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lflwriter, August 30, 2007 (view all comments by lflwriter)
Characters & Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card

Reading this book was like eating soup that had bursts of flavor in it. To find the flavor, you had to eat a lot of soup that was tasteless. After reading this book, I felt it was suited more for the novice who knows little to nothing about the structure of a book and developing the characters in that book. A novice in my opinion is someone who wants to be published and famous but wasn’t willing to put in the time reading while they were young a to learn the literary skills taught in English literature in high school/college. It is my opinion that this book digresses and has too much fluff and could have been written in fifty to seventy-five pages instead of the one hundred and seventy-three that it is. Although the book offers valuable insight into the development of characterization, it did not need to run on as long as it did. When I read Creating Character Emotions by Ann Hood, it didn’t take long to finish the book. Hood’s book was packed with information and examples and did not digress like Card’s book did. On the other hand, it took me five times as long to read Card’s book because of the digressions. However, I do not think that Hood’s book was written for the novice. Card’s book takes the reader by the hand and leads him/her gently toward an understanding of developing characterization along with plot and other structural elements that are required to write a story that has a chance to see print. Hood’s book, on the other hand, leaps in and roars ahead without taking the time to develop the necessary skills. I felt that Hood’s book took for granted that the reader would know the things that Card teaches them in his book. I have four more books on characterization by four other authors and I plan to read them all. I know what my main weakness is in developing a narrative--characterization. After reading Hood and Card, I feel it is important to have a diverse perspective on the topic of developing characterization. One book may not be enough to understand what it takes to bring people to life on the flat page filled with black print.

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Product Details

ISBN:

9780898793079

Author:

Card, Orson Scott

Publisher:

Writer's Digest Books

Location:

Cincinnati, Ohio :

Subject:

General

Subject:

Fiction

Subject:

Authorship

Subject:

Publishing

Subject:

Creative writing

Subject:

Composition & Creative Writing - Fiction

Subject:

Technique

Subject:

Characters and characteristics in literature

Subject:

Point of view

Edition Number:

1st ed.

Series:

Elements of Fiction Writing

Series Volume:

1233

Publication Date:

c1988

Binding:

Trade Cloth

Language:

English

Illustrations:

Yes

Pages:

182 p.

Dimensions:

9.32x6.22x.78 in. .89 lbs.