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The Complete Writer's Guide to Heroes and Heroines: Sixteen Master Archetypes Paperback – October 20, 2013

4.6 out of 5 stars 207

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The Complete Writer's Guide to Heroes and Heroines reveals the sixteen literary archetypes that have starred in fiction for millennia. This resource offers the building blocks for the creation of memorable characters who will reach out and grab the hearts of readers.Review An invaluable resource for writers working in any genre.... -- Prof. Richard Walter, Screenwriting Chairman, UCLA Dept. of Film and Television, letter to author, 5/4/00 Finally! Fiction Archetypes made easy. . . . Stuffed with examples and cleverly organized, [this book] earned a spot on my crowded bookshelf. -- Debra Dixon, author GMC: Goal, Motivation & Conflict, 1996; and Sweet Tea and Jesus Shoes, 2000; email to authors 4/00 The Complete Writers Guide to Heroes and Heroines takes the mystery out of creating compelling and memorable characters. Every writer should own a copy. -- Deb Stover, award winning author of nine time travel and historical romances, email to authors. 4/00 The authors have developed a clear and usable system for creating memorable characters. -- Kevin J. Anderson, best-selling co-author of Dune: House Atreides, email to author, 5/25/00.

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tami Cowden is an award winning author of romance and mystery. In addition to her novel, Cruising for Love, and her contributions to assorted short story anthologies, Tami is the author of Fallen Heroes: Sixteen Villain Archetypes. Double finalist and winner of the Golden Heart, one of Romance Writers of America's highest awards, Caro LaFever writes timeless romantic tales as well as nonfiction advice for writers. Artist and writer Sue Viders has co-authored numerous books for artists, including 10 Steps for Creating Memorable Characters, and Art Office: 80+ Business Forms, Charts, Sample Letters, Legal Documents & Business Plans for Fine Artists.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Archetype Press (October 20, 2013)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 214 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 061590811X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0615908113
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.14 x 0.49 x 9.21 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 207

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
207 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2009
This is my favorite how to write book. Why? Each of the 16 character types has three virtues and three flaws to guide their decisions. I find a character without weakness is not very likable. It is fantastic for keeping my characters in line--mine sometimes get away from me, doing things that don't make sense. It also forces me to actually plot out what traits I want to this character to demonstrate. It gets rid of that blurry character feeling I sometimes have. The book also helps in the blending of types allowing something like a Warrior/Chief to have the strengths and weaknesses of both archetypes.

Could the book be better? Absolutely but I still give it five stars.

--Need more film and book references to match the characters. Agent Booth in Bones is a Warrior, etc. There are several examples in book but can you really have too many examples?

--It is missing villains. Okay, duh, read the title but still. I actually use 
45 Master Characters , my second favorite writing book, to flush villains out. 45 Master Characters goes into more depth and talks about gods--I love when we get back to Greeks. The 16 archetypes line up perfectly with the 45 Master Characters. Okay, you may have a point: 16 is not equal to 45 but I'll let you read them to see what I mean.

--I find the archetype interaction fairly uninteresting as this seems to have just as much to do with plot as personality.

--It would have been cool to have archetype conflict resolution approaches and dialog. Situation: my dog got hit by a car. Warrior reaction: "The guy who did this going to pay. I will beat him to a pulp."

--Three virtues and flaws is great, why not have more? Sure there is a core three, but it would be to have options, almost like a creative kick starter.
2 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2015
I've read a number of other texts on archetypes, but this is the most useful I've found. I wanted a book which would not just offer insight, but which I could keep on hand for easy reference—Because let's be honest, no matter how thorough and insightful one of these texts is, we're not going to remember every detail once we're done reading. Being able to quickly find what I need is important. Rather than a wall of text on each archetype, they're broken down into easy-to-locate sections that are genuinely useful to actual writing, such as Flaws, Background, and Occupations. This is as clear a road map as can be given without the authors writing your character for you, I think. I also found the archetype interactions portion to be extremely useful, as this is an an area other texts have failed me. The margin notations make it easy to grab helpful info at a glance, and if you want to know more about how these characters influence each other step-by-step, you can delve further into the text itself. I'm really very impressed with how practically useful this guide is.

