Storytellers have used animal characters to tell human stories since ancient times. Today, stories with animal protagonists can be found in almost every genre, attaining bestseller list status and winning prestigious literary awards. So, what is it about writing from the perspective of non-human entity that appeals to so many writers? Why choose an animal character when writing from a human perspective would be so much easier? And why, after all these centuries are readers still drawn to animal stories?

In How to Write Animal Characters, author and editor Elizabeth Beechwood examines how to create believable, well-rounded animal characters that will resonate with your readers long after "the end."

In this workbook you'll:

· Explore four elements of animal characterization-Point of View/Perception, Behavior, Intelligence, and The Wilding

· Identify the challenges of writing animal characters, including the limitations of communication, movement, and knowledge

· Study examples from various genres of literature

· Apply what you learn to your own stories with writing exercises in each chapter

Bring your curiosity and a playful spirit to the page and screen and get started creating animal characters that will capture your reader's imagination!

When Elizabeth Beechwood writes, she starts with regular people with regular lives . . . but then something strange happens.Whether it's fiction, fantasy, magical realism or genre-bending, you can count on something just a little peculiar from her stories.She earned an MFA in Popular Fiction at the University of Southern Maine's Stonecoast program and is a certified Oregon Naturalist. When she's not writing, she loves facilitating writing workshops, walking through wild places, and spoiling her cats.