If you have trouble with character development, this may be the perfect book for you.
Building Believable Characters is divided into three parts. The first, and to me the least interesting, part features interviews with writers who discuss their tips for creating great characters. The questions aren’t really that challenging (Example: “Which is more effective, to simply tell a reader about a protagonist’s personality traits or to show them in action?”), nor are the responses that enlightening. Unless you’re very new to the field of fiction writing, you won’t find much new in this section.
Part two provides a fifteen page character questionnaire asking about everything from your character’s height and weight to her biggest sexual turn-offs. I’ve used variations of this comprehensive questionnaire several times when I get stuck on a character, and each time I’ve been able to gain new insight into my protagonist.
Part three contains a comprehensive thesaurus, including all sorts of different words used to describe body types, eye colors (kelp???), facial hair, moods, psychiatric problems, professions, hobbies, and much more. It’s a great reference for offbeat descriptions of minor characters.
I believe this book is out of print now, but if you can find a copy, it’s well worth the money.
Happy writing!
