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Build Better Characters: The psychology of backstory & how to use it in your writing to hook readers: 2

Build Better Characters: The psychology of backstory & how to use it in your writing to hook readers: 2

  • Downloads：6507
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-07-22 06:55:54
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Eileen Cook
  • ISBN：1926691954
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Compelling characters are what keeps readers turning pages and buying books — from fantasies to mysteries to the great literary novel。 But how to do you create characters that feel three dimensional and real on the page？ Counsellor and author Eileen Cook shares common psychological techniques to help you build your characters and take your story to the next level。

Covering understanding your character's backstory and how it impacts their choices in your book by doing a structured counselling interview， personality structure （Myers Briggs and Emotional Intelligence） and how that may lead to conflict， and understand dissecting the Stages of Change to see how your character moves through them 。

Filled with practical tips， examples and prompts this is a craft book you will return to over and over。

This is the second book in the Creative Academy Guides for Writers series。 Be sure to check out the rest of the guides for writers in this series。

Scrappy Rough Draft by Donna Barker
Build Better Characters by Eileen Cook
Strategic Series Author by Crystal Hunt

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Reviews

Davy Kent ，

A little designed for neurotypical people and it makes use of the MBTI system， but it thankfully does not dilly-dally for long with either issue and stays on course。 Good resource， and the exercises aren't designed to be futile （like they are in so many craft books）。 A little designed for neurotypical people and it makes use of the MBTI system， but it thankfully does not dilly-dally for long with either issue and stays on course。 Good resource， and the exercises aren't designed to be futile （like they are in so many craft books）。 。。。more

Bryan Garcia ，

Very useful information

Deniz Çetin ，

Solid book for writers

Justin ，

Helpful read about how to build better characters。 Would recommend to those starting out or who have written some early drafts and want to improve their characters

Lisa ，

This book is like a master class， with new angles and approaches， based on Cook's years of experience as an author， and as a counsellor。 She gives practical advice and exercises that appeal to plotters， pantsers and in-between alike。 This book is a must read for anyone looking to create nuanced characters from scratch， or to build on an existing character during the revision phase。 Cook's thoughtful， insightful approach gives readers tips and tricks to not only improve the characters you write， This book is like a master class， with new angles and approaches， based on Cook's years of experience as an author， and as a counsellor。 She gives practical advice and exercises that appeal to plotters， pantsers and in-between alike。 This book is a must read for anyone looking to create nuanced characters from scratch， or to build on an existing character during the revision phase。 Cook's thoughtful， insightful approach gives readers tips and tricks to not only improve the characters you write， but also to build a deeper conncetion between character and the story you're writing。 。。。more

Michele Amitrani ，

When I read a book and learn one new thing I consider my money well spent。 Build Better Characters taught me a half dozens new things that will be helpful in my writing journey， and I was very glad I was finally able to read it。The book is a statement of the importance of a character's backstory， and why the choices we make in this regard can shape the destiny of our book。 Eileen gives plenty of examples to explain why understanding the characters we authors create is not an easy task。 But it's When I read a book and learn one new thing I consider my money well spent。 Build Better Characters taught me a half dozens new things that will be helpful in my writing journey， and I was very glad I was finally able to read it。The book is a statement of the importance of a character's backstory， and why the choices we make in this regard can shape the destiny of our book。 Eileen gives plenty of examples to explain why understanding the characters we authors create is not an easy task。 But it's well worth the time spent。 She also gives us the tools to craft believable characters that will pop out of the pages。Eileen uses her extensive expertise as a counselor to give us insights into the human behavior and teaches us a few tricks worth keeping in mind when it comes to sit down and write the story。It was a pleasure reading this book and I would recommend it to anyone interested in crafting more sympathetic， believable characters。 。。。more

Marie Powell ，

Eileen Cook is one of my favourite authors and workshop leaders。 Her craft really shows through in this idea-packed book。 It offers explanations and exercises that will help any writer， beginning or established。 Highly recommended。

Danielle ，

So much food for thought when creating characters！ Loving the series！

Michelle Cornish ，

A great resource for understanding your characters！This was a fascinating read with tons of great tips for creating multi-dimensional characters with believable faults and complications。 Includes lots of excellent examples too。 I can't wait to put what I learned to work！ A great resource for understanding your characters！This was a fascinating read with tons of great tips for creating multi-dimensional characters with believable faults and complications。 Includes lots of excellent examples too。 I can't wait to put what I learned to work！ 。。。more

Jenny Lang ，

Do you want to know your character better than you know yourself？ Do you want to make them jump off the page and hook your readers？ Then this is the book for you！Eileen Cook's brilliant book gives you the insight of a therapist trained to understand and coach your characters through their most difficult life circumstances。 And she'll help you too。This will quickly become one of the staple books in your writer's library！ Do you want to know your character better than you know yourself？ Do you want to make them jump off the page and hook your readers？ Then this is the book for you！Eileen Cook's brilliant book gives you the insight of a therapist trained to understand and coach your characters through their most difficult life circumstances。 And she'll help you too。This will quickly become one of the staple books in your writer's library！ 。。。more

Elissa ，

"The important thing is not what happens to your character， it's what they tell themselves about what happened。"I've read a LOT of craft books。 This book has a different approach than the many many other books on the craft of Character。 It isn't about creating a laundry list of character traits， it's about getting inside your characters head and understanding how they see the world and how the plot will affect them。 My favorite section is the part on EQ。 As someone without a background in psycho "The important thing is not what happens to your character， it's what they tell themselves about what happened。"I've read a LOT of craft books。 This book has a different approach than the many many other books on the craft of Character。 It isn't about creating a laundry list of character traits， it's about getting inside your characters head and understanding how they see the world and how the plot will affect them。 My favorite section is the part on EQ。 As someone without a background in psychology， this section provided me with some great tools on how to analyze my character。 。。。more

Jenny Graman ，

Do you want to know your character better than you know yourself？ Do you want to make them jump off the page and hook your readers？ Then this is the book for you！Eileen Cook's brilliant book gives you the insight of a therapist trained to understand and coach y our characters through their most difficult life circumstances。 And she'll help you too。This will quickly become one of the staple books in your writer's library！ Do you want to know your character better than you know yourself？ Do you want to make them jump off the page and hook your readers？ Then this is the book for you！Eileen Cook's brilliant book gives you the insight of a therapist trained to understand and coach y our characters through their most difficult life circumstances。 And she'll help you too。This will quickly become one of the staple books in your writer's library！ 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Build Better Characters: The psychology of backstory & how to use it in your writing to hook readers: 2

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The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Build Better Characters: The psychology of backstory & how to use it in your writing to hook readers: 2&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0