Writer's Guide to Character Traits

List Price: $16.99 Discount Price: $7.70

Customer Reviews:

Wealth of Information [Posted on 2008-02-06]
I really like this book. I think it is a great resource in addition to your own research in other avenues (online, other books, etc). There is a ton of information in it and it's very well put together. The author gives very nice and concise information on different personalities, traits, disorders, careers, family and group dynamics...and a lot more. It is definitely a worthwhile book to have in any writer's library.

Broke My Writer's Block [Posted on 2008-04-11]
I had just left my computer desk in sheer frustration, without adding a single word to the fictional novel I am trying to write. My problem is that the young characters in my book sound too much like the older, supposively more mature ones. About the third chapter, they began to lose their identities and personalities. I needed help! When I got on Amazon.com, I just typed in "writer's guide" and boom! There it was. This book, 'Writer's Guide to Character Traits' is written by a real psychologist, and the topics range from marriage problems to traits of an alcoholic spouse to schizophrenia. While not all of the information in the book pertains to my needs, I found chapter two particularly useful. It describes in detail the traits of 23 adult personality types--from the Extrovert who loves people to the weird and impractical Eccentic who works better alone. The special chapter on character traits in children ages newborn to 21 finally helped me turn the corner in distinguishing the differeces in the ages of my characters. Other useful sections: Traits of leaders, how to tell if someone is lying, the changes a couple goes through after the birth of their first child, and traits of a person falling in love. While I do admit that this book will not help everyone (eg. there is more modern day information such as what type of people would make good athletes, scientists, and astronauts than what type of people would be best suited as knights and kings of an ancient land) I am glad that I purchased it. Well worth the money, and I am well on my way to making the characters in my book more three-dimensional and real.

Limited... [Posted on 2008-04-20]
Okay, you already have a character in mind, you know he's crazy by any number of trait markers that would be obvious to a six year old... let's say he gets drunk and falls down the basement stairs every weekend.

Now, you want to put a name on it and come up with the plausible cause/effect chain of events that got him there, right? And you think you can find the answer in a book, right?

If you've read Lajos Egri, you know it's not about the author/writer talking thru characters - it's about the characters taking for themselves. If you're not hearing voices in your ears and visualizing dialogue, sequencing, and scene imagery during character development, a book won't help write the novel, screenplay, or stageplay.

Interview your character - when he's drunk, and then again when he's sober. Put him in a corner and make him tell you why he pulls the stunts he does, demand the truth - accurate truth. Go hot and cold - good cop, bad cop... you want to see him in every light and dark place he will live in your story.

Once you have it all in the character profile, then go to the book to see if you missed anything; if necessary, interview him again. Psychology is but one component available to view the human condition - and it is most certainly not the last word.

Sometimes, you can get more psychology from reading one chapter of Kurt Vonnegut, than any ten reference books.

You might find The Mask of Sanity an interesting read (see Wiki)... there's a PDF out on WWW, somewhere.

I sent Writer's Guide back and ordered: Psychoanalytic Diagnosis: Understanding Personality Structure in the Clinical Process - by Nancy McWilliams.

Amazon was great thru the return process - went down like a three foot putt. Thx Amazon.

Shortcuts to research - but the information provided is a shortcut itself [Posted on 2008-05-18]
I wish I'd given more attention to the reviews that weren't positive.

The information in this book is comprehensive but cursory, and it wouldn't take very much work on a writer's part to find the exact same information by doing a few google searches, or checking out a more thorough book at their library drawn from the psychology section.

Here's the bottom line: if you use the information presented to create your entire character, you will not sell a single book. you will have a book littered with stereotypes, some of which will be dead wrong. I've already returned the book, and the two examples that caught my eye (examples of incorrect information) have escaped me.

Writers are supposed to be keen observers of the human condition. If you're not, why are you writing? Plots don't make stories, characters make stories, and the more complex and unpredictable the character, the more realistic your fiction will be.

If you're determined to buy this book, do so knowing that this is only a springboard. You'll have to do more work.

Wikipedia is the perfect place to "start" research. [Posted on 2008-07-28]
Consider for a moment Wikipedia; the much criticized and much debated online encyclopedia. Writers who respect the research process express concern and often hatred of this online information source. Until, they understand and accept its primary purpose. Wikipedia is the perfect place to "start" research.

Think of this book as the perfect writing companion to assist you during the sketch of the story to be replaced by authoritative research after the completion of the first draft. Why slow down the initial drafting process or outline to look up the fundamental details of how it feels to be the middle child?

The reality is that there just isn't a single book out there than you can rely on for complete character development. It is conceivable that you could accumulate an entire shelf of character development guides and still feel that something is missing. In fact, I find building a library is a good way to completely avoid writing altogether. (The solution is to take a deep breath and start writing without all the answers.)

Check out these additional character development books after reading this fantastic book:

- Characters and Viewpoint (Elements of Fiction Writing) by Orson Scott Card

- Write Great Fiction: Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint by Nancy Kress

- Getting into Character: Seven Secrets a Novelist Can Learn from Actors by Brandilyn Collins

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