- Paperback: 227 pages
- Publisher: Central Avenue Press (Jun 15 2007)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0971534489
- ISBN-13: 978-0971534483
- Product Dimensions: 23 x 15.4 x 1.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 322 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #707,428 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
Growing Great Characters From the Ground Up lists 70 examples from past and present literature covering a wide variety of genres to illustrate key concepts. Each chapter ends with exercises, which if followed, are designed to help readers grow their own characters. The book ends with a glossary, sample query letter and list of questions that can be used during the editing process.
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Must Read for all Writers.,
By Joylene Nowell Butler "cluculzwriter" (Cluculz Lake, BC) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Growing Great Characters From the Ground Up: A Thorough Primer for Writers of Fiction and Nonfiction (Paperback)
I read Martha Engber's "Growing Great Characters From the Ground Up" in one day. By page 60, I had a pencil in my hand, a notebook on my lap, and knew without a doubt that I would come away a better writer for having read her book. Yes, I was satisfied! And I may never look at gardening the same way again.Ms. Engber separates Growing Great Characters From the Ground up into three parts: Part One - The Groundwork, Part Two - The Right Seed, and Part Three - Growth, Cultivation, and Care. Part One has three chapters that explore what a character is, how to gather ideas, and how to narrow your selection. Part Two has two chapters that deal with planting the right seed and letting it sprout. Part Three has eight chapters that teach you freedom to grow, growing with your character, first impression, cultivating credibility, revealing your character, and lastly opening your character to critique. The book is complete with eleven exercises so that you, whatever your level, can capture the essence of what Ms Engber teaches long before you begin the first draft of your fiction or non-fiction work. Although she advocates completing her book before you ever write that first draft, do yourself a favour if you're a write-by-the-seat-of-your-pants-writer, don't pass this book up. No matter your experience, there is a lot to be learned by reading this book. And if you're an old-timer who needs some inspiration because you've been looking at a blank screen for too damn long, know this: Read Ms Engber's book, try a few exercises, if not all eleven, and when you're finished and have applied what you've learned, I promise "[your]readers will understand what makes your character unique." Martha Engber's book, Growing Great Characters From the Ground Up is destined to become a must-have for any writer keen on improving his craft and writing great characters. I highly recommend it. Now I'm off to rename my character.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.8 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews) 4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Important Lessons for Every Writer,
By C. L. Arndt - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Growing Great Characters From the Ground Up: A Thorough Primer for Writers of Fiction and Nonfiction (Paperback)
Martha Engber's book is insightful and inspiring. Ms. Engber instructs with practical exercises and examples, as well as humor. She suggests creating a Think Log to jot down thoughts prompted by your character's development; what a fun way to emote about the daily challenges or triumphs when in the process of creating a character! There are many important lessons in this book. My favorite is how and why to introduce a character via his or her defining detail because "everyone has a reason for being who they are." Which reminds me why I write: to know myself.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must-have for fiction/nonfiction writers,
By Catherine Dix - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Growing Great Characters From the Ground Up: A Thorough Primer for Writers of Fiction and Nonfiction (Paperback)
The most intimidating (and essential) part of writing a story is making your characters, however minor, consistent and believable. Setting the groundwork for each character's role in a story is a daunting enough task to make even the most seasoned writer freeze up. Thankfully, Martha Engber has created an easy to follow step-by-step guide on how to painlessly develop characters. She gives organization strategies that help a writer to brainstorm, encouraging us to experiment in order to flesh out the people who will occupy our story. She offers up things like the "one-sentence test" along with other invaluable exercises, tools, and examples of how to create the best possible character for your particular story."Growing Great Characters From the Grown Up" is written as if by a close friend offering up some pointers. Its easy style and readability is a huge plus as one will be inclined to refer to it over and over again. 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Book For Writers,
By A. Tracey "Budding Writer" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Growing Great Characters From the Ground Up: A Thorough Primer for Writers of Fiction and Nonfiction (Paperback)
This is a great book for fiction writers. I received it as a gift and found it really useful. In so much fiction the characters ARE the story, and this book makes you write believable, motivated, gripping characters. I particularly liked Ms. Engber's use of uncommon examples to illustrate her points, like little Ralphie from Jean Shepherd's novel, A Christmas Story, the narrator Scout Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird and King Kong. Also, the chapter on picking a name for your character was a standout. Who can forget character names like Huckleberry Finn and Ishmael?
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