Build Better Characters: The psychology of backstory & how to use it in your writing to hook readers: 2 (Creative Academy Guides for Writers) Paperback – 15 Oct. 2019

Wasn't too sure about the style / voice at first... Having completed it I'd recommend. Lots of backstory ideas, and then ways that the backstory affects character arcs, conflict and decision making etc

I enjoyed this book. People aren't two dimensional creatures, this book is interesting both from a writing and psychology perspective.

This book is helpful and well set out. Having all the ‘your turn’ questions together at the end of the book is a nice touch. You can tell that the psychology is coming from someone who actually knows what they’re talking about (as someone with a degree in psychology myself). The author is funny and entertaining and doesn’t just use it to market her own book like others that I’ve read.The one star I’ve taken off is because I’m working on intuitive eating and body neutrality and there is a lot of diet talk and anti fat bias in the book.

This is hands down the best book I have read on the craft of writing great characters. The author explains everything in such a simple way, using great examples. I have read many books on character development but none have stuck with me the way this one has. I read this book and felt like I finally really understood how to write and consider my book characters personality and how they may react to things that happen to them in my story. This is a book I know I will refer back to time and time again.

I found this book to be well written with plenty of humor. There are exercises to help you "build better characters", and once you have done them, your characters should have meaning, purpose, backstory, and basically appear real and believable.The book is written from a background of psychology and has a bias towards that, the motives that drive your character. Will this automatically mean a great character? I couldn't say, but her writing kept me reading and marveling at how excellent her book is...

I have worked in organisational psychology for over 35 years including behaviour study and personality profiling. I have tried to use the techniques from there in my writing. This books makes it easy for the non psychologist. Use suggested methodology and your characters will be far more 3 dimensional and will relate to each other in far more realistic and interesting ways. I wish i had written this book. Highly recommended.

Some good advice but substantial part of book is a series of questions based on formulaic psychology questions, which leaves u feeling a little shortchanged

I'm in the market for guidance on character creation. Unfortunately, although one should never choose a book by its cover, when I 'Look Inside', the glaring typos and grammatical errors on the rear cover of this book put me off buying it.