Book Review:
45 Master Characters:
Mythic Models for Creating Original Characters
By Victoria Lynn Schmidt
Reviewed by C. D. Ratliff
Copyright © 2008 by C. D. Ratliff, All Rights Reserved
This is an amazing book for
writers at any stage in their profession. Ms. Schmidt explains her
objective is to give writers better-developed characters. The book
offers us mythic, cross-cultural models of both male and female
archetypes to explore as foundations for our own unique characters. Each
archetype includes the villainous side. This is very useful in regards
to exploring the shadow aspects of character or to create that
antagonist we love to hate.
She gives us examples from
popular novels and movies to demonstrate the effectiveness of using
these archetypes, and in the end, shows us how to get the most from them
in writing. This author goes the extra mile and gives readers a thorough
understanding of how to weave these characters into the feminine and
masculine journeys.
The main portion of the
298-page book presents each archetype in a mythic scenario followed by
personality traits and details concerning what they care about, what
they fear and what motivates them. In the 'Getting Started' section, she
defines the master archetypes and the archetypal patterns for thirteen
supporting characters. We see the complex character as a combination of
archetypes with examples for developing them. We then explore the male
and female archetypes separately followed by a section defining
supporting characters and their function. The final section explores the
masculine and feminine journeys complete with worksheets and tips. I
found the entire book both enlightening and helpful.
The first section describes
the use of archetype characters and the many ways their driving force
keeps your story alive with believable actions and reactions. She
describes archetypes as "blueprints for building well-defined
characters." This section shows character sketches and questions
to answer that will guides us through choosing the best archetype for
the story we want to write. By following the guide in this section, we
can easily develop characters that will seem to live and breathe.
Section two explores
creating female heroes and villains where sixteen female archetypes with
detailed profiles and how they are seen in today's culture are shown.
Examples from literature and film are often noted throughout to
emphasize modern concerns of the archetype's distinctive personality.
The chapters are organized the same for each archetype with segments
defining fears, motivations, compatibility with other archetypes and
possible character arcs. The presentation of the villainous side of each
archetype, while not as well defined, shows the dark traits of the
character and is followed by examples of the archetype in action through
popular media.
The third section explores
creating male heroes and villains using the same format, and also
profiles sixteen archetypes in mythic models. We see Apollo as both the
Businessman and his villainous side, the Traitor. Ares the Protector
with the villainous side in the profile of the Gladiator. You will most
likely recognize favorite characters in these profiles; I did.
Heroes and villains do not
tell the Story alone; section four is where we find the rest of our
character list. Here creating supporting characters is defined by
well-known archetypes such as the Magi, Mentor, and Best Friend. There
you will find rivals and symbol characters such as Shadow, Lost Soul,
and Double with the most typical uses for them. I was somewhat
disappointed that the trickster archetype was not included; he is one of
my favorites as a shapeshifter and enigmatic character.
In section five, "The
Feminine and Masculine Journeys," we discover the complete structure of
each journey and examples of how various archetypes might approach them.
We see the different approaches of male vs. female in topics such as
power, support, and perception as well as an overview of the different
issues each will face. This section explores areas intended to assist
writers in creating gender opposite characters with ease.
In the final chapters, she
defines each journey and divides the stages into the familiar three-act
structure. The coping strategies and issues that various archetypes
might use in negative situations are included to help writers create a
believable character arc. Craft tips follow each stage with suggestions
and ideas for integration and support character roles. Finally, the last
pages of the book contain charts and worksheets that make idea
development a breeze.
Overall, I found the book
well structured and easy to use as a reference guide. Seasoned authors
as well as new writers will benefit from the vast information covered
here. It has a prominent place on my reference bookshelf.
45 Master Characters:
Mythic Models for Creating Original Characters
By Victoria Lynn Schmidt
Published in 2007 by
Writer's Digest Books
ISBN-13:
978-1-58297-522-1
ISBN-10: 1-58297-522-1
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