he Compass of Character is the perfect one-stop bookshelf reference for writing and developing characters with complex motivation in fiction, film, and TV for both beginners and more accomplished writers.
Just as a compass provides direction for an explorer, so does motivation provide direction for characters in fiction. The compass of character motivation is composed of four points: Lack, Yearning, Resistance, and Desire. In The Compass of Character you’ll learn to deeply consider the key question What does my character want? and learn techniques to answer that question by writing realistic and empathetic characters without falling into formulaic, unsatisfying results that only diminish the character. Bestselling author and acclaimed writing instructor David Corbett provides writers with the essentials for building characters with motivations that range from clear to complex by exploring topics such as:

human yearning

pathological maneuvers

the pain of life vs. the promise of life

backstory and behaviour

mechanics of growth and transformation

dramatising mistaken desire and misbegotten yearnings moral arguments The key to fascinating characters is rendering subtle inner states in straightforward external circumstances, which requires a fundamental understanding of the simple building blocks of complex motivation as they manifest themselves in behaviour, where complexity of purpose collides with the messy, indifferent world. The Compass of Character is the one book that can guide writers to that end with both instruction and inspiration. AUTHOR: A former private investigator in San Francisco, David Corbett is the New York Times bestselling author of six critically acclaimed novels, numerous stories and scripts, and the acclaimed writing guide, The Art of Character. He is a respected and widely admired teacher and editor, with a specific emphasis on character. He is a contributing editor to Writer’s Digest magazine and a regular contributor to Writer Unboxed, a daily blog on the craft and business of fiction. He teaches at writing conferences across North America and Mexico, including the Writer’s Digest Novel Writing conference, and he teaches 3-4 classes per year at Litreactor (Chuck Palahniuk’s online university). His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Writer Magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle, MovieMaker, Noir City, Bright Ideas, Crimespree, Mystery Scene, Narrative, Zyzzyva, and We Wanted to be Writers.