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1,000 Creative Writing Prompts
1,000 Character Writing Prompts: Villains, Heroes and Hams for Scripts, Stories and More
From the author of 1,000 Creative Writing Prompts, this 300 page, 150,000+ word reference tool can serve writers who need characters and need them now!
If character development is your problem, this detailed reference tool for any writer is the solution. Imagine if every time you sat down to brainstorm for your stories, scripts and more, you had a notebook full of character ideas ready to spring to life on the page. This time-saving, idea-generating tome can ensure that from protagonist to checkout girl, your characters are fully developed and captivating. Covering a variety of genres, time periods and styles, 1,000 Character Writing Prompts, adds nuance and depth to the typical character stereotypes many writers rely on.
The book includes the following
Superheroes, sidekicks and secret agents; Monsters, demons and strange creatures; Optimists, pessimists and screw ups; Zombies, werewolves and vampires; Lawyers, doctors and butchers; Rebels, ninjas, actors, villains, pets, babies and many more!
Each of the 1,000 character ideas ends with a question or command to push you past your writer's block and into a creative flow state for your future writing sessions. This sequel to author Bryan Cohen's popular 1,000 Creative Writing Prompts can take your writing productivity to a whole new level.
Bryan Cohen is a director, a comedian and an author of several books on the art of writing including 1,000 Creative Writing Ideas for Blogs, Scripts, Stories and More and Writer on the How to Write Your Book Around Your 9 to 5 Job. His website Build Creative Writing Ideas helps over 240,000 visitors a year to push past writer's block and reach their creative goals. He lives in Chicago.
If character development is your problem, this detailed reference tool for any writer is the solution. Imagine if every time you sat down to brainstorm for your stories, scripts and more, you had a notebook full of character ideas ready to spring to life on the page. This time-saving, idea-generating tome can ensure that from protagonist to checkout girl, your characters are fully developed and captivating. Covering a variety of genres, time periods and styles, 1,000 Character Writing Prompts, adds nuance and depth to the typical character stereotypes many writers rely on.
The book includes the following
Superheroes, sidekicks and secret agents; Monsters, demons and strange creatures; Optimists, pessimists and screw ups; Zombies, werewolves and vampires; Lawyers, doctors and butchers; Rebels, ninjas, actors, villains, pets, babies and many more!
Each of the 1,000 character ideas ends with a question or command to push you past your writer's block and into a creative flow state for your future writing sessions. This sequel to author Bryan Cohen's popular 1,000 Creative Writing Prompts can take your writing productivity to a whole new level.
Bryan Cohen is a director, a comedian and an author of several books on the art of writing including 1,000 Creative Writing Ideas for Blogs, Scripts, Stories and More and Writer on the How to Write Your Book Around Your 9 to 5 Job. His website Build Creative Writing Ideas helps over 240,000 visitors a year to push past writer's block and reach their creative goals. He lives in Chicago.
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First published January 31, 2012
97 people are currently reading
124 people want to read
About the author
Bryan Cohen
68 books131 followersBryan Cohen is a bestselling author, experienced copywriter, and the founder of Best Page Forward and Amazon Ad School. He has written or co-written over 30 books crossing a variety of genres. Learn more about Bryan at www.BryanCohen.com
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 27, 2021
I can see this as a useful writing tool in my daily writing life but I will need to spend a great deal
Of time going through item by item in order to find what I need.
The premise is wonderful and well thought out. I’ve added a video to display what I mean. Item number twenty is prime example of a wonderful concept that is buried under villains, which is sorted by archetype. I have to read the entire section to know it was a woman.
I love the way the table of contents are organized and I can look for characters by personality traits. I placed my pen there to give you an idea how small this type font actually is.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m an avid reader, but this book could seriously use some pictures.
On a positive note, I spent a day and went through the writing prompts and found some amazing story ideas that could easily tie in or create a more in-depth character profile.
What I truly appreciated in this book is that the author included story concepts for pets, aliens, zombies, werewolves, nerds, bankers and hit men. It doesn’t matter what your story concept may be, there is something in this book for everyone.
