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Nail Your Novel: Bring Characters to Life
How do you create characters who keep readers hooked? How do you write the opposite sex? Teenagers? Believable relationships? Historical characters? Enigmatic characters? Plausible antagonists and chilling villains? How do you understand a character whose life is totally unlike your own? How do you write characters for dystopias? How do you make dialogue sing? When can you let the reader intuit what the characters are feeling and when should you spell it out?
Roz Morris is a bestselling ghostwriter and book doctor, and a literary author in her own right. She has mined 20 years' worth of writing, editing and critiquing experience to create this book. It contains all the pitfalls and sticky points for writers, laid out as a set of discussions that are easy to dip into. And it wouldn't be a Nail Your Novel book without a good dose of games, exercises and questionnaires to help you populate a novel from scratch.
Whether you write a straightforward story-based genre or literary fiction, Bring Characters to Life will show you how to create people who enthrall readers - and make you want to tell stories.
Roz Morris is a bestselling ghostwriter and book doctor, and a literary author in her own right. She has mined 20 years' worth of writing, editing and critiquing experience to create this book. It contains all the pitfalls and sticky points for writers, laid out as a set of discussions that are easy to dip into. And it wouldn't be a Nail Your Novel book without a good dose of games, exercises and questionnaires to help you populate a novel from scratch.
Whether you write a straightforward story-based genre or literary fiction, Bring Characters to Life will show you how to create people who enthrall readers - and make you want to tell stories.
- GenresWritingNonfiction
Kindle Edition
First published April 30, 2013
20 people are currently reading
195 people want to read
About the author
Roz Morris
25 books371 followersWhat do I read? Fiction that cares about characters AND plot. Although I'm a sucker for beautiful language, I like a story too, dammit. I'm a slow reader because I'm easily trapped by lovely sentences and ideas, and when I enjoy a book I'm reluctant to leave its world behind.
I live in London with my writer husband, and our house is mostly decorated with bookshelves - so much so that different rooms are devoted to different categories, like a shop. My study, where I'm writing this now, is the fiction room - and when I look up from my keyboard it's a pleasure to see the spines of novels that have been important to me.
I'm a journalist, ghostwriter, editor and writing coach, and I'm also coming out from behind the ghosting curtain with novels of my own.
I've got eight books in circulation (books that I can admit to, that is!) Four are about writing - the Nail Your Novel series. I also have three nailed novels. My Memories of a Future Life is a contemporary reincarnation story with a twist that asks as many questions as it answers. Lifeform Three is a science fiction fable in the tradition of Ray Bradbury. Ever Rest is an exploration of how we live after we lose the most important person in our world. And I have a book of true travel tales, Not Quite Lost: Travels Without A Sense of Direction.
Ever Rest will be published on 3 June 2021.
Sign up for my newsletter https://tinyurl.com/rozmorriswriter
I live in London with my writer husband, and our house is mostly decorated with bookshelves - so much so that different rooms are devoted to different categories, like a shop. My study, where I'm writing this now, is the fiction room - and when I look up from my keyboard it's a pleasure to see the spines of novels that have been important to me.
I'm a journalist, ghostwriter, editor and writing coach, and I'm also coming out from behind the ghosting curtain with novels of my own.
I've got eight books in circulation (books that I can admit to, that is!) Four are about writing - the Nail Your Novel series. I also have three nailed novels. My Memories of a Future Life is a contemporary reincarnation story with a twist that asks as many questions as it answers. Lifeform Three is a science fiction fable in the tradition of Ray Bradbury. Ever Rest is an exploration of how we live after we lose the most important person in our world. And I have a book of true travel tales, Not Quite Lost: Travels Without A Sense of Direction.
Ever Rest will be published on 3 June 2021.
Sign up for my newsletter https://tinyurl.com/rozmorriswriter
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
October 19, 2021
Solid 4.0
This book was filled with good advice on how to create flushed out, believable characters. I would highly recommend this to authors who are just starting out, as this contains a lot of information that you can learn by yourself, but over a much longer period of time.
