Scan barcode
Reviews
The Art of Character: Creating Memorable Characters for Fiction, Film, and TV by David Corbett
thechanelmuse's review
5.0
Writers possess only four tools: research, experience, empathy, and imagination. Fortunately, whole worlds can be built from them.
This is such an excellent read. There's so much information and useful exercises to take in. If you're not into annotating books, you def need to keep a notebook handy for note taking, or else you'll have to invest in a bunch of post-it flags.
This is such an excellent read. There's so much information and useful exercises to take in. If you're not into annotating books, you def need to keep a notebook handy for note taking, or else you'll have to invest in a bunch of post-it flags.
dako's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
3.5
3.5 ⭐
I found most of it interesting, especially part 3 and part 4. However, I found a long portion in the middle kind of useless, as it focussed on finding your characters favourites movies, songs, habits, etc. It reminded me of those endless lists of random preferences (bath vs shower? moon vs sun? forests vs beaches?) you could fill out on tumblr circa 2014, and I think they're a total waste of time.
I often complain that these kinds of books don't provide enough examples, but this one provides too much. The author sometimes gives a (long) summary of the entire plot of a movie just to give you a minor advice like "you should know what your character likes to do in their free time". I felt like he took 3 pages to make a point he could have made in 3 paragraphs most of the time. But this was mostly an issue towards the middle of the book.
I found most of it interesting, especially part 3 and part 4. However, I found a long portion in the middle kind of useless, as it focussed on finding your characters favourites movies, songs, habits, etc. It reminded me of those endless lists of random preferences (bath vs shower? moon vs sun? forests vs beaches?) you could fill out on tumblr circa 2014, and I think they're a total waste of time.
I often complain that these kinds of books don't provide enough examples, but this one provides too much. The author sometimes gives a (long) summary of the entire plot of a movie just to give you a minor advice like "you should know what your character likes to do in their free time". I felt like he took 3 pages to make a point he could have made in 3 paragraphs most of the time. But this was mostly an issue towards the middle of the book.
slowshows's review
yes it did take me literal months to finish this (my own lack of ability to read anything, nothing to do with the book) but i found it to be very helpful and insightful. if you are a writer and want to find new ways to shape and get to know your characters, this book has some really creative and stimulating exercises
allisonjpmiller's review
4.0
Incredibly helpful. The first two chapters had me worried that this was going to be more of an abstract treatise than a practical guide (Corbett's prose can sound a bit pretentious off the bat), but as I got further in I started scrutinizing my own characters so much that the margins were soon overflowing with hasty scribbles. I even filled up the four blank pages in the back of the book with walls of text – I just had to think things through with a pen. Certain sections made me panic a bit too much: I would think "Oh no! My story is missing this KEY ELEMENT" only to realize that yes, that element exists, I'd just forgotten about it – or failed to draw it out. But that's what made the book so invaluable: it really forced me to step back and assess things as objectively as possible (even though I know that's always an oxymoron when you're talking about your own work).
Since so much of the character building process comes from understanding how people tick, Corbett naturally delves into some more philosophical questions about human nature, and I found myself appreciating his point of view more often than not. I especially liked what he had to say about politics, religion, and the other hot-button issues that so commonly tangle people up, but are an inescapable part of who we are and why we behave the way we do. Judging the antagonists in your story prevents you from understanding them (as in life), and turns them into caricatures – you need to be willing to see the world through their eyes, as abhorrent as their actions or viewpoint might be to you. As Chesterton put it: "A good novel tells us the truth about people; a bad novel tells us the truth about its author."
Each chapter ends with a series of exercises, some of which were more helpful than others. But I definitely intend to return to a few of them once I'm in the revision stages of my own beastly manuscript (God help me).
Since so much of the character building process comes from understanding how people tick, Corbett naturally delves into some more philosophical questions about human nature, and I found myself appreciating his point of view more often than not. I especially liked what he had to say about politics, religion, and the other hot-button issues that so commonly tangle people up, but are an inescapable part of who we are and why we behave the way we do. Judging the antagonists in your story prevents you from understanding them (as in life), and turns them into caricatures – you need to be willing to see the world through their eyes, as abhorrent as their actions or viewpoint might be to you. As Chesterton put it: "A good novel tells us the truth about people; a bad novel tells us the truth about its author."
Each chapter ends with a series of exercises, some of which were more helpful than others. But I definitely intend to return to a few of them once I'm in the revision stages of my own beastly manuscript (God help me).
janejmorey's review
4.0
shoutout to my professor for making me read this!! I never even thought about being a film writer but this really opened my mind to the beauty of creating characters. this also helped me get a 97 on my screenplay lol
edencruz's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
jengennari's review
5.0
Really really great and useful! I found this such a great resource for the advanced writer looking to go to the next level.
Some good bits: "A character most predictably fascinates at precisely the moment you… permit her to defy your own and your audience’s expectation of what she might do. ... Explaining your character kills her."
"Dialogue must be rooted in character. It’s not about what the writer believes ought to be said or the reader or audience needs to know or what the story seems to require at this particular juncture, but what the characters in the black recesses of their hearts want or need to say."
"Voice incorporates style (diction and rhythm), worldview (choice of topic, time, setting, and approach to that subject matter), and attitude (blithely comic, bitterly satiric, ironic, tragic, nihilistic, fatalistic, philosophical, and so on). It's the expression of your unique humanity through words."
Some good bits: "A character most predictably fascinates at precisely the moment you… permit her to defy your own and your audience’s expectation of what she might do. ... Explaining your character kills her."
"Dialogue must be rooted in character. It’s not about what the writer believes ought to be said or the reader or audience needs to know or what the story seems to require at this particular juncture, but what the characters in the black recesses of their hearts want or need to say."
"Voice incorporates style (diction and rhythm), worldview (choice of topic, time, setting, and approach to that subject matter), and attitude (blithely comic, bitterly satiric, ironic, tragic, nihilistic, fatalistic, philosophical, and so on). It's the expression of your unique humanity through words."