Kira-Anne Pelican, PhD is the founder of CHARACTER MASTERCLASS. She is also a writer, educator and script editor, who specialises in helping writers develop more compelling novels, TV series and films through insights from evidence-based psychology. She is the author of The Science of Writing Characters (Bloomsbury, 2020), translated into Chinese, Korean and Italian.
About the book.
The Science of Writing Characters is a comprehensive handbook to help writers create compelling and psychologically-credible characters that come to life on the page. Drawing on the latest psychological theory and research, ranging from personality theory to evolutionary science, the book equips screenwriters and novelists with all the techniques they need to build complex, dimensional characters from the bottom up. Writers learn how to create rounded characters using the 'Big Five' dimensions of personality and then are shown how these personality traits shape action, relationships and dialogue.
Throughout The Science of Writing Characters, psychological theories and research are translated into handy practical tips, which are illustrated through examples of characters in action in well-known films, television series and novels, ranging from Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri and Game of Thrones to The Bonfire of the Vanities and The Goldfinch. This very practical approach makes the book an engaging and accessible companion guide for all writers who want to better understand how they can make memorable characters with the potential for global appeal.
“The Science of Writing Characters is a godsend for those who wish to write cogent, exciting and distinctive screenplays.”
Paul Gulino, Associate Professor Chapman University; author of Screenwriting (2013) and The Science of Screenwriting (2018)
“For every film-goer or TV viewer who has thought, "I could write a better script than this", Dr. Pelican shows them how to make their ideas real, attention-grabbing and above all truthful. The Science of Writing Characters is exactly the book we need now.”
Paul Brett, Executive Producer (Wolf Hall (2015), The King’s Speech (2010) and many more)
“No one I know has blended science with creativity like Kira-Anne Pelican. Any writer who ignores her research and fails to heed her advice risks being left in the distribution wilderness.”
Elliot Grove, Founder of Raindance and British Independent Film Awards
“A comprehensive, practical system for developing deep characterization.”
Kawai Strong Washburn, Author of Sharks in the Time of Saviours (2021), Winner of the 2021 PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel
“An excellent guide to what you can do to help your imagination create powerful, memorable and emotionally engaging characters”
Julian Friedmann, Co-Owner Blake Friedmann Literary Agency
“Dr. Kira-Anne Pelican expands the scope and arena of the art and craft of screenwriting by delving more deeply into the psychology of characters. She is knowledgeable, insightful, clear, supportive of the writer, and welcomes the writer to embrace this method of deepening the craft.”
Dr. Linda Seger, author of 10 books on screenwriting including Making a Good Script Great