The 'for your toolbox' sections at the end of each chapter were great, especially for skimming big-picture takeaways from each section. I wouldn't say I learned *many* new things from reading this, but it was useful for me to check in on how well I'm breathing life into the characters that I've already created. That said, I did learn some new things.
The most helpful parts of this book were the additional resources/strategies that Morris mentioned which provided instruction on exactly how to implement some of her advice. I specifically liked her mention of:
- Character age and how that affects their personalities. She advises to start with personality first and then tweak their mannerisms/habits/attitudes based on their age (and gender).
- Power dynamics in any piece of dialogue and the importance of being mindful of behind-the-scenes meanings of characters' words
- Using the Johari Window to get to the very core of a character. (This is the first time I've heard of this exercise.)
The chapters are as follows (paraphrased into my own words):
1. Show not tell
2. The necessity of motivation, need, and conflict / creating conflict
3. How to make fictional people feel more real
4. The need for transformation
5. Creating good villains and antagonists
6. Creating good relationships between characters
7. Creating good supporting characters
8. Making believable dialogue
9. Character design
10. Appendix with the 'top 10' mistakes of newbie writers
I took off one star, because I found some of the advice to be intuitive to anyone who reads a lot, and after about the halfway point, the format became a little dry.
Overall, fantastic resource!
This book was filled with good advice on how to create flushed out, believable characters. I would highly recommend this to authors who are just starting out, as this contains a lot of information that you can learn by yourself, but over a much longer period of time.
The 'for your toolbox' sections at the end of each chapter were great, especially for skimming big-picture takeaways from each section. I wouldn't say I learned *many* new things from reading this, but it was useful for me to check in on how well I'm breathing life into the characters that I've already created. That said, I did learn some new things.
The most helpful parts of this book were the additional resources/strategies that Morris mentioned which provided instruction on exactly how to implement some of her advice. I specifically liked her mention of:
- Character age and how that affects their personalities. She advises to start with personality first and then tweak their mannerisms/habits/attitudes based on their age (and gender).
- Power dynamics in any piece of dialogue and the importance of being mindful of behind-the-scenes meanings of characters' words
- Using the Johari Window to get to the very core of a character. (This is the first time I've heard of this exercise.)
The chapters are as follows (paraphrased into my own words):
1. Show not tell
2. The necessity of motivation, need, and conflict / creating conflict
3. How to make fictional people feel more real
4. The need for transformation
5. Creating good villains and antagonists
6. Creating good relationships between characters
7. Creating good supporting characters
8. Making believable dialogue
9. Character design
10. Appendix with the 'top 10' mistakes of newbie writers
I took off one star, because I found some of the advice to be intuitive to anyone who reads a lot, and after about the halfway point, the format became a little dry.
Overall, fantastic resource!
Want to read
March 2, 2018It will destroy hope, and we don't want to do that. But, it is true that one cannot learn the prerequisites for being a good novelist. Some things you have to natively know. Understanding that doesn't make you one of those useful beings either. Think about it. You need to know people. Not get the understanding from the useless batches of folderol that you will be served up by those that make a buck from ''interpreting life,'' but the grain of things that are practiced daily from within the urge to move forward. The need to be genuine [whether you know what that is is or not.] You need to practice an ironic understanding of ''values'' here is where you get all of the minute by minute clues about what is going on. Good luck. [This bird is ok, I am reading it to get the flavour of what is going on one. I can't trust anyone to simply tell me.]
May 31, 2013
Roz Morris follows up her bravura Nail Your Novel with this insightful guide into crafting memorable characters. She walks authors through the basics of protagonists, antagonists, and supporting characters. She touches on dialogue, showing vs. telling, motive and conflict, and character relationships. My favorite sections were those on the ever-popular "character interview/questionnaire" (in which Morris offers some unique suggestions for probing the character's mind) and the appendix (in which she addresses the "Top 10 Novice Mistakes With Characters). This is a great foundational tool for any writer wanting to deepen his presentation of character.
