Creating Unforgettable Characters (Paperback)

by Linda Seger (Author) "Some time ago, one of my writing clients came to me with a terrific concept for a script..." (more)
Key Phrases: backstory information, nonhuman characters, bad dialogue, Jed Harris, Fatal Attraction, Barry Morrow (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
In this book, Linda Seger shows how to create strong, multidimensional characters in fiction, covering everything from research to character block. Interviews with today's top writers complete this essential volume.


About the Author
Linda Seger is the author of Making a Good Script Great. She is married and lives in Venice, California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks; 1st edition (July 15, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805011714
• ISBN-13: 978-0805011715
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #102,682 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #17 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Performing Arts > Theater > Playwriting
  #31 in	Books > Reference > Writing > Play & Scriptwriting

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Help for the Aspiring Writer, July 12, 2003

By	"calebtrevor" (Baltimore, MD United States) - See all my reviews

Linda Seger provides a wonderful gift to aspiring writers in her book CREATING UNFORGETTABLE CHARACTERS. The book is a hodge-podge of Linda's own observations--plus, it is interlaced with interviews with world-class writers. Linda also throws in examples of characters and dialogue from movies, books, TV and stage that we've all heard of (Rain Man, Moonlighting--TV, Broadcast News, Casablanca, Ordinary People, Cheers, etc.). The book is a quick read--I read one chapter a day for a week and a half, but it is chock full of tidbits and insights that make it invaluable.

Dr. Seger encourages the aspiring writer to 'research, research, research' that character (Chapter 1). She then encourages us to consider the dimensionality of a character by introducing motivations 'and' paradoxes (Chapter 2). She explores creating a backstory, a pre-history to a character, and how this can open the writer up to new insights and plot exploration (Chapter 3). The chapter on psychological types (Chapter 4) was helpful in exploring human psychology and abnormal behaviors. Ron Bass's comments on how RAIN MAN's characters (Tom Cruise, Dustin Hoffman) evolved in the writing phase are terrific. Chapter 5 explores creating character relationships, which includes a section on 'the triangle' and the section on replacing characters in the TV sitcom 'Cheers' was a fun read.

Other chapters follow (Supporting Characters, Writing Dialogue, Beyond Stereotyping, and Character Problems), but my favorite section was the one on Creating Nonrealistic Characters. This chapter on fictional, 'unreal' characters, with Linda Seger's contrast between the symbolic (for example, The Joker=evil), nonhuman (Lassie/animal...), fantasy (Vincent in the TV series Beauty and the Beast, Jolly Green Giant--advertisement), mythic (Batman), was worth a full-day seminar of screenwriting.

The book also shares from Linda's interviews with other writers some of the frustrations that they have had in writing. It was nice to read how other writers, proven and successful, struggled to improve their craft.

A quick read, insightful, and full of great stories.

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great "How To" for new and experienced Writers, July 4, 2004

By	J.A.R. "mobuli" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

"Creating Unforgettable Characters" succeeds in giving practical steps in the development of character. The book covers several disciplines like psychology, acting, backstory and relationships in an effort to refine and inform the way you approach your characters. For more experienced writers looking to drill down rewrites, the digestible 'get to the freakin' point' style of the book helps you get to what you need, instead of wasting your time lording over topics you don't give shlip about (if I could only take a minute of life away from every author who's wasted my time patting themselves on the back for their puddling observations... there'd be a lot of dead folks in LA).

Particularly useful are the summarizations and categorical exercises at the end of each chapter, helping you immediately implement the lesson into your writing. There are also frequent exercises throughout the book to help jog your mind in relation to your characters.

Seger gives special attention to minor, supporting and nonrealistic characters which populate every script, but are often neglected. Seger's not asking for every character to be the central figure of your narrative... but they better be the central figure of their own story in some way. The book helps in creating characters, small and large, that have a reason for being. It's easy to neglect lesser characters, when they should be poignant and relevant.

Thankfully, Seger has the 'How' mentality that is missing from so many other books on writing. If you are new to writing, this is an excellent resource for illuminating all the elements that go into making a fully fleshed out character. If you're an experienced writer and are looking for a way to make your characters 'pop' off the page a bit more, "Creating Unforgettable Characters" could help you find that edge.

49 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Versatile How-To, May 13, 2000

By	Deborah A. Woehr (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is geared mainly for screenwriting, but it can be useful for novelists and short story writers as well. Linda Seger discusses character backstory, relationships with supporting characters, dialogue, and so on. Plus, there are interviews with today's leading writers across the spectrum. Her narrative is clear and easy to understand, with plenty of examples of both good and bad writing. Even though I'm not a screenwriter, I found this book very useful and entertaining.