Creating Characters
How to Build Story People
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Creating Characters
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Narrated by:
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John N. Gully
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By:
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Dwight V. Swain
About this listen
A jargon-free manual on the basics of developing interesting fictional characters
Vibrant, believable characters help drive a fictional story. Along with a clever plot, well-drawn characters make us want to continue reading a novel or finish watching a movie. In Creating Characters, Dwight V. Swain shows how writers can invent interesting characters and improve them so that they move a story along.
“The core of character,” he says in chapter one, “lies in each individual story person’s ability to care about something; to feel implicitly or explicitly, that something is important.” Building on that foundation - the capacity to care - Swain takes the would-be writer step by step through the fundamentals of finding and developing “characters who turn you on”. This basic but thought-provoking how-to is a valuable tool for both the novice and the seasoned writer.
The book is published by University of Oklahoma Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 62
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Story4 out of 5 stars 62
Distinguished author Phillip Lopate, editor of the celebrated anthology The Art of the Personal Essay, is universally acclaimed as “one of our best personal essayists” ( Dallas Morning News). Here, combining more than 40 years of lessons from his storied career as a writer and professor, he brings us this highly anticipated nuts-and-bolts guide to writing literary nonfiction. A phenomenal master class shaped by Lopate’s informative, accessible tone, and immense gift for storytelling.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Not a guide on writing personal essays
- By A. Yoshida on 08-07-13
By: Phillip Lopate
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How Fiction Works
- By: James Wood
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 131
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 85
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 87
Ranging widely from Homer to David Foster Wallace, from What Maisie Knew to Make Way for Ducklings, Wood takes the reader through the basic elements of the art, step by step. He sums up two decades of insight with wit and concision, resulting in nothing less than a philosophy of the novel, which has won critical acclaim nationwide, from the San Francisco Chronicle to the New York Times Book Review.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Educational!
- By Don on 05-04-09
By: James Wood
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Jewish Comedy
- A Serious History
- By: Jeremy Dauber
- Narrated by: Jeremy Dauber
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 177
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 153
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Story4 out of 5 stars 153
In a major work of scholarship both erudite and very funny, Jeremy Dauber traces the origins of Jewish comedy and its development from Biblical times to the age of Twitter. Organizing his book thematically into what he calls the seven strands of Jewish comedy - including the satirical, the witty, and the vulgar - Dauber explores the ways Jewish comedy has dealt with persecution, assimilation, and diaspora through the ages. He explains the rise and fall of popular comic archetypes such as the Jewish mother, the JAP, and the schlemiel and schlimazel.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Not funny
- By supermantwo on 08-31-20
By: Jeremy Dauber
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How to Spot a Liar
- By: Gregory Hartley, Maryann Karinch
- Narrated by: Gregory Hartley, Maryann Karinch
- Length: 2 hrs and 53 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 127
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 91
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 92
Have you ever been lied to? Of course you have, whether you knew it or not. Ever caught a spouse, business partner, parent, boss, or child brazenly lying right to your face? What if you could tell someone was lying, just by listening to them, and observing their action and behavior? Here's the first audiobook that gives you the tools to figure out what's really going on.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Highly educational
- By Lorelei on 12-21-07
By: Gregory Hartley, and others
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Batman Unauthorized
- Vigilantes, Jokers, and Heroes in Gotham City
- By: Dennis O'Neil - editor, Leah Wilson - editor
- Narrated by: Colby Elliott
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 162
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 147
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Story4 out of 5 stars 147
Compiled by a veteran writer of the comic series, this collection of essays explores Batman’s motivations and actions, as well as those of his foes. Batman is a creature of the night, more about vengeance than justice, more plagued by doubts than full of self-assurance, and more darkness than light. He has no superpowers, just skill, drive, and a really well-made suit.
