Product Description

From serial killers to business tycoons to politicians, The Writer's Guide to Character Traits profiles the mental, emotional and physical qualities of dozens of different personality types. Featuring a highly accessible format, writers can mix and match the traits of specific personality types to create original, complex characters. Unique personality styles and types are profiled including psychopaths, cult members, overachievers, addicts, amnesia victims, social climbers, career criminals and philanthropists. In addition, this guide includes sections on child personality types; physical disorders that influence personality; and outlines of typical and atypical human development.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #27350 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Amazon.com Review
Stereotypes exist for a reason; usually, because there's an element of truth to them. With The Writer's Guide to Character Traits, psychologist-professor Linda Edelstein has created a kind of Psych 101 for Writers. Her goal is a "friendly reference" for writers who want "to create believable characters and need accurate information about personality and behavior." Sure, disparage it if you like. But wouldn't you like to know which of your protagonist's offspring is most predisposed to warming up to their new stepfather? What kind of criminal is likely to have a religious mother? The traits of people who commit suicide? Edelstein has included more than 400 lists: of traits associated with child development, psychological disorders, criminal styles, sexual styles, love and marriage, life-changing events, physical problems, career, and so on. "Even when a writer's imagination soars to places more fascinating than reality," says Edelstein, "characters must possess an internal cohesiveness; they must make sense." And let's face it: "People," she adds, "are more consistent than not." (With real-life character anecdotes from Edelstein's own work and a huge character-trait cross-referencing index at book's end.) --Jane Steinberg

About the Author
Dr. Linda Edelstein has been a practicing psychologist for more than 15 years and is also an associate professor at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. She is the author of two books on psychology and has written and presented more than 40 papers at national and regional conferences. She lives in Chicago, Illinois.

Customer Reviews

Wikipedia is the perfect place to "start" research.
Consider for a moment Wikipedia; the much criticized and much debated online encyclopedia. Writers who respect the research process express concern and often hatred of this online information source. Until, they understand and accept its primary purpose. Wikipedia is the perfect place to "start" research.

Think of this book as the perfect writing companion to assist you during the sketch of the story to be replaced by authoritative research after the completion of the first draft. Why slow down the initial drafting process or outline to look up the fundamental details of how it feels to be the middle child?

The reality is that there just isn't a single book out there than you can rely on for complete character development. It is conceivable that you could accumulate an entire shelf of character development guides and still feel that something is missing. In fact, I find building a library is a good way to completely avoid writing altogether. (The solution is to take a deep breath and start writing without all the answers.)

Check out these additional character development books after reading this fantastic book:

- Characters and Viewpoint (Elements of Fiction Writing) by Orson Scott Card

- Write Great Fiction: Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint by Nancy Kress

- Getting into Character: Seven Secrets a Novelist Can Learn from Actors by Brandilyn Collins

Shortcuts to research - but the information provided is a shortcut itself
I wish I'd given more attention to the reviews that weren't positive.

The information in this book is comprehensive but cursory, and it wouldn't take very much work on a writer's part to find the exact same information by doing a few google searches, or checking out a more thorough book at their library drawn from the psychology section.

Here's the bottom line: if you use the information presented to create your entire character, you will not sell a single book. you will have a book littered with stereotypes, some of which will be dead wrong. I've already returned the book, and the two examples that caught my eye (examples of incorrect information) have escaped me.

Writers are supposed to be keen observers of the human condition. If you're not, why are you writing? Plots don't make stories, characters make stories, and the more complex and unpredictable the character, the more realistic your fiction will be.

If you're determined to buy this book, do so knowing that this is only a springboard. You'll have to do more work.

Limited...
Okay, you already have a character in mind, you know he's crazy by any number of trait markers that would be obvious to a six year old... let's say he gets drunk and falls down the basement stairs every weekend.

Now, you want to put a name on it and come up with the plausible cause/effect chain of events that got him there, right? And you think you can find the answer in a book, right?

If you've read Lajos Egri, you know it's not about the author/writer talking thru characters - it's about the characters taking for themselves. If you're not hearing voices in your ears and visualizing dialogue, sequencing, and scene imagery during character development, a book won't help write the novel, screenplay, or stageplay.

Interview your character - when he's drunk, and then again when he's sober. Put him in a corner and make him tell you why he pulls the stunts he does, demand the truth - accurate truth. Go hot and cold - good cop, bad cop... you want to see him in every light and dark place he will live in your story.

Once you have it all in the character profile, then go to the book to see if you missed anything; if necessary, interview him again. Psychology is but one component available to view the human condition - and it is most certainly not the last word.

Sometimes, you can get more psychology from reading one chapter of Kurt Vonnegut, than any ten reference books.

You might find The Mask of Sanity an interesting read (see Wiki)... there's a PDF out on WWW, somewhere.

I sent Writer's Guide back and ordered: Psychoanalytic Diagnosis: Understanding Personality Structure in the Clinical Process - by Nancy McWilliams.

Amazon was great thru the return process - went down like a three foot putt. Thx Amazon.