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Character
& Viewpoint
Written
by Orson Scott Card
Reviewed
by Marian Powell
When
writing fiction, don't forget the MICE. That advice comes from
the highly successful author, Orson Scott Card. He writes historical
novels, plays and science fiction, not to mention a weekly newspaper
column plus running workshops several times a year.
Characters & Viewpoint is a solid work of advice to the beginning
writer. His philosophy can be summed up by this quote from Chapter
I, "By the time they finish your story, readers want to know
your characters better than any human being ever knows any other
human being."
He focuses on ways to develop characters and plot and mistakes
to avoid. The MICE refer to the importance of knowing what type
of story you are writing. In his view, all novels fall into one
of four categories and that is what MICE stands for. M=Mileau.
I=Idea. C=Character. E=Event. Learning to recognize which category
your novel falls into will help in knowing what the arc of the
story and character development should be. This is a way of looking
at your work that can be helpful in avoiding mistakes.
All in all, this book provides a useful set of tools for the writer.
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