a little reading goes a long way

I'm a frequent Amazon.com shopper. That "buy with one click" gets me in trouble every time I visit. I usually go in with one book in mind, and come out with several buys. The most recent used book I one-clicked arrived today. As I opened the Art of Creative Writing by Lajos Egri, I noticed that someone else had loved on this book. Several passages are highlighted throughout, keywords have been underlined, and the margins are cluttered with the previous owner's thoughts. Somewhere on page 67, s/he wrote down they were hungry and were craving a taco (probably a man). Such details, in an odd way, warmed my heart. Someone out there, in the big world, has gone before me and down the path of learning a new craft. 

It makes me feel that perhaps learning the craft is a little more accessible than I'd originally thought. I'm not sure if it makes a difference, but I take whatever assurances I can get, almost anything that gives me a positive attitude about settling down and writing. And maybe that makes all the difference. 

I only just started but here are a few lines that struck me as incredibly thoughtful. And yes, the lines I'm presenting, were highlighted. 

On characterization:

"What the writer wants to know is how a real human being—a real three-dimensional character—acts in life. The answer is simplicity itself: like you or me...To this very day we cannot find any living human being who can claim is angelic through and through or rotten to the core...Yes man is complex. The truth is man has the capacity to heroic, superhuman, ready to sacrifice his life for an ideal and with the same ease, cut his best friend's throat. In short: he's good and evil at the same time. It depends on the what inner or outside contradiction activates him to expose himself."

Makes writing a villain a little more interesting doesn't it? I've never thought to to add a "good" quality to my antagonist, either in his demeanor, in his dress, or in his inherent character. Now I'm compelled to, suddenly realizing how much it will add to his presence in the story, by revealing a bittersweet quirk in his nature. Something he keeps hidden, but readily available to the observant eye.

I'm off to write the climatic scene. On page 215 (the farthest I've ever gone).