
OK
About Becca Puglisi
During her free time (ha), Becca enjoys playing video games, watching movies, teaching Bible studies, baking, and adding to her stash of emergency supplies. She has always enjoyed contemplating the What if? scenario, which served her well during hurricane season in south Florida and will help her survive the winter now that she's moved to New York.
Customers Also Bought Items By
Are you an author?
Author Updates
-
-
Blog postBefore we get to today’s critique contest, I’d like to take a minute to share the beauty of the world we live in. Sometimes ugliness in the world can be overwhelming, but the world itself is an amazing and inspirational place. It’s easy to forget this, especially when circumstances dictate that we can’t go out and see it for ourselves. If that’s your situation, here a few images from Angela’s and my world.
Angela’s Canadian winter wonderland Methane bubbles frozen in the water of AbrahamYesterday Read more -
Blog postHave you ever read a book or watched a movie where the dialogue has been so beautifully written that you are in that moment, experiencing the character’s emotions and hanging on to their every word? Or you know exactly what … Continue reading →
The post Writing Better Dialogue appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.
3 days ago Read more -
Blog postSuccessful stories are driven by authentic and interesting characters, so it’s important to craft them carefully. But characters don’t usually exist in a vacuum; throughout the course of your story, they’ll live, work, play, and fight with other cast members. … Continue reading →
The post Relationship Thesaurus Entry: Protagonist and Crush appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.
6 days ago Read more -
Blog postby Colleen M. Story It’s the start of a new year. Are you ready to take the next step in your writing career? If not, that’s okay. Do it anyway. Because no writer ever got anywhere waiting until she was … Continue reading →
The post Why Writers Should Take More Risks This Year appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.
1 week ago Read more -
Blog postStory openings can be difficult as authors struggle to introduce the protagonist, show them in their everyday world, hint at what’s missing, and begin the vital process of building empathy. And all of this has to be done in a … Continue reading →
The post Introducing Unique Story Elements without Confusing Readers appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.
1 week ago Read more -
Blog postWell folks, we made it: 2021. And while nothing’s really changed, I think we all feel a weight has lifted. The vaccine rollout has started and while it will take time to get to most of us, our collective gaze … Continue reading →
The post Angela’s Tips for a Happier Writing Life appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.
1 week ago Read more -
Blog postSuccessful stories are driven by authentic and interesting characters, so it’s important to craft them carefully. But characters don’t usually exist in a vacuum; throughout the course of your story, they’ll live, work, play, and fight with other cast members. … Continue reading →
The post Relationship Thesaurus Entry: Host and Guest appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.
1 week ago Read more -
Blog postNo, your eyes are not deceiving you…from December 28th to the 31st, Amazon.com has chosen the Emotion Thesaurus Expanded 2nd edition as their BIG DEAL and you can grab the kindle version for less than a buck. (Affiliate links) It’s … Continue reading →
The post The Emotion Thesaurus EXPANDED Edition is .99 Cents (Limited Time Amazon Deal) appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.
2 weeks ago Read more -
Blog postIt’s that time of year where Becca and Angela brew up some hot chocolate, set out a plate of cookies, and tuck Writers Helping Writers in for a well-earned fireside rest until 2021. Once again, our heartfelt appreciation for your … Continue reading →
The post Happy Holidays from Angela & Becca + Our Favorite Recipes! appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.
3 weeks ago Read more -
Blog postIt’s that bittersweet moment: Last Call. Nope, not for a pint, but a final chance to enter our Advent Calendar for Writers Giveaway, featuring all these AMAZING prizes: Wouldn’t it be great to start 2021 with one of these prizes … Continue reading →
The post Last Chance to Win $2300 in Writing Resources appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.
3 weeks ago Read more
There's a problem loading this menu right now.
The bestselling Emotion Thesaurus, often hailed as “the gold standard for writers” and credited with transforming how writers craft emotion, has now been expanded to include 55 new entries!
One of the biggest struggles for writers is how to convey emotion to readers in a unique and compelling way. When showing our characters’ feelings, we often use the first idea that comes to mind, and they end up smiling, nodding, and frowning too much.
If you need inspiration for creating characters’ emotional responses that are personalized and evocative, this ultimate show-don’t-tell guide for emotion can help. It includes:
- Body language cues, thoughts, and visceral responses for 130 emotions that cover a range of intensity from mild to severe, providing innumerable options for individualizing a character’s reactions
- A breakdown of the biggest emotion-related writing problems and how to overcome them
- Advice on what should be done beforedrafting to make sure your characters’ emotions will be realistic and consistent
- Instruction for how to show hidden feelings and emotional subtext through dialogue and nonverbal cues
- And much more!
The Emotion Thesaurus, in its easy-to-navigate list format, will inspire you to create stronger, fresher character expressions and engage readers from your first page to your last.
Identifying the backstory wound is crucial to understanding how it will shape your character’s behavior, and The Emotional Wound Thesaurus can help. Inside, you’ll find:
• A database of traumatic situations common to the human experience
• An in-depth study on a wound’s impact, including the fears, lies, personality shifts, and dysfunctional behaviors that can arise from different painful events
• An extensive analysis of character arc and how the wound and any resulting unmet needs fit into it
• Techniques on how to show the past experience to readers in a way that is both engaging and revelatory while avoiding the pitfalls of info dumps and telling
• A showcase of popular characters and how their traumatic experiences reshaped them, leading to very specific story goals
• A Backstory Wound Profile tool that will enable you to document your characters’ negative past experiences and the aftereffects
Root your characters in reality by giving them an authentic wound that causes difficulties and prompts them to strive for inner growth to overcome it. With its easy-to-read format and over 100 entries packed with information, The Emotional Wound Thesaurus is a crash course in psychology for creating characters that feel incredibly real to readers.
