I am deeply grateful for Coursera, as they approved my financial aid request for this one. This is why I am being kind of generous with the rating. Unfortunately, the course did not live up to my expectations. In comparison to the Craft of Plot, this course spoke very vaguely and did not use other well-known books to elaborate on the ideas. I was also expecting we delve into the types of characters in this one: round, flat, etc. and get to know how to use and create such characters.

Nevertheless, I thank Ms. Amy for her efforts and experience put into it.

The course is very informative and goes into great detail as to the key points of creating interesting and fleshed-out characters. I did, however, find the course topic a bit disorganized, as there would be videos or units with a name indicating a focus on a certain aspect but would then handle a completely unrelated, if still useful, topic. This was the only flaw I found in the course, and it is relatively minor, but it would be a very useful change in the future. Otherwise, it is highly recommended so long as you don't mind a bit of a messy syllabus!

The course is intense, in fact MUCH more intense than the course on plot. I felt challenged and inspired to complete the assignments. Peers reviews were exceptionally objective and therefore helpful. What I felt was lacking was in Week 4 of the course - the section on points-of-view in narration. External reading to understand the different voices of narration and voices of narrative are highly recommended. Would have appreciated more help from the instructor in that particular week.

Craft of Character did a lot for my ability to create characters, and I learned a lot about writing dialogue, and the different points of view that those dialogues can come from. Instructions were always perfectly clear and easy to understand. Of course I wasn't always expert at the week's process involved, but that wasn't because of the directions being in anyway unclear. I loved taking this course, and will definitely be continuing on in the Specialization.

I enjoyed this course and I would recommend it to others. I enjoyed the assignments and felt like they challenged and stretched me in good ways.

Criticisms include: some confusing titles - why is the third section called Location, Location, Location, when it is the second section that is about location? Some of the wording in the rubrics seem to refer to things not discussed before. So, some revision and clarity would be much appreciated.

I like Amy Bloom, but the lectures don't provide the explanations or the processes for creating characters. In the Craft of Plot, Skyhorse gave us the tools we need to develop plot and structure, and even how to start to develop characters. But in this course, the lectures don't do that. They seem more philosophical than instructional and all of the lectures go right over my head. Craft of Plot gave me hope, Craft of Character confused me.

Excellent course. The video presentations are well done with information that is vital for developing the skill required to be an effective writer. They include videos that discuss concepts and interviews with successful writers. The assignments are challenging but enjoyable and well paced. This the second course I have taken in the specialization, and I am pleased with the big level of expertise that is shared by the instructors.

Like other courses in the specialization, I learned a lot in this course especially about defining and shaping the characters in my fiction stories. There is one thing in this course that I particularly liked more than the others and that was having us, the author, state what we wanted feedback on for each assignment. Doing this yielded better feedback than that received in the first course in the specialization I took.

A great course overall. The peer feedback is sometimes informative, sometimes lacking. One word peer reviews should not be allowed. Perhaps there needs to be a preliminary assessment of of participants to see if they qualify for the course. Perhaps have a reporting function that allows the learner to report insufficient feedback. The power in MOOCs is learning from one another as well as from the instructor.

I really enjoyed this course. The lectures were particularly interesting. I think one thing that could be improved is the phrasing of the assignments. I wasn't entirely sire of what was required for each week (especially week 2). But saying that I feel a lot more prepared in regards to approaching characters and I feel equipped with many different thoughts and techniques to tackle character in the future.

The course content and some of the assignments provided me with insights to approach and review my own writing with better understanding of sculpting of characters. Also, I got perspective on the dynamics of dialogue, the selection of POV to tell a story most effectively, and the tone of voice of the author that underlies the narrative between the dialogues and monologues. Grateful for the learning.

I gained a lot from the program but all four courses would benefit so much more by even minor contact from the staff. I've written questions and often get no response. There needs a higher commitment from Staff to engage with students enrolled in the Creative Writing Program. After completing all four programs and now doing Capstone, this is definitely a failure that could be so easily addressed.

Good course (I did the free version, full disclosure). Learned enough about character development to help me with my fiction - and non-fiction. I teach creative nonfiction and you need to understand how to make the people you use compelling. Wish there was more exposition, factual step-by-step and less interviewing. Liked the Plot class better for that reason

I found this course a little less enthralling than the other three, mostly due to the fact that the videos lacked the interactive element that the other courses had, and due to the fact that there was a lot of repetition in what was being said. Contents was interesting, and I loved the assignments, but the whole thing lacked a little pep.

I liked the course -- there were plenty of useful tips throughout. However, I felt some of the assignments were unnecessarily oblique and complicated (particularly the second assignment). Ultimately, it was a helpful course, though I feel much of the information, expectation, and specific instruction could be more streamlined.

Some really good inputs on creating characters (and on creating the voice of the narrator), as well as creating the tone of a piece of writing in general. I found the writing tasks quite challenging, but they also offer great insights, especially in terms of the possibilities of which point of view to write from.

Well-organized and well-structured, good examples, multiple perspectives from practicing writers. The content on character development, the role of dialog and action in revealing characters, and POV/voice would be most helpful for novice writers (but perhaps also for experienced writers!)

Character is one of the most difficult aspects of fiction writing and I think this course does a good job of getting you to understand it. It would definitely benefit from some additional mandatory readings. Parts of James Wood's How Fiction Works would be right on the money.

The course helped me put the learning to practice. The course helped me start writing and also engage in reviewing the peers which helped me broaden my interest and also helped me understand the quality and style of writing that other students of the same field have.

Good videos. Lots of material for consideration. Good assignments! I really enjoyed stretching my comfort zone a bit . Particularly in the last exercise. Jumping from 1st Person to Omniscient POV. Had not given point of view so much brain time!!

Great insight into character, voice and connecting with our story. The professor also references books that can be read to further our understanding. The only drawback is that auditing students cannot participate in feedback on assignments.

Prof. Bloom was very interesting to watch and listen to. The course was well organized and free of technical issues, but it didn't seem quite as thorough a discussion of the topic as the plot course was. Very close to 5 stars.

This course covers every aspect of building a character for a beginner to understand how this world works. I would have loved a bit of more readings with examples of what was being taught to us. But overall, really good course.

I really enjoyed the lectures of the course and found Amy Bloom to be an informative and relatable writer and lecturer. The assignments were a bit odd, in my opinion, but maybe that's the way writing assignments are in general?

Good course, i have learned few very useful concepts, thanks to Amy.

The last assignment was genius, helped us to really recognize differences between two POV,.

However, first assignments were a little bit confusing.