Dynamic Characters

By Nancy Kress

• Publisher:   Writers Digest Books
• Number Of Pages:   272
• Publication Date:   2004-06-15
• ISBN-10 / ASIN:   1582973199
• ISBN-13 / EAN:   9781582973197

Product Description:

In this guide, award-winning author Nancy Kress explores the crucial relationship between characterization and plot, illustrating how vibrant, well-constructed characters act as the driving force behind an exceptional story.

In teaching the fundamentals of creating characters that will keep their readers spellbound, Kress utilizes:

* Dozens of excerpts from well-known fiction

* Enlightening exercises to help build strong characters starting from the outside-in

* Beginning chapters that focus on the physical elements that comprise a character, providing techniques for using external qualities to reflect personality

Building skill upon skill, writers blend these qualities with emotional and mental characterization, forming multidimensional characters that initiate exciting action, react to tense situations and power the plot from beginning to end.

Summary: I still refer back to it. A great guide! Rating: 5

I bought this copy over a year ago and it's already battered, dirty, and full of my side notes and highlighter markings. I'm a mediocre writer, so I thought I would give this book a try. It is really helpful. It's full of advice on developing your characters and that both experienced and inexperienced authors could use. One of the best things about this book (mind you, there are many), is it has an entire section called the "Intelligence Dossier" which can be used to keep track of all your character's past, personality, and mannerisms. It is really useful if you have many characters present and wish to make everyone developed completely. Some of the small things it keeps track of are grooming (how they take care of themselves), calm or fidgety, posture, where would she/he like to live, where do they live, how does this impact their decisions, how do they wake up, and fifteen more pages of important things to develop a character. The only downside to this is that you'll have to photocopy it out of the book which may be a bit difficult when considering the spine of the book. The author, Nancy Kress, also makes sure to include examples when describing something she believes needs elaborating. This is actually really helpful. For example, when discussing the importance of developing secondary characters as well as primary characters, she uses examples from The Great Gatsby. Even small facts that you wouldn't think of are included. Such as consistency in anti-heroes and unexpected villains, when it's okay to create characters out of living people, and using dialogue to develop characters further. This is a really helpful book. There is A LOT in here that I can't cover in a simple review. You're pretty much guaranteed to learn at least one fact from this book, and who knows, that one fact could change your career or improve your writing skills. Definitely give this book a shot.

Summary: Extremely helpful Rating: 5

Nancy Kress has done it again. She and Steven King has set me straight more than any others. A must read and a great reference book.

Summary: Dynamic Characters Rating: 5

Book in excellent condition. This is a good writers textbook. She really teaches you how to get into your characters head. To know them inside out befor you start forming your story around them. She gives you great insight into why you should know them as well as you know the person you live with...their manners, moods, likes, dislike will all have some sort of affect on how the handle the scene they find themselves in. I recommend that all writers take time to study this book.

Summary: A Must-Have for any Fiction Writer Rating: 5

Drag out the highlighters, get comfortable and go to work. This book is filled with valuable information and instruction on characterization and how to keep a story moving. It explains how your characters can either make or kill a plot and how a character you love can still be a dud. I recommend purchasing this book as opposed to getting it from your local library. There are things in this book that you will refer to again and again. The Intelligent Dossier itself is worth the price of it. Although it took me a bit of time to get through it (because I was highlighting and re-reading things), it was written with humor and a vast amount of examples. You can put the things you learn to work today. You may not want to finish the book because of the ideas you get but do yourself a favor and finish it. It is so worth it.

Summary: Do You Want to Write a book--read this Rating: 5

Book Review Dynamic Characters by Nancy Kress Dynamic Characters is the fourth book on Characterization I've read. I have two to go. I've been beating my head against the wall of traditional publishing for almost forty years. Instead of taking creative writing classes at UCLA, and other universities, I should have been reading books like this one. I would have learned so much more. When I recently started on this quest to improve my craft for developing characters in the fiction I write, I thought that all the books I was going to read would echo and reinforce each other. I was wrong in my assumptions. So far, each book stands alone just like characters in a novel are unique individuals. Nancy Kress does an admirable job in showing the connection between character and plot. The book is divided into three parts. Part one focuses on creating strong and believable characters through such externals as choosing descriptive details, naming the character, how to use dialogue and the pitfalls of basing a character on real people. She actually answered a question I had in chapter eight. Part two of this the internal workings of a character. Chapter thirteen was a learning experience for me, as I had never really considered it important to make your villain as real as your hero. Chapter fifteen provides a system for investigating your character in depth and Kress explains how such a system should be used. Part three focuses on character and plot and how both interact. I found chapter twenty-two specially rewarding when Kress addressed basing plots on real-life events--her advice was priceless. If I had read and studied this book decades ago, my writing would have been different and a lot of grief possibly avoided. Robert Frost wrote a poem about two paths in the woods and choosing which one to take. Forty years ago when I started to take creative writing classes instead of studying books like this one, I went the wrong way. I don't see how I can do justice in reviewing her book in such a way that it would convince all aspiring writers that you should buy this book and devour it, and then keep it on a shelf for support when needed. Once you have done that, don't stop there. Use [...] and the rating system it has to find other books that will teach and guide you to improve and polish your craft so the odds that the rejections slips that keep coming will stop and turn into acceptance. The books on the craft of writing I purchase were all highly rated and only one has disappointed me.

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