July 28, 2015
Some good pointers. I especially liked the detailed list of questions the author provided. I will be adding them to the ones I use to better know my characters. There's a lot of good advice about making protagonists likeable but not perfect, sympathetic but not whiny, etc., and some good tips about creating secondary characters, which I think is often something that can be an afterthought for some writers. This is the second of the Nail Your Novel books that I've read and I definitely plan on buying more books in the series.
August 5, 2013
I discovered Roz Morris via another writing blog. Honestly I think some days I subscribe to too many. Everyone’s methods are different and that can be confusing. There are as many different writing methods as there are writers. But Roz is fairly sensible and she gives good practical advice.
Today I saw this on one of her blog posts about starting a story, writing a big chunk and *then* making a plan: “When I think about it, a good half of writing is rescue and salvage. Sorting out muddles and solving problems. If you’re writing and you suspect you should have made a plan, your instinct has just told you something important.”… “Relabel the file as ‘development notes’ and you’ll feel more comfortable about changing it.”
Huh. Oddly, that works.
This book won’t tell you exactly *how* to write your masterpiece but it will point out a few things that you may not have thought of, or make you see some common error traps you may have fallen into.
I think it may be more one of those things that I go back to and look up when I am uncertain of an issue. It is written in an easily understood style, with examples and at the end of each chapter she has a ‘toolbox’ section; a list of one sentence points that summarise an issue in an easy to remember way.
Check out her blog to see more of her style http://nailyournovel.wordpress.com/
Today I saw this on one of her blog posts about starting a story, writing a big chunk and *then* making a plan: “When I think about it, a good half of writing is rescue and salvage. Sorting out muddles and solving problems. If you’re writing and you suspect you should have made a plan, your instinct has just told you something important.”… “Relabel the file as ‘development notes’ and you’ll feel more comfortable about changing it.”
Huh. Oddly, that works.
This book won’t tell you exactly *how* to write your masterpiece but it will point out a few things that you may not have thought of, or make you see some common error traps you may have fallen into.
I think it may be more one of those things that I go back to and look up when I am uncertain of an issue. It is written in an easily understood style, with examples and at the end of each chapter she has a ‘toolbox’ section; a list of one sentence points that summarise an issue in an easy to remember way.
Check out her blog to see more of her style http://nailyournovel.wordpress.com/
October 19, 2014
Perfect for where I'm at in my first draft of my first novel, and has given me great ideas to work with on many revision passes to come.
She does a wonderful job sharing her experience, giving examples, and then doing a nice summary of tools for each chapter. And it's a quick read so you can zip through it and apply immediately.
For Roz, I saw you on your interview with Joanna on the Creative Penn and you sold the book well with what you shared. Bravo! And thank you.
She does a wonderful job sharing her experience, giving examples, and then doing a nice summary of tools for each chapter. And it's a quick read so you can zip through it and apply immediately.
For Roz, I saw you on your interview with Joanna on the Creative Penn and you sold the book well with what you shared. Bravo! And thank you.
August 2, 2017
First, a disclaimer. I’m a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and so is Roz Morris. That’s as far as the connection goes; I’ve never met her, though I’ve seen plenty of her posts and know quite a bit about what she has to say about writing. I did not get this book free; I paid to download it, and I downloaded it because I wanted to read it. I have read a number of books by ALLi members; I’ve reviewed some of them and not others. My general rule is that I don’t publish a review unless I can give the book at least three stars (I made an exception last week for the latest Louise Penny book), but for ALLi members I increase that to 4 stars – if I can’t give an ALLi member’s book at least four stars, I don’t review it. (If you are an ALLi member, you know I’ve read your book, and yet I didn’t review it, now you know the reason).
I have read a number of “How To” writing books – I imagine most writers have. Not many stick in the mind. Some were not very good at all, most were reasonably informative but forgotten after a while – and a very small number were absolute winners. This is one of those.
