TLDR: I find this book to be useful, funny, knowledgeable, and empowering and recommend you acquire a copy as soon as you can! Writing is accessible to all ages 😀

 


Litore has compiled a highly useful collection of advice, explanations, and exercises, all carefully designed to welcome writers of varying skill levels. His references include passages from his own writing, pop culture movies, and fellow writers; with each example, he carefully breaks down the reasons why or why not the character construction is useful in engaging the reader. The book is broken into ten chapters; I have summarized here some of the most major points:

1) developing strengths and how they drive “nearly everything in your story — including plot, conflict, what choices the character needs to make and how she makes them, everything” (6)
2) how authors need to create a powerful first impression to draw readers into identifying with the character
3) the trap of cliches in physical sensation description, and ways to expand our vocabulary from different perspectives
4) balancing the knowledge of when to conceal or reveal important information, and the levels of concealing (from hidden from character, from reader, from both, etc)
5) Character habits/tendencies and intimacies, background and contextual history
6) What the character most: desires, fears, is wounded by, etc
7) How to design a strong character arc, and how this fits into setting
8) General tips to become a better writer and discover the barriers or weaknesses which hold you back from giving it your whole effort
9) Offering resources if you have more questions!

As a writer, these questions were initially very useful in drawing my attention to areas where I felt uncertain in developing characters. Following the exercises demonstrated where my focus had been, and helped narrow down what elements were needed to make the character as strong as possible and which I could cut out. Particularly, the segment where he discusses levels of knowledge and concealment resonated with me; learning how to create elements of uncertainty and potential from how the information is distributed and in what amounts has shifted how I plot, and I can see the positive difference. His humor throughout likewise made this book an easy read, and this helped when I was feeling timid about the blank page, or about my characters who weren’t quite driving the plot as they should have.

I have much more confidence in my writing now; as a grad student finishing up my MFA in Creative Writing, this book has still offered great insight into how I form my characters in my thesis piece (as well as my fanfiction). While working out the backstories of the characters, his question in chapter 6, “What might trigger your characters’ most significant past experiences and feelings (whether terrifying or joyous)? What is a touch, a smell, a sound, that is meaningful and historical to your character? The trigger can be something quite small and subtle.” (48).

I keep this book close to hand while writing, and would highly recommend other writers and aspiring authors also get their hands on a copy because of how much knowledge and use is enclosed in such a slim writing craft book. The writing is accessible to all ages, so if younger readers also would like to give it a go, they are welcomed!

 

 

 

Sending love and hoping you are safe, O Reader!