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1 out of 5 stars
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batman uninformed opinions
- By Aurey C. on 04-13-17
By: Dennis O'Neil - editor, and others
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The Glamour of Grammar
- By: Roy Peter Clark
- Narrated by: Roy Peter Clark
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 59
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 42
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Story4 out of 5 stars 40
Early in the history of English, glamour and grammar were the same word, linked to enchantment and magical spells. Now grammar brings to mind language bullies and bored-out-of-their-skulls students. Roy Peter Clark, one of America’s most influential writing teachers, wants to change that by putting the glamour back into grammar.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Wasteful
- By ABID on 12-05-13
By: Roy Peter Clark
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Confident Decision Making
- How to Make the Right Choice Every Time
- By: Roger Dawson
- Narrated by: Roger Dawson
- Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 89
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 78
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 76
Every businessperson has to make decisions. Here's how to make them quickly, correctly and confidently.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent Practical Book
- By Amazon Customer on 12-24-14
By: Roger Dawson
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Native Son
- By: Richard Wright
- Narrated by: Peter Francis James
- Length: 17 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,155
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,846
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,849
Right from the start, Bigger Thomas had been headed for jail. It could have been for assault or petty larceny; by chance, it was for murder and rape. Native Son tells the story of this young black man caught in a downward spiral after he kills a young white woman in a brief moment of panic. Set in Chicago in the 1930s, Richard Wright's powerful novel is an unsparing reflection on the poverty and feelings of hopelessness experienced by people in inner cities across the country and of what it means to be black in America.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Simply a classic
- By Noah Smith on 11-11-10
By: Richard Wright
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Talking About Detective Fiction
- By: P. D. James
- Narrated by: Diana Bishop
- Length: 4 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 126
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 95
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 94
To judge by the worldwide success of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie's Poirot, it is not only the Anglo-Saxons who have an appetite for mystery and mayhem. Talking about the craft of detective writing and sharing her personal thoughts and observations on one of the most popular and enduring forms of literature, P. D. James examines the challenges, achievements and potential of a genre which has fascinated her as a novelist for nearly 50 years.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating and Informative
- By Nancy J on 03-17-13
By: P. D. James
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I Can Read You Like a Book
- By: Gregory Hartley, Maryann Karinch
- Narrated by: Gregory Hartley, Maryann Karinch
- Length: 3 hrs and 6 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 95
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 62
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 61
I Can Read You Like A Book features a system for scanning and interpreting anyone's body language, enabling you to figure out what they are really saying or feeling.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fabulous in every way!
- By Minny on 07-11-21
By: Gregory Hartley, and others
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The Romantic Manifesto
- A Philosophy of Literature
- By: Ayn Rand
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 272
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 173
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 169
In this beautifully written and brilliantly reasoned collection of essays, Ayn Rand throws new light on the nature of art and its purpose in human life. Once again, she demonstrates her bold originality and her refusal to let conventional ideas define her sense of the truth. Rand eloquently asserts that one cannot create art without infusing it with one's own value judgments and personal philosophy - even an attempt to withhold moral overtones only results in a deterministic or naturalistic message.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Essential AYN
- By Mica on 07-15-08
By: Ayn Rand
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Mastermind
- How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes
- By: Maria Konnikova
- Narrated by: Karen Saltus
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 411
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 346
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Story4 out of 5 stars 340
No fictional character is more renowned for his powers of thought and observation than Sherlock Holmes. But is his extraordinary intellect merely a gift of fiction, or can we learn to cultivate these abilities ourselves, to improve our lives at work and at home? We can, says psychologist and journalist Maria Konnikova, and in Mastermind she shows us how. Beginning with the "brain attic", Konnikova unpacks the mental strategies that lead to clearer thinking and deeper insights.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Mindless: How to Regurgitate Useless Information
- By CC on 02-12-13
By: Maria Konnikova
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Save the Cat!
- The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need
- By: Blake Snyder
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 5 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,767
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,433
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,419
Here's what started the phenomenon: This book has been a best seller for over 15 years and has been used by screenwriters around the world! Blake Snyder tells all in this fast, funny, and candid look inside the movie business. Save the Cat is just one of many ironclad rules for making your ideas more marketable and your script more satisfying.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Don't waste your time
- By Amazon Customer on 02-05-20
By: Blake Snyder
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The Belief Instinct
- The Psychology of Souls, Destiny, and the Meaning of Life
- By: Jesse Bering
- Narrated by: Jesse Bering
- Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 101
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 89
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 86
Why is belief so hard to shake? Despite our best attempts to embrace rational thought and reject superstition, we often find ourselves appealing to unseen forces that guide our destiny, wondering who might be watching us as we go about our lives, and imagining what might come after death. In this lively and masterfully argued new book, Jesse Bering unveils the psychological underpinnings of why we believe.
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5 out of 5 stars
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engaging and insightful
- By juliagee on 01-02-15
By: Jesse Bering