TAKE CHARACTER CREATION TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL
Nothing adds complexity like character flaws. Inside the Negative Trait Thesaurus you’ll find:
*A vast collection of flaws to explore when building a character’s personality.
*Each entry includes possible causes, attitudes, behaviors, thoughts, and related emotions
*Real examples from literature, film, or television to show how each flaw can create life challenges and relational friction
*Advice on building layered and memorable characters from the ground up
*An in-depth look at backstory, emotional wounds, and how pain twists a character’s view of himself and his world, influencing behavior and decision making
*A flaw-centric exploration of character arc, relationships, motivation, and basic needs
*Tips on how to best show a character’s flaws to readers while avoiding common pitfalls
*Downloadable tools to aid writers in character creation
The Negative Trait Thesaurus sheds light on your character’s dark side. Written in list format and fully indexed, this brainstorming resource is perfect for creating deep, flawed characters readers will relate to.
What if there was a shortcut for helping readers get to know your characters? Would you take it?
Characters are as complex as people and revealing their inner layers without chunky blocks of pace-stopping description is a challenge. The Occupation Thesaurus can help you unlock one of the best tools in your show-don’t-tell writing kit: a character’s job.
Occupations are part of our everyday world, meaning they can be used to encourage readers to make associations between a type of work and the person doing it, shortening the “get to know the character” curve. Whether a person loves or hates what they do, a job can reveal many things, including their priorities, beliefs, desires, and needs. The Occupation Thesaurus will show you how a career choice can characterize, drive the plot, infuse scenes with conflict, and get readers on the character’s side through the relatable pressures, responsibilities, and stakes inherent with work.
THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX REGARDING CAREER OPTIONS
Select a job that packs a powerful punch. Inside The Occupation Thesaurus, you’ll find:
- Informative profiles on popular and unusual jobs to help you write them with authority
- Believable conflict scenarios for each occupation, giving you unlimited possibilities for adding tension at the story and scene level
- Advice for twisting the stereotypes often associated with these professions
- Instruction on how to use jobs to characterize, support story structure, reinforce theme, and more
- An in-depth study on how emotional wounds and basic human needs may influence a character’s choice of occupation
- A brainstorming tool to organize the various aspects of your character’s personality so you can come up with the best careers for them
Do more with your description and choose a profession for your character that showcases who they are, what they want, and what they believe in. With over 120 entries in a user-friendly format, The Occupation Thesaurus is an entire job fair for writers.
UNEARTH YOUR CHARACTER’S UNIQUE PERSONALITY
Character creation can be hard, but it’s about to get a lot easier. Inside The Positive Trait Thesaurus, you’ll find:
*A large selection of attributes to choose from when building a personality profile. Each entry lists possible causes for why a trait might emerge, along with associated attitudes, behaviors, thoughts, and emotions
*Real character examples from literature, film, or television to show how an attribute drives actions and decisions, influences goals, and steers relationships
*Advice on using positive traits to immediately hook readers while avoiding common personality pitfalls
*Insight on human needs and morality, and how each determines the strengths that emerge in heroes and villains alike
*Information on the key role positive attributes play within the character arc, and how they’re vital to overcoming fatal flaws and achieving success
*Downloadable tools for organizing a character’s attributes and providing a deeper understanding of his past, his needs, and the emotional wounds he must overcome
If you find character creation difficult or worry that your cast members all seem the same, The Positive Trait Thesaurus is brimming with ideas to help you develop one-of-a-kind, dynamic characters that readers will love. Extensively indexed, with entries written in a user-friendly list format, this brainstorming resource is perfect for any character creation project.
Inside The Rural Setting Thesaurus, you’ll find:
• A list of the sights, smells, tastes, textures, and sounds for over 100 settings revolving around school, home, and nature
• Possible sources of conflict for each location to help you brainstorm ways to naturally complicate matters for your characters
• Advice on the many effective ways to build mood, helping you steer both the character’s and readers’ emotions in every scene
• Information on how the setting directly influences the plot by acting as a tuning fork for what a character needs most and by testing his dedication to his goals
• A tutorial on figurative language and how different descriptive techniques can bring settings alive for readers while conveying a symbolic message or deeper meaning
• A review of the challenges that arise when writing description, as well as special considerations that apply specifically to rural and personal settings
The Rural Setting Thesaurus takes “show-don’t-tell” to new heights. It offers writers a roadmap to creating fresh setting imagery that impacts the story on multiple levels while keeping readers engaged from the first page to the last.
Inside The Urban Thesaurus, you’ll find:
• A list of the sights, smells, tastes, textures, and sounds for over 120 urban settings
• Possible sources of conflict for each location to help you brainstorm ways to naturally complicate matters for your characters
• Advice on how to make every piece of description count so you can maintain the right pace and keep readers engaged
• Tips on utilizing the five senses to encourage readers to more fully experience each moment by triggering their own emotional memories
• Information on how to use the setting to characterize a story’s cast through personalization and emotional values while using emotional triggers to steer their decisions
• A review of specific challenges that arise when writing urban locations, along with common descriptive pitfalls that should be avoided
The Urban Setting Thesaurus helps you tailor each setting to your characters while creating a realistic, textured world readers will long to return to, even after the book closes.
In Emotion Amplifiers, a companion guide to The Emotion Thesaurus, we explore 15 common states that naturally galvanize emotion. States like exhaustion, boredom, illness, pain, and extreme hunger can push characters to the limit, compromising their decision-making abilities and decreasing the likelihood of them reaching their goals. Emotion Amplifiers is a great tool for any writer wishing to tighten the screws on their characters and amp up the tension in their stories.
Did you know there's a SECOND EDITION of The Emotion Thesaurus? Find it by clicking the author's