I write about people. I mean, I also write about events, and ideas, but people are what come first. People are what most interests me. (If I weren’t a writer, you might even call me nosy). I think that comes across in my books; a number of people have told me how invested they became in my characters. Nevertheless, I learned an enormous amount from Roz Morris’s book. She’s very good on “show, don’t tell” and she has some great stuff on how you can show things through what your characters do, what they say and how they look. She is also very good on handling minor characters, which is where a lot of people fall down. Her background as a ghost writer and editor has equipped her, first to know how to create the characters she wants to portray and then to tell other writers how to do the same.
This, obviously, is a book for writers. That doesn’t mean non-writers will get nothing out of it – even if you are not a writer, reading about how good writers create and portray characters will probably help you get more from the next book you read. But if you are a writer then, unless you are among that tiny, tiny minority who never get a character portrait wrong, you need to read this book. You need to absorb what it says. And act on it.
(So why do I give it 4 stars and not 5? Because people ignore 5 star ratings. And I hate being ignored).
I have read a number of “How To” writing books – I imagine most writers have. Not many stick in the mind. Some were not very good at all, most were reasonably informative but forgotten after a while – and a very small number were absolute winners. This is one of those.
I write about people. I mean, I also write about events, and ideas, but people are what come first. People are what most interests me. (If I weren’t a writer, you might even call me nosy). I think that comes across in my books; a number of people have told me how invested they became in my characters. Nevertheless, I learned an enormous amount from Roz Morris’s book. She’s very good on “show, don’t tell” and she has some great stuff on how you can show things through what your characters do, what they say and how they look. She is also very good on handling minor characters, which is where a lot of people fall down. Her background as a ghost writer and editor has equipped her, first to know how to create the characters she wants to portray and then to tell other writers how to do the same.
This, obviously, is a book for writers. That doesn’t mean non-writers will get nothing out of it – even if you are not a writer, reading about how good writers create and portray characters will probably help you get more from the next book you read. But if you are a writer then, unless you are among that tiny, tiny minority who never get a character portrait wrong, you need to read this book. You need to absorb what it says. And act on it.
(So why do I give it 4 stars and not 5? Because people ignore 5 star ratings. And I hate being ignored).
October 1, 2018
I was hoping this would be a game-changer, but it wasn't, really.
There's certainly lots of solid advice on creating compelling characters and plenty of pitfalls to avoid. I highlighted a few nuggets as I read, but unfortunately for me, I've learned most of Roz Morris's lessons the hard way -- by writing flat characters and having to dig myself out of characterization holes during rewrites.
If you're just starting your writing journey, I'd definitely recommend stapling certain pages of this book to your forehead to avoid making the mistakes I've made. *upside down smiley face*
I will now be so bold as to offer my own piece of advice to my fellow writers:
Any amount of "character work" you do before writing a novel (those endless character questionnaires, freewriting around backstory, personality quizzes) is worthwhile. Do more than you think you need to do. Learn your characters' lives better than you know your own. Yes, it's boring. Suck it up, sweetheart. Writing is boring. But you won't regret it, because exhaustive character work is basically the only way to embed good characterization into your novel.
There's certainly lots of solid advice on creating compelling characters and plenty of pitfalls to avoid. I highlighted a few nuggets as I read, but unfortunately for me, I've learned most of Roz Morris's lessons the hard way -- by writing flat characters and having to dig myself out of characterization holes during rewrites.
If you're just starting your writing journey, I'd definitely recommend stapling certain pages of this book to your forehead to avoid making the mistakes I've made. *upside down smiley face*
I will now be so bold as to offer my own piece of advice to my fellow writers:
Any amount of "character work" you do before writing a novel (those endless character questionnaires, freewriting around backstory, personality quizzes) is worthwhile. Do more than you think you need to do. Learn your characters' lives better than you know your own. Yes, it's boring. Suck it up, sweetheart. Writing is boring. But you won't regret it, because exhaustive character work is basically the only way to embed good characterization into your novel.
October 15, 2019
This is the best book in the series so far. Hands down.
Maybe that's because creating characters is the thing I find most interesting about telling stories. Which may be because of my tabletop roleplaying experience.
