45 Master Characters: Mythic Models for Creating Original Characters - Hardcover

Victoria Lynn Schmidt

  • 3.89 out of 5 stars
    1,438 ratings by Goodreads
 
9781582970691: 45 Master Characters: Mythic Models for Creating Original Characters
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 1582970696 ISBN 13: 9781582970691
Publisher: Writers Digest Books, 2001

Synopsis

Create unforgettable characters your readers will love!

Want to make your characters and their stories more compelling, complex, and original than ever before?45 Master Characters is here to help you explore the most common male and female archetypes--the mythic, cross-cultural models from which all characters originate.

  • Explore a wide variety of character profiles including heroes, villains, and supporting characters.
  • Learn how to use archetypes as foundations for your own unique characters
  • Examine the mythic journeys of heroes and heroines--the progression of events upon which each archetype's character arc develops--and learn how to use them to enhance your story.

Complete with examples culled from literature, television, and film, 45 Master Characters illustrates just how memorable and effective these archetypes can be--from "Gladiators" and "Kings" like Rocky Balboa and Captain Ahab to "Amazons" and "Maidens" like Wonder Woman and Guinevere. Great heroes and villains are necessary to bring any story to life; let this guide help you create characters that stand the test of time.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author

Victoria Schmidt is a screenwriter for film and television. A graduate of the film programs at UCLA and NYU, she holds a Masters degree in screenwriting from Loyola Marymount. She lives and writes in Los Angeles.

Reviews

Screenwriter Schmidt offers a book for writers struggling with characterization, emphasizing interesting, believable women characters. Looking to mythology for such types as Aphrodite, Artemis, and Zeus, Schmidt concisely outlines each type's cares and concerns, strengths and weaknesses, and likely reaction to common problems. She also gives familiar examples from TV, films, and books. For example, Sam Malone of Cheers is a "Joker," and the "Shadow" is all the terrified characters surrounding Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween. Most blocked writers will find useful leads here, but debating the examples do Lucy Lawless and Sandra Bullock both qualify as Amazons? could easily become one of the better teaching uses of this book. Recommended for creative writing collections and workshops. Robert Moore, Parexel Corp., Waltham, MA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
Writers Digest Books
Publication date
2001
Language
English
ISBN 10 
1582970696
ISBN 13 
9781582970691
Binding
Hardcover
Edition number
1
Number of pages
298
Rating
  • 3.89 out of 5 stars
    1,438 ratings by Goodreads