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azureyoshi's review against another edition
4.0
An enjoyable read that covered the basic tenets of what makes a compelling character arc.
herrmannhimself's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
lastpaige111's review
5.0
Most of Weiland’s books on writing are meant for the novice. This one stands out as a guide for more seasoned writers of fiction. I’m gaining great insights about my own writing by referring to it daily as I revise a first draft.
drblockbooks's review against another edition
5.0
This book is a great overview of the different kinds of character arcs -- positive change, negative change, and flat -- you can use in fiction writing. The book is chock full of illustrative examples from well-known books and movies.
I think reading this book will be most beneficial to writers who have never studied character arcs before or have only examined them briefly. This book will also be helpful if you have a completed novel but find yourself thinking, "Something just isn't working." It might be you need to revise your character arc(s).
If you've studied creative writing or have read your fair share of craft books, this book likely won't be as helpful. However, the multiple, but brief examples given in each chapter can be helpful even if you've already studied character arcs. Several of the examples triggered ideas for me about how to make my current work-in-progress better.
In short, I strongly recommend this book to novice and intermediate writers. More advanced writers should look at the TOC and decide if the book will be worth their time.
I think reading this book will be most beneficial to writers who have never studied character arcs before or have only examined them briefly. This book will also be helpful if you have a completed novel but find yourself thinking, "Something just isn't working." It might be you need to revise your character arc(s).
If you've studied creative writing or have read your fair share of craft books, this book likely won't be as helpful. However, the multiple, but brief examples given in each chapter can be helpful even if you've already studied character arcs. Several of the examples triggered ideas for me about how to make my current work-in-progress better.
In short, I strongly recommend this book to novice and intermediate writers. More advanced writers should look at the TOC and decide if the book will be worth their time.
wafflefonfabre's review
3.0
A bit meandering and spends waaaaay toooo much time on the basic postive change arc. Too many examples but does summarize arc types well enough.
martinezcorno's review
5.0
Prompted me to drastically change the films I'm working on at the moment.
elizaed's review
3.0
Some decent information but so much padding with blank or almost blank pages that the actual content is much thinner than it appears.