Whatever the reason, this book is great! Just like the others in the series, it's filled with no-nonsense, logical, and easy to follow advice. I especially enjoyed the deep dive into character goals and motivation, because "what does this character WANT?" is one of the most interesting questions to figure out.
Editing wise, it isn't perfect, I'm sorry to say. Some missing articles and other words here and there, which is unfortunately, what cost it that coveted fifth star in my eyes. But it's still a truly fantastic book!
Click here to find out where you can get your hands on a copy: https://books2read.com/u/bQalAw
Maybe that's because creating characters is the thing I find most interesting about telling stories. Which may be because of my tabletop roleplaying experience.
Whatever the reason, this book is great! Just like the others in the series, it's filled with no-nonsense, logical, and easy to follow advice. I especially enjoyed the deep dive into character goals and motivation, because "what does this character WANT?" is one of the most interesting questions to figure out.
Editing wise, it isn't perfect, I'm sorry to say. Some missing articles and other words here and there, which is unfortunately, what cost it that coveted fifth star in my eyes. But it's still a truly fantastic book!
Click here to find out where you can get your hands on a copy: https://books2read.com/u/bQalAw
January 25, 2021
Helpful book on how to create characters in literature, with a broad use of examples in other works. It is clear and easy to get through, covering the basics and more intermediate skills, and also has helpful tips that may have slipped your mind in your own writing.
June 11, 2022
A must have!
This is must have guide on how to writer a better story. Roz gives you great tips and resources to help you when creating your novel. She conveys the information to you in an easy to understand and handy way to apply to your manuscript. Much needed resource!
This is must have guide on how to writer a better story. Roz gives you great tips and resources to help you when creating your novel. She conveys the information to you in an easy to understand and handy way to apply to your manuscript. Much needed resource!
November 10, 2016
It's like a pocket rocket. Concise and yet packs more useful advice than many other bulky books about the art of writing. This is currently my go-to book for creating my characters.
October 27, 2017
Nail Your Novel comes to the rescue of all writers, aspiring, new or hard-bitten, who are stuck in the mire of plot holes, dead ends and tangled sub-plots. Roz Morris's guidance will haul you out.
May 4, 2013
In his Foreword to the 40th Anniversary Edition of Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury wrote: "...I had been writing short stories from the age of twelve...thinking that I might never dare to leap off a cliff into a novel. Here, then, was the beginning of my daring to jump, without parachute, into a new form."
Well, if you are about to take that clifftop leap into novel writing, fear not. Roz Morris has provided the parachute that will protect you from landing in a crumpled heap of uncrafted characters.
In her previous Nail Your Novel guide for fiction creators, Morris covered the groundwork of story telling, from starting a novel with confidence, through planning, drafting, rewriting to submission for publication. In her latest novel-writers' manual, Nail Your Novel: Bring Characters To Life, she tackles the big issue of how to make readers eager to lose themselves in the world your characters inhabit and the story they unfold.
Learning from the character techniques of masterworks such as Fahrenheit 451, Jane Eyre, Lolita, and the more recently celebrated Twilight and Hunger Games series, you'll be shown how to craft powerful protagonists, vivid villains and memorable minor characters. Sound principles of character crafting are given, in chapters detailing all the essentials, covering such items as viewpoint, narrative voice, catalyst characters (think James Bond, Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who) and those trouble-makers: antagonists.
Whether your characters are savvy, vulnerable, embattled or just plain dystopian (the trials of Nineteen Eighty-Four's Winston Smith, forex), their chief features are given the Morris tune-up to ensure you keep the reader involved in their lives. From designing central characters, the key players around whom the cast members grow, to managing the number of 'extras' in your cast, every aspect of character creation is illumined. An added bonus: Morris's colloquial style frees the writer from being tangled up in technicalities.
With Roz Morris as your guide, your characters will carry your novel to a most happy landing. Now make that leap.
Well, if you are about to take that clifftop leap into novel writing, fear not. Roz Morris has provided the parachute that will protect you from landing in a crumpled heap of uncrafted characters.
