Creating Characters: How to Build Story People

Creating Characters: How to Build Story People

<DIV><p><I>A jargon-free manual on the basics of developing interesting fictional characters</I></p><p>Vibrant, believable characters help drive a fictional story. Along with a clever plot, well-drawn characters make us want to continue reading a novel or finish watching a movie. In <I>Creating Characters</I>, Dwight V. Swain shows how writers can invent interesting characters and improve them so that they move a story along.</p><p>“The core of character,” he says in chapter 1, “lies in each individual story person’s ability to care about something; to feel implicitly or explicitly, that something is important.” Building on that foundation—the capacity to care—Swain takes the would-be writer step-by-step through the fundamentals of finding and developing “characters who turn you on.” This basic but thought-provoking how-to is a valuable tool for both the novice and the seasoned writer.</p></div>