An insightful and actionable guide to creating a hero that readers will fall in love with, from the author of The Secrets of Story The hardest yet most essential element of writing great fiction is character – specifically, creating a central hero who is relatable, compelling, and worth the reader’s precious time. In this entertaining and practical guide, popular blogger, writing coach and screenwriter Matt Bird breaks down what makes characters embraceable and unforgettable, and presents insider tips and tricks for writers of all levels and genres. Generously packed with examples from popular books and movies analyzed with engaging specificity, this expert guide reveals what makes audiences believe, care, and invest in great characters – and how to bring your own characters vividly to life.

You've just boarded a plane. You've loaded your phone with your favorite podcasts, but before you can pop in your earbuds, disaster strikes: The guy in the next seat starts telling you all about something crazy that happened to him--in great detail. This is the unwelcome storyteller, trying to convince a reluctant audience to care about his story. We all hate that guy, right? But when you tell a story (any kind of story: a novel, a memoir, a screenplay, a stage play, a comic, or even a cover letter), you become the unwelcome storyteller. So how can you write a story that audiences will embrace? The answer is simple: Remember what it feels like to be that jaded audience. Tell the story that would win you over, even if you didn't want to hear it. The Secrets of Story provides comprehensive, audience-focused strategies for becoming a master storyteller. Armed with the Ultimate Story Checklist, you can improve every aspect of your fiction writing with incisive questions like these: • Concept: Is the one-sentence description of your story uniquely appealing? • Character: Can your audience identify with your hero? • Structure and Plot: Is your story ruled by human nature? • Scene Work: Does each scene advance the plot and reveal character through emotional reactions? • Dialogue: Is your characters' dialogue infused with distinct personality traits and speech patterns based on their lives and backgrounds? • Tone: Are you subtly setting, resetting, and upsetting expectations? • Theme: Are you using multiple ironies throughout the story to create meaning? To succeed in the world of fiction and film, you have to work on every aspect of your craft and satisfy your audience. Do both--and so much more--with The Secrets of Story.

Authors and screenwriters will get a creative boost with this lively and exciting catalogue of creative writing techniques which they can instantly employ to create memorable, realistic characters. D'Vari reveals the creative secrets of highly paid screenwriters and best-selling authors.

“The most complete and comprehensive guide to character I've ever read." Adam Croft Character is at the heart of every story. We love stories because we fall in love with characters, we want to see what happens to them and we want to see them experience hope and despair. International Emmy nominated writer, Mark Boutros, offers a guide to creating characters who are engaging, emotionally driven and memorable. With experience as a screenwriter, novelist, creative writing teacher and mentor, Mark shares a mixture of theory and creative writing exercises to get you thinking about the questions to have in your mind during character creation. A lot of stories are perfectly functional, hitting all the right beats, but often fall short due to a thin or obvious character. Problems people think are related to plot are often symptoms of a deeper issue with the characters. Mark highlights what is at the core of character, the importance of motivation, trauma, obstacles and how every little detail can enrich an experience for an audience and ultimately make people care. How do you get to know people? By asking questions and getting to know them so you move past the shallow. Do the same during character development and your story will be so much more engaging for it. Each chapter focuses on an aspect important to character development and ends with exercises so you can apply the concepts to your work and write better characters. The book includes: - Goals, desires, lessons - Stakes to your character’s goal - Character flaws - Developing your character’s voice and world view - Generating truthful obstacles - How to write anti-heroes and compelling villains - Character and personality traits - Common mistakes in character writing - Character research - A character questionnaire The majority of the ideas originate from the author’s screenwriting experience, but they apply to all forms of story, whether it be fiction writing or playwriting, because the focus is on what really makes a character stand out and memorable. The job of the writer is to deliver an emotional experience. Character is the heart of that. If you're looking for a book to help you to improve your screenplay writing, fiction writing, or play writing then this is for you. An invaluable tool for beginner and experienced writers. This is perfect for anyone interested in screenwriting books, fiction writing books, or character development books. Praise for The Craft of Character: “Would 100% recommend not only for beginners, but also for experienced writers looking to get to know their characters better. A bit like writer-character therapy.” reader review “Both the chapters and the exercises are easy to understand and get through. Mark Boutros clearly knows his stuff and seems happy to be able to help the reader, rather than becoming lecturing and elitist. The structure of the book also means that it is easy to dip back into, when you come across a specific problem, and as such it is a great little reference book, which any aspiring storyteller would benefit from.” reader review “Normally, I find myself arguing with the author of craft books, but here I would say 90% of what I read were things I either found helpful, or flat out agreed with whole heartedly and just needed a reminder on why these things are important. The exercises were a excellent touch, especially as someone who is teaching writing, it gave me ideas on what to do for my students.” reader review

A boy arrives at a remote village in the dead of night. His name is Ludlow Fitch—and he is running from a most terrible past. What he is about to learn is that in this village is the life he has dreamed of—a safe place to live, and a job, as the assistant to a mysterious pawnbroker who trades people's deepest, darkest secrets for cash. Ludlow's job is to neatly transcribe the confessions in an ancient leather-bound tome: The Black Book of Secrets. Ludlow yearns to trust his mentor, who refuses to disclose any information on his past experiences or future intentions. What the pawnbroker does not know is, in a town brimming with secrets, the most troubling may be held by his new apprentice.

An insightful and actionable guide to creating a hero that readers will fall in love with, from the author of The Secrets of Story The hardest yet most essential element of writing great fiction is character – specifically, creating a central hero who is relatable, compelling, and worth the reader’s precious time. In this entertaining and practical guide, popular blogger, writing coach and screenwriter Matt Bird breaks down what makes characters embraceable and unforgettable, and presents insider tips and tricks for writers of all levels and genres. Generously packed with examples from popular books and movies analyzed with engaging specificity, this expert guide reveals what makes audiences believe, care, and invest in great characters – and how to bring your own characters vividly to life.

Revealing the secret history of punctuation, this tour of two thousand years of the written word, from ancient Greece to the Internet, explores the parallel histories of language and typography throughout the world and across time.