As for my quibbles, the references to existing characters are a bit dated (I was surprised to see this had been revised in 2013), and if there was any information given on how archetypes can be either gender, I don't remember seeing it. I went into this book already having that information, but new authors may feel a bit pigeonholed if they believe they're limited to only 8 options because of their character's gender. Something to consider for future revisions.

As an aside, I also appreciated that I could purchase a physical copy, as that way I can keep it at my desk and avoid the distractions of the internet.
9 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2013
Good, comprehensive book detailing hero and heroine archetypes and how they interact with each other. Followed by Tami Cowden's solo sequel,  Fallen Heroes: Sixteen Master Villain Archetypes , which is also good, but unfortunately does not attempt to explain how the villains interact with the heroes and heroines in this book.

Another book I like that offers the same idea as this one is 
45 Master Characters, Revised Edition: Mythic Models for Creating Original Characters  by Victoria Schmidt. It not only has a character archetypes, but a complete breakdown and worksheets for charting the different adventure paths for males vs. females. Also recommended is  The Virgin's Promise: Writing Stories of Feminine Creative, Spiritual, and Sexual Awakening  by Kim Hudson, which focuses on a step by step guide to creating feminine adventures vs. male ones (but a slightly different system than in 45 Master Characters). Both 45 MC and VP provide an easy to understand breakdown of Maureen Murdock's  The Heroine's Journey , which itself is a feminine version of Joseph Campbell's  The Hero with a Thousand Faces (The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell)  (the Hero's Journey; theory of mythic storytelling structure used in Star Wars, The Lion King, etc., which Christoher Vogler breaks down for writers in  The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers, 3rd Edition ).

And not just for its screenplay advice, but because it is easily adapted for novelists, I recommend 
My Story Can Beat Up Your Story: Ten Ways to Toughen Up Your Screenplay from Opening Hook to Knockout Punch  by Jeffrey Schechter. It espouses a Jungian theory of a "unity of opposites," so both the hero and the villain and their teams will be mirror images of each other and be out to prove the opposite (or some more reasonable compromise) of the story's theme (such "faith vs. technology" in Star Wars). It provides great examples of this theory from blockbusters like Star Wars, Star Trek, the Dark Knight, etc. If you go to the author's website (with the url link in the book), you can download a cut chapter that extends the mirror image theory not just to the characters, but the first half and last half of the story. So some action that happens in the first half is repeated in the second, only on a larger scale with more dramatic results, which readers like because of its circularity.

Unfortunately, not all of the archetype books mesh well with each other's systems (nor do all the story structure ones), so you might want to pick one to get you started. What's nice about The Complete Guide to Heroes and Heroines is it has the villain sequel, however, that doesn't mean these are the best books on the subject. They're a perfectly good choice, and deliver exactly what they promise, but I love getting the mythic hero/heroine journey story structure help and find myself referring far more to those books throughout the writing process than books that solely provide archetypes.
8 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2024
Great book, great read. Great for someone still trying to figure out the process to character development.

Top reviews from other countries

MJ
5.0 out of 5 stars This system works really well for me
Reviewed in Canada on September 27, 2023
I have always struggled with enneagram and Myers-Briggs systems for understanding personalities and creating characters/arcs. For whatever reason, this system of 16 archetypes really resonates with me. It’s changed how I approach my own writing and how I read novels too. I find the section on character interactions especially useful for writing and reading romance.
JANINE BRAY-MUELLER
5.0 out of 5 stars For writers who find Enneagrams complicated, here is an alternative.
Reviewed in France on March 1, 2023
Yes! Helpful reference book for fiction writers - especially when you find enneagrams complicated or too time-consuming. This is your alternative to creating protagonist archetypes.

This beautifully formatted book contains helpful and informative guidelines for beginner and experienced fiction writers. Well worth buying the printed version.
WomanOfDevon
5.0 out of 5 stars Really helpful
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 20, 2020
I hesitated to buy this book because there were a few reviews that said it lacked examples. But I've only had this book a day or so and it's been a massive help with my numerous WIPs.
It's incredibly helpful as a writers resource. Highly recommended.
One person found this helpful
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Leanne Lovegrove
5.0 out of 5 stars Useful
Reviewed in Australia on July 22, 2019
This is a fabulous guide for writers, a starting point to allow you to fully explore your character.
G C
5.0 out of 5 stars Character traits made easy.
Reviewed in Canada on July 4, 2022
A fantastic read.