In her previous Nail Your Novel guide for fiction creators, Morris covered the groundwork of story telling, from starting a novel with confidence, through planning, drafting, rewriting to submission for publication. In her latest novel-writers' manual, Nail Your Novel: Bring Characters To Life, she tackles the big issue of how to make readers eager to lose themselves in the world your characters inhabit and the story they unfold.
Learning from the character techniques of masterworks such as Fahrenheit 451, Jane Eyre, Lolita, and the more recently celebrated Twilight and Hunger Games series, you'll be shown how to craft powerful protagonists, vivid villains and memorable minor characters. Sound principles of character crafting are given, in chapters detailing all the essentials, covering such items as viewpoint, narrative voice, catalyst characters (think James Bond, Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who) and those trouble-makers: antagonists.
Whether your characters are savvy, vulnerable, embattled or just plain dystopian (the trials of Nineteen Eighty-Four's Winston Smith, forex), their chief features are given the Morris tune-up to ensure you keep the reader involved in their lives. From designing central characters, the key players around whom the cast members grow, to managing the number of 'extras' in your cast, every aspect of character creation is illumined. An added bonus: Morris's colloquial style frees the writer from being tangled up in technicalities.
With Roz Morris as your guide, your characters will carry your novel to a most happy landing. Now make that leap.
May 11, 2013
Some time ago I read Roz Morris's first Nail Your Novel book, (Nail Your Novel: Why Writers Abandon Books and How You Can Draft, Fix and Finish With Confidence)which gives advice on what to do with a first draft and how to work on it so that you don't end up hurling the dratted thing into the shredder and taking up crochet instead.
It so impressed me with its step-by-step guide and common sense that when I saw the author had published this follow up I bought it without even reading the blurb.
Nail Your Novel: Bring Characters To Life is another gem of a book from Roz. Easy to read and broken down into manageable sections it helps you to create believable characters who won't just be names on the paper. She carefully steers you away from identikit characters who all sound alike in spite of their different ages, cultures and backgrounds and uses examples from well known novels to help demonstrate successful characterization. She shows you how to create believable dialogue and provides a highly useful toolbox to equip you with all you need to know to engage your readers and make them eager to read on.
Not only does she deal with the protagonists, but she also helps you to think about the secondary characters and shows how to create a whole cast that will ring true and ensure that your main characters are not existing in solitary confinement. Heroes and heroines that are not too heroic, villains that are not too villainous, avoiding the stereotype and cliche, the importance of realistic dialogue, all these and much more are covered in this fabulous book, and it's all written in an easy to understand language that doesn't make you clutch your forehead and reconsider the crochet.
An essential reference for the would-be writer, I would recommend it without hesitation. Make sure you get the first book, too, if you haven't already. You need never look at a crochet hook again.
It so impressed me with its step-by-step guide and common sense that when I saw the author had published this follow up I bought it without even reading the blurb.
Nail Your Novel: Bring Characters To Life is another gem of a book from Roz. Easy to read and broken down into manageable sections it helps you to create believable characters who won't just be names on the paper. She carefully steers you away from identikit characters who all sound alike in spite of their different ages, cultures and backgrounds and uses examples from well known novels to help demonstrate successful characterization. She shows you how to create believable dialogue and provides a highly useful toolbox to equip you with all you need to know to engage your readers and make them eager to read on.
Not only does she deal with the protagonists, but she also helps you to think about the secondary characters and shows how to create a whole cast that will ring true and ensure that your main characters are not existing in solitary confinement. Heroes and heroines that are not too heroic, villains that are not too villainous, avoiding the stereotype and cliche, the importance of realistic dialogue, all these and much more are covered in this fabulous book, and it's all written in an easy to understand language that doesn't make you clutch your forehead and reconsider the crochet.
An essential reference for the would-be writer, I would recommend it without hesitation. Make sure you get the first book, too, if you haven't already. You need never look at a crochet hook again.
September 12, 2013
I have been following Roz Morris's writing blog and found it to be choc full of advice for writers. This led me to her books and this one in particular. What a find it turned out to be. This is a simple book but do not let this fool you that it is not good. I have read many books on writing and I would say this contains some of the best advice on writing characters. All characters are considered, both the main characters and the supporting cast. Every aspect of characterisation is covered. These are supported with examples from fictional writers. There is an excellent chapter on the mistakes that novice writers make. Each chapter ends with a section called for your toolbox. These are tips which re-emphasise the important points made in the chapter. The book concludes with some writing exercises, some of which are novel in the extreme. No pun intended. I certainly intend to try many of them out. If you want to lift your characters out of the humdrum and use them to give your book zing and tension then this is the book for you. I would consider this a recommended book in my arsenal.
December 26, 2015
One 2 or 3 star review on Amazon mentioned getting confused about the layout/font causing problems with the flow of the book. I too had the same problem. All the interruptions with the "extras" (thumbnail text, games, etc.) really threw me off.
Sometimes, the author would be trying to explain a thought, then insert one or several of these asides, and then by the time she got around to making her point, I would be totally confused and have to go back and re-read what she initially meant to say.
Even more confusing: sometimes these asides were considered as part of the main thought instead of a section of its own.
I'm sure as I go back over the book and re-read it again it will make more sense; some books are like that, you really don't get the full understanding of them without reading them through several times. Still, I would prefer if all the asides had their own place separate from the main text, possibly at the end of each chapter.
Sometimes, the author would be trying to explain a thought, then insert one or several of these asides, and then by the time she got around to making her point, I would be totally confused and have to go back and re-read what she initially meant to say.
Even more confusing: sometimes these asides were considered as part of the main thought instead of a section of its own.
I'm sure as I go back over the book and re-read it again it will make more sense; some books are like that, you really don't get the full understanding of them without reading them through several times. Still, I would prefer if all the asides had their own place separate from the main text, possibly at the end of each chapter.
May 30, 2013
This book is all you need to know about creating great characters. Filled with detailed analysis, it contains multiple techniques of character building and psychology behind fictional characters. Highly recommended for any writers, especially to those struggling with characterisation and exposition.
December 10, 2013
Another fantastic "HOW TO" by Roz Morris. She has a wonderful way of making me feel like I get it. That I can do it. Which in a difficult journey ( and writing a novel is that) is invaluable. Bringing Characters to life not only tells you that you have to bring characters to life, it shows you how to do it effectively. Can't ask for more than that :)
September 9, 2014
Some great tips here, brief and to the point. It highlights key mistakes that are so easy to fall into and provides good examples/alternative ways to go about character building techniques. I will use this book regularly to keep on track when my characters start causing me problems. Would recommend. Helps if you have a manuscript to see where you may have been going wrong.
January 21, 2016
This handy book is a quick read and full of tips for the writer. Very helpful, especially, for the newer writer. Ms. Morris is one of my favorite's to follow and always has wonderful information to share. I gave it three stars because although those were great tips, I wanted more meat, so to speak, on the bones of the tips.
June 26, 2022
Where has this book been my entire career? It’s that good.
Everything you need to know about creating memorable characters who don’t act like this lovely being surrounded by idiots (unless that’s what you’re going for). There are do’s and don’ts, exercises and tips on being a better writer.
An excellent resource that should be in every writer’s library.
Everything you need to know about creating memorable characters who don’t act like this lovely being surrounded by idiots (unless that’s what you’re going for). There are do’s and don’ts, exercises and tips on being a better writer.
An excellent resource that should be in every writer’s library.
April 23, 2015
Good, solid ideas. A lot to think about and consider while crafting characters. I imagine I'll use this book as somewhat of a reference when I'm struggling with certain aspects of characterization for years to come!
January 10, 2016
There are some great tips and tricks for creating good characters in this book and I'm sure I'll come back to this book again. However, I wasn't so keen on the layout design of the book as parts of it seemed to merge into one so if I kept re-reading bits that I'd already read.
July 24, 2014
Excellent advice
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