Even if you are
an absolute natural at instilling your characters with
life and believability, it is vital that you know the
steps you are taking, unconscious though they may be,
that make your characters seem plausible and alive.
Card parses out exactly what makes the characterization
in any story work.
The are chapters on description,
motivation and growth are solid. Combined with the wonderful
and numerous contrasting examples of good characterization/bad
characterization, you will be able to go back to any
story you've written and add, subtract and tweak your
characters to make them leap off the page. Don't sell
this book short because Orson Scott Card is primarily
a writer of science fiction, either. This material will
make absolutely any fiction a whole measure better.