Of time going through item by item in order to find what I need.
The premise is wonderful and well thought out. I’ve added a video to display what I mean. Item number twenty is prime example of a wonderful concept that is buried under villains, which is sorted by archetype. I have to read the entire section to know it was a woman.
I love the way the table of contents are organized and I can look for characters by personality traits. I placed my pen there to give you an idea how small this type font actually is.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m an avid reader, but this book could seriously use some pictures.
On a positive note, I spent a day and went through the writing prompts and found some amazing story ideas that could easily tie in or create a more in-depth character profile.
What I truly appreciated in this book is that the author included story concepts for pets, aliens, zombies, werewolves, nerds, bankers and hit men. It doesn’t matter what your story concept may be, there is something in this book for everyone.
August 18, 2023
Book 20/69: 1,000 Character Writing Prompts: Villains, Heroes and Hams for Scripts, Stories and More (Story Prompts for Journaling, Blogging and Beating Writer's Block Book 3) by Bryan Cohen. I completed it, and now have more brainstorming ideas for varieties of characters.
February 13, 2014
Bryan Cohen is "known" for his creative writing prompts. He has several books (with similar covers to this one) on the market that give you those writing prompts to help you with creativity, to help you get your imagination going. They are a useful tool for people who write, for creative writing classes and for people who journal. If you do a Google or Bing search online for "writing prompts," what you will see are many websites set up to give you just the kind of things you will see in this book - story ideas, character ideas, leading questions - all things for you to elaborate on, for you to put a lot of thought into - things that help very much with the freewriting and journaling process.
I have worked for a long time with schoolaged children to help them be better writers and even encouraged them to write on their own and to keep a journal. I wish that his books had been around when I originally started this because his are far better than the ones that I found on the internet. Reading through these, I found myself thinking about the "writing prompts" and coming up with stories and ideas in my head. That is what "writing prompts" are for.
The prompts in this book would work really well with middle school children, high school children and even adults. A lot of them could be adapted to use with older elementary school children. I know that I will definitely be using this book (just like the other two that I have read) with my kiddo-os.
Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. (A funny thing happened on my way to writing this review - I realized that I had, in fact, purchased it a few weeks earlier. I remember putting it on my wish list ... but still, I did receive a copy and I did write the review ... just goes to show that I would have read the book whether I got it for free or not.)
I have worked for a long time with schoolaged children to help them be better writers and even encouraged them to write on their own and to keep a journal. I wish that his books had been around when I originally started this because his are far better than the ones that I found on the internet. Reading through these, I found myself thinking about the "writing prompts" and coming up with stories and ideas in my head. That is what "writing prompts" are for.
The prompts in this book would work really well with middle school children, high school children and even adults. A lot of them could be adapted to use with older elementary school children. I know that I will definitely be using this book (just like the other two that I have read) with my kiddo-os.
Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. (A funny thing happened on my way to writing this review - I realized that I had, in fact, purchased it a few weeks earlier. I remember putting it on my wish list ... but still, I did receive a copy and I did write the review ... just goes to show that I would have read the book whether I got it for free or not.)
January 31, 2014
Bryan Cohen's prompt based books are useful and inspiring resources for writers. This one is no different.
1,000 Character Writing Prompts: Villains, Heroes and Hams for Scripts, Stories and More shares prompts to help you create characters, with chapters including 'Characters Inside and Outside the Law' and 'Non-human Characters'.
In the introduction to the book, Cohen claims that 'the real trick of telling stories is to create a set of memorable characters' and it's certainly hard to argue with that. The ay to use the book is to browse it until you find the character type you want and then try the prompts. Alternatively, you can use it as a more general resource and just try out all the characters!
The prompts are quite detailed so that you have quite a lot of information to use as you create your characters.
Once again, Cohen has come up with an inspiring resource for anyone who needs characters for their stories and novels!
Thanks Story Cartel for my free download of this book.
1,000 Character Writing Prompts: Villains, Heroes and Hams for Scripts, Stories and More shares prompts to help you create characters, with chapters including 'Characters Inside and Outside the Law' and 'Non-human Characters'.
In the introduction to the book, Cohen claims that 'the real trick of telling stories is to create a set of memorable characters' and it's certainly hard to argue with that. The ay to use the book is to browse it until you find the character type you want and then try the prompts. Alternatively, you can use it as a more general resource and just try out all the characters!
The prompts are quite detailed so that you have quite a lot of information to use as you create your characters.
Once again, Cohen has come up with an inspiring resource for anyone who needs characters for their stories and novels!
Thanks Story Cartel for my free download of this book.
January 30, 2014
Bryan Cohen, he of the ‘writing prompts’ series of books, is back – this time with 1,000 Character Writing Prompts: Villains, Heroes and Hams for Scripts, Stories and More. I just finished going through a free review copy of Cohen’s latest offering, and, as usual, he does not disappoint.
Included in Character Writing Prompts are enough hints, tips, and starters to keep your writing juiced up with memorable characters into the next millennium. Just as in his earlier prompt books, Cohen provides just enough to get your brain cells pumping in high gear, and he does it in an easy-to-read style that won’t strain those cells.
Whether you’re a neophyte looking for that first great character, or a seasoned writer looking for a little variety, you’re sure to find something worthwhile here. The neat thing about these prompts is, rather than being just a list of characteristics, they’re given in situations that also help in getting a story line going. Read, and reap the benefits.
Included in Character Writing Prompts are enough hints, tips, and starters to keep your writing juiced up with memorable characters into the next millennium. Just as in his earlier prompt books, Cohen provides just enough to get your brain cells pumping in high gear, and he does it in an easy-to-read style that won’t strain those cells.
Whether you’re a neophyte looking for that first great character, or a seasoned writer looking for a little variety, you’re sure to find something worthwhile here. The neat thing about these prompts is, rather than being just a list of characteristics, they’re given in situations that also help in getting a story line going. Read, and reap the benefits.
May 1, 2014
Bryan Cohen has assembled quite a collection of character prompts and is to be commended for his wide ranging ideas. He set a lofty goal of amassing 1,000 varied character prompts for our "swipe file." Characters range from familiar to outlandish, with the collection seeming to be strong in the action/adventure/thriller genres. I appreciate that half the characters he's gathered here are female. Apparently Bryan has a thing for bold and bad girls.
The collection could benefit from a sharp editorial eye, as the writing quality varies a bit here and there. The practice of ending each scenario with a question is generally effective, but some of the questions seem ill-fitted to the preceding character description. A blank line after each entry would improve readability. Still, these are minor imperfections to an otherwise fine collection. Certainly any writer can find some inspiration here, some jumping off point during an idea drought.
The collection could benefit from a sharp editorial eye, as the writing quality varies a bit here and there. The practice of ending each scenario with a question is generally effective, but some of the questions seem ill-fitted to the preceding character description. A blank line after each entry would improve readability. Still, these are minor imperfections to an otherwise fine collection. Certainly any writer can find some inspiration here, some jumping off point during an idea drought.
March 7, 2014
This is quite the impressive little resource tool. Cohen offers a great deal in this book. We don't just read simple ideas of characters, nor does it focus on the basic characters we all know (heroes & villains). We learn backgrounds and motivations, very detailed descriptions. He goes in depth to every type of character you can think of, organized into some wonderful categories--occupations, age groups, personalities. This is a book that you will turn to time and time again. It is full of so many prompts; you won’t be able to stop creating those ideas!
February 2, 2014
I love this book!
This is a great book for all those who are struggling to figure out who their characters will be. As a novelist, I highly recommend this. The characters (at least to me!) seem very real, and would be amazing to figure out the back-story for. This is a book I'll definitely be returning to in the future.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
This is a great book for all those who are struggling to figure out who their characters will be. As a novelist, I highly recommend this. The characters (at least to me!) seem very real, and would be amazing to figure out the back-story for. This is a book I'll definitely be returning to in the future.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
July 22, 2016
Great tool to kick start writing. Clear concise style makes for an easy informative read.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews