By Victoria Lynn Schmidt
Writer's Digest Books
Hardcover

Fleshing out your characters can often block you from moving your story forward. 45 Master Characters uses mythical models who all carry character traits common in today's fiction writing.

Each section details mythical heroes and villains. After identifying personality assets and flaws, each hero and heroine is placed into TV, film, literary and historical examples of popular figures.

For example, Apollo is called part businessman, part traitor. At the end of the chapter, Dr. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer), Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) in Pretty Woman, Macon Leary in The Accidental Tourist and others are put into "real" character examples we can all understand.

Even tips on how to develop such characters are included. An over-controlling mother may hurt others for her own good. A recluse may be afraid of his emotions. A seducer may become a stalker if rejected.

In the back of the book, a brief feminine and masculine journey worksheet will help you develop deeper characters that matter to your readers.

From Captain Spock to Alex P. Keaton, Cleopatra to Kelly Bundy, all of the genuine traits that make us all unique will have you breaking through characterization road blocks.

Bookworm's Briefing
Writers of all experience levels will find 45 Master Characters to be a very handy reference. The information within is so interesting you could easily read it from cover to cover. But it's also broken up into easy to scan sections so you can find the personality traits you need to generate a realistic hero, heroine or supporting character.