyone else who plays an improvisational character. Adding to her lack of organization, she occasionally remembers to address each situation, but often concentrates on one or another, making it frustrating to read for any specific situation. I was also disappointed as I had heard it recommended as a faire reference, and yet found very little regarding the faire venue in particular.

Why, then, didn't I give it one star? I did find some of the advice offered helpful. She suggests a number of places to find information about characters and provides useful exercises and questions to ask yourself to develop your character. If I hadn't had to fight through the poor writing, I would have appreciated the content more.

Do not waste your time. Get advice from veterans, reliable Internet sources, and other books. Not hers.

Rating:
Summary: Somewhat helpful, mostly disappointing.
Review: My first complaint: while I realize this was obviously a low-budget publication, someone could have bothered to proofread the book. It is so riddled with typos, misspellings, and other errors that I got a headache reading it. For instance, she insists on being pretentious and spelling "role" with the French carat over the "o," which is incorrect in English. She also consistently refers to the Society for Creative Anachronism as the Society for Creative Anachronisms. Since she implies she is part of the Society, I would think she could verify the actual name.

Second, I found the book lacked organization. It feels more as if a veteran improvisational actor is rambling about her experiences and less like instruction. Topics lead from one to another in tangential fashion, making searching for one topic difficult, if not impossible.

Third, the book was far too wide a scope. Ms. Crockett attempts to aim this book at faire actors, fantasy/sci-fi roleplayers, SCAdians, historical re-enactors, and anyone else who plays an improvisational character. Adding to her lack of organization, she occasionally remembers to address each situation, but often concentrates on one or another, making it frustrating to read for any specific situation. I was also disappointed as I had heard it recommended as a faire reference, and yet found very little regarding the faire venue in particular.

Why, then, didn't I give it one star? I did find some of the advice offered helpful. She suggests a number of places to find information about characters and provides useful exercises and questions to ask yourself to develop your character. If I hadn't had to fight through the poor writing, I would have appreciated the content more.

Do not waste your time. Get advice from veterans, reliable Internet sources, and other books. Not hers.