Customer Reviews

Creating Characters: Let Them Whisper Their Secrets

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

While this book may be useful to the novice writer or one unfamiliar with personality assessment tools, I found it more irritating than helpful and not particularly original. Ms. D'vari has adapted the Myers-Briggs, Enneagram and the DISC to create her own, very simplistic, MORE system which she uses to help the writer develop the personality traits of the imagined characters.

My biggest complaint with this book was that all of the question marks were upside down and backwards! This, along with numerous typos and/or misspelled words, indicates a lack of care in either the writer, the publisher or the editor. If you can overlook these, which I found to be more grating than nails on a chalkboard, perhaps you will discover more of interest than I did.

Basically, what the author has done is to group the various related types in the Enneagram (or Myers-Briggs or Jung) into just 4 types and uses a scoring system to weight each one.

Movers - driven, goal-oriented 'Type A'
Observers - factual, aloof, and insecure
Relaters - romantic "people" person
Energizers - charming, flamboyant storyteller
(Hence "M.O.R.E.")

(There's a danger to this kind of oversimplification. If we were to divide up the world into, say, "Hispanic" and "Not Hispanic" it would simplify the categories, but a lot of nuances and depth of cultures would be lost. It seems to be counterproductive if depth is what you're looking for.)

I've tried using this book with my 3 main characters in my current project. And I find that by applying this methodology, they're more likely to be alike than different. There's not nearly enough on distinguishing characters *within* these 4 types once you have them. For example, let's say I have two Movers. They shouldn't be exactly alike, so how do I make them different? If she scores 27 for Mover and Relater, how do I balance those? If he scores 26 as an Observer and 22 as an Energizer, how do I factor in the latter?

After your characters are categorized, the book seems to fizzle and the discussion on M.O.R.E types appears to be over. The author gets into "channeling," character goal-setting (and not just for the story but for a lifetime), determining a character's wardrobe, and visualizing a character's "autopsy." It would seem that types would drive something like wardrobe choices and goals, but it's not even mentioned.

I was hoping for more.

This book would appear to have potential from the first couple of pages (in which the author goes into length explaining the sources for her MORE theory ). However, the more you read, the more you feel you've read this before, written by people with better insight into character development, and who might've actually penned a screenplay or two. As she herself explains, her job capacity in the movie "business" is as an executive. Therefore, this book has an executive's values. Superficiality, one dimensionality and complete contempt for the characters we should in fact respect. Can humanity REALLY be divided into four categories? Even as I read it I found myself clustered into all four of them. True characters; human characters will never always be or show one aspect of their personality. We all want to at times be the center of attention (energizer), or care for others (relater), or think clearly before making a decision (observer) or move relentlessly forward (mover), sometimes simultaneously! But don't tell the author that! Humans have been divided into four types of people and that's that! Quite honestly, you should really re-evaluate acquiring a book endorsed by Christopher "one story fits-all" Vogler. If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.

The oversimplifications and shorthand in this book are most helpful at the earliest phases of screenwriting, when you're just mapping out the big chunks of character psychology and plot. The last thing you need at that point is nuance! Using D'Vari's MORE system to make sure you have a range of character types with built-in conflict is a huge time-saver. As others have observed, you can get more refined typology from the original Myers-Briggs, but if you're ready for that kind of detail you probably shouldn't be using a typology at all; by then the characters themselves should be taking over anyway.

This is far and away the worst book I've ever read. Amid the spelling and grammatical errors there were many poorly summarized/ plagiarized ideas from other people. The one original idea, the author's system of classifying characters, is totally counterproductive to creating interesting or unique characters. She suggests grouping ALL PEOPLE into 4 groups. I have read around 2 dozen books on screenwriting. They were all better.

One of the fundamental challenges in fiction - be it in a script or a novel - lies in creating compelling, realistic characters. One of the quick criticisms directed at the work of aspiring writers (myself included!) is that the characters seem stiff and unnatural, or that they appear to be props largely serving the needs of the plot - in essence, that they don't act in a consistent fashion. In one scene, they'll be strong and tough but in another they'll be weepy - and there won't be any real explanation for the change in characterization other than the fact that the author thought they needed to act that way in the particular scene. That just doesn't cut it, because characters are supposed to seem like real people, and so as writers we're supposed to establish a character and then explore how that person would act in certain situations, rather than somewhat arbitrarily alter their reactions from scene to scene.

Which is where Marisa D'Vari's new book Creating Characters hopes to help. D'Vari is a former studio executive and current story consultant who developed what she calls the More Personality System to give screenwriters (and other writers as well) the ability to dig more deeply into the personalities of their characters. The purpose is to try and "capture" the personality traits of a character and be able to establish their mental fixations, unconscious desires, and even defense mechanisms, in order to build more "authentic" characters.

She also suggests taking characters to a "goal setting workshop," in which the character must establish their "SMART" goals: things which are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and traceable. She also recommends identifying both a conscious goal and a subconscious goal, because characters are not always consciously aware of their underlying motivations. She also offers the idea that a writer could perform an "autopsy" on a character: "Now, while your character is still alive and in his prime, consider pretending he's dead, laying him out on a slab, and calling your favorite fictional forensic scientist to come over and take a look." Finally, she offers tips on how to "color" a character's dialogue in keeping with their personality type.

All in all, Creating Characters is an interesting, if at times offbeat, primer on building more complex, more fully human characters. I found it to be quite insightful at times - for many reasons, not the least of which was that she used All About Eve as one of her principal examples of diverse characters. This is a book that would undoubtedly be helpful to many an aspiring writer; I can only hope that the techniques found here will be able to help me as well.

Of all the types of writing books to read, my favorites are those that deal with characters. Marisa D'Vari does not disappoint the reader/writer with Creating Characters: Let Them Whisper Their Secrets.



The first chapter provides a quick, but thorough, examination of Personality Types using the author's own More Personality System(tm), the ancient Enneagram system of personality typecasting, Hippocrates' humorous philosophy, and Carl Jung's theory. If you've ever met someone and felt you'd met his type before (as is mentioned in the book), Chapter One might give you the answer as to why you felt that way.

Chapter Three: How to Summon Characters from Their Magical Spheres is something to be experienced. Obviously, it's of interest to me as I'm fully into fantasy stories and movies, but this chapter is not a dance through the spring fairy rings. It's serious business. All writers experience that moment when a character comes to them, fully-fleshed, ready to fill the blank pages with his story. Chapter Three touches all too briefly on the subject of the collective unconscious, but makes up for it with a lesson on how to nurture your ability to let your characters come to you.

Though Chapter Three is good, Chapter Four: Techniques to Discover Your Character's Inner World, is even better. Many writers prefer to allow a character to develop while his story is being written, and often this creates problems when characters act in ways that don't work. Chapter Four helps you get past this. It also helps you with the backstory so that you not only have enough to work on, but there's enough there for others involved--i.e., actors and directors--to carry the character's personality further.

Another nice thing about this book is that it doesn't have to be read cover to cover; you can pick and choose the chapters. But once you start reading, it's hard to put down. D'Vari has an easy style that reads well. Some of the information included you already know, not because you've read it elsewhere, but because it's so logical that it falls into the category of Collective Memory. For instance, Chapter Six: Coloring Dialogue Via Personality Type is so very accurate. Yet, it offers ideas authors don't always pay attention to. One little trick she mentions is to think of an everyday question, such as "How are you?" and then have a character/personality type answer it. Not everyone is going to mutter the usual "uh, fine ..."

There are, of course, summaries and assignments at the end of chapters. Even if you're someone who doesn't like to do the exercises or assignments in a writing book, don't skim over these pages. Be sure to read them. D'Vari has worded her assignments in such a way that they get you thinking about your characters. Even when you've put the book down, the questions prick at you until you have to give them more time.

Just when you think you've read all you can read about coming up with characters to people your stories, a book comes out to let you know there actually is more information out there.

D'Vari offers more than just a how-to manual on writing great characters. This book delves deep into the archetypes that define great humans, therefore great characters, providing insight and revelations that many writers just don't spend enough time seeking when writing their novels and scripts.

Using her own More Personality System, as well as the ancient wisdom of the Enneagram and the more modern wisdom of Freud, Jung and Joseph Campbell, the author takes us on an inner journey of discovery that is sure to enlighten us to intriguing aspects of our own behavior. These aspects translate to our characters, creating well-rounded, flesh and blood heroes and villians that we can all relate to - whether we love them or hate them. That's because we are really studying ourselves as models of what makes a character feel, act, think and look real.

Unlike other more technique-oriented books, this one dares to examine the powerful role of archetypes, and even treads into metaphysical ground, where magic and creativity are birthed. D'Vari doesn't shy away from unusual and original ways to get in touch with the inner realms of imagination, whether via dreams or meditation or just being open to the magic of alternate universes. Anyone can write a character, but to make one come to life requires a deep connection with an inner place where anything, and I mean anything is possible. The author provides us with many examples of real, successful writers who have tread this magical ground, and found the source of creativity there waiting.

This is truly a valuable resource for writers who understand the importance of characters to a good, no, a great story. Without characters that shine and roar, the story falls flat, and "Creating Characters" is the only book you will ever need to learn how to shine and roar in everything you write.

Marisa D'Vari has woven a powerful and dynamic "magic" into the More-Personality system she developed that will help writers enhance their work by truly speaking through the characters they create. Marisa's years of professional experience and expertise is evident in this new work. She walks writers through the blockages that keep many from being productive. She details and outlines the complexities of personality that need to be addressed in order to bring a mediocre piece of writing to higher standard. The "it" of good material starts with the writer, but is spoken through the characters that are created. In order for a work to be deemed credible, it has to be believable. Skilled writers know how to match dialogue to character. They know how to speak the story through the words of those complex personalities that have been brought together to carry the tale. These characters have to be purposeful and they have to speak to the theme and live through the plot. I can't think of any other writer on these topics who brings a "process" to the table that can work for the skilled successful writer as well as the novice who is still in training. This is a "must have" book. Marisa has done it again!
Lloyd Sheldon Johnson

Like a lot of writers, I spend way too much time staring at a blank sheet of paper, wondering what characters are going to say to one another to further the action.

In the first chapter, I learned how understanding the 4 basic personality types makes it easy to create scenes with the kind of tension and emotion that carries the story. What's most helpful are the colorful examples from popular films and books to support her points.

Fun and valuable are the many creativity exercises that got my juices flowing and helped me better understand my characters and give them interesting quirks. The final chapter (Insider Secrets to Get Past the Gatekeeper) quotes a lot of publishing editors and script analysts giving great tips.