When I was in high school and college, Orson Scott Card was one of my favorite writers. Several of his books are still among my most cherished re-reads. And one of the main reasons for that was his powerful characterization. He made characters that I identified with and cared about. So when I happened across this book by him with lessons on how to create vivid and memorable characters, I picked it up to see what insight he might have into his technique, even though I have no interest in fiction writing.

And it was pretty interesting. He details different choices that have to be made in what kind of story you’re writing, what the characters are like, who’s detailing the action, etc. He writes all these great little examples in different styles to illustrate the impact of the techniques that he’s describing. He does a good job of laying out the toolbox necessary to do character work, and more importantly, asks the questions that need to be asked when creating somebody. It was nice insight into the writer’s mind and what’s going on. And I think it wouldn’t hurt for Card to go back and read this book (written in 1988), given the poorer quality of the fiction he’s written recently…