The Craft of Character: How to create deep and engaging characters your audience will never forget (Screen and fiction writing craft)

“The most complete and comprehensive guide to character I've ever read." Adam CroftCharacter is at the heart of every story. We love stories because we fall in love with characters, we want to see what happens to them and we want to see them experience hope and despair.International Emmy nominated writer, Mark Boutros, offers a guide to creating characters who are engaging, emotionally driven and memorable. With experience as a screenwriter, novelist, creative writing teacher and mentor, Mark shares a mixture of theory and exercises to get you thinking about the questions to have in your mind during character creation.A lot of stories are perfectly functional, hitting all the right beats, but often fall short due to a thin or obvious character. Problems people think are related to plot are often symptoms of a deeper issue with the characters. Mark highlights what is at the core of character, the importance of motivation, trauma, obstacles and how every little detail can enrich an experience for an audience and ultimately make people care.How do you get to know people? By asking questions and getting to know them so you move past the shallow. Do the same during character development and your story will be so much more engaging for it.Each chapter focuses on an aspect important to character development and ends with exercises so you can apply the concepts to your work.The book includes:Goals, desires, lessonsStakes to your character’s goalCharacter flawsDeveloping your character’s voice and world viewGenerating truthful obstaclesHow to write anti-heroes and compelling villainsCharacter and personality traitsCommon mistakes in character writingCharacter researchA character questionnaireThe majority of the ideas originate from the author’s screenwriting experience, but they apply to all forms of story, whether it be fiction writing or playwriting, because the focus is on what really makes a character stand out and memorable.The job of the writer is to deliver an emotional experience. Character is the heart of that. This is an invaluable tool for beginner and experienced writers.Praise for The Craft of Character:“Would 100% recommend not only for beginners, but also for experienced writers looking to get to know their characters better. A bit like writer-character therapy.” Amazon review“Both the chapters and the exercises are easy to understand and get through. Mark Boutros’ clearly knows his stuff and seems happy to be able to help the reader, rather than becoming lecturing and elitist. The structure of the book also means that it is easy to dip back into, when you come across a specific problem, and as such it is a great little reference book, which any aspiring storyteller would benefit from.” Amazon review“Normally, I find myself arguing with the author of craft books, but here I would say 90% of what I read were things I either found helpful, or flat out agreed with whole heartedly and just needed a reminder on why these things are important. The exercises were a excellent touch, especially as someone who is teaching writing, it gave me ideas on what to do for my students.” Amazon review Read more