So, if you read my regular blog, you know that I do a fair amount of book reviews. Well, besides loving fiction I also read a lot of writing reference books. I've never taken a creative writing class or anything beyond an English 101 and Business Writing college course. Everything I know about writing (and a tiny bit about publishing) I've learned from books. And I have a fair amount of them.
So I figured, since this is a writing blog I could use this space to review some writing books. As a note, I've gotten like 80% of my writing books from the Writer's Digest Shop*. It's a great resource. :)
And today we will start off with a review of Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint by Nancy Kress
5 STARS
*Images and book information from Writer's Digest Shop
The indispensable Write Great Fiction series continues with an indepth look at three of the most important tools in the writer's craft: character, emotion and viewpoint. With the tips and techniques in this book, you will learn how to:
Create compelling characters that readers believe in
Write scenes that deliver an unforgettable emotional impact
Distinguish among the many different kinds of viewpoint, and choose the one which is right for your story
Each chapter is filled with examples drawn from the work of successful writers, along with action-and-results excercises that help you take your lessons to the keyboard.
Nancy Kress is the author of 16 novels and three story collections, as well as Writer's Digest'sDynamic Characters. Her short fiction has won three Nebulas and a Hugo. In addition to writing the fiction column for Writer's Digest magazine, Nancy often teaches writing at universities. She lives in Silver Springs, Maryland.
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This book is part of the Write Great Fiction series. I bought the whole series a couple years ago at a great price and I've been working my way through them (life makes me a slow reader sometimes).
As the title states, this book is all about characters. Kress covers a lot of topics in this. From choosing and defining your characters, to properly expressing their emotions, to deciding what kind of point of view is best for your story.
What I love best about this book, and the others in the series, is all the exercises at the end of each chapter. There's at least 5 per chapter and they include activities that have you building your own characters and ones that have you evaluating characters from other books. It really makes you think.
This book is meant to teach and it does a great job of that. And thus, 5 stars. :)
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Well I hope you've enjoyed reading this. If you have any suggestions of good books about the art and craft of writing, feel free to leave me a comment here, or on Facebook or Twitter.
Have a Happy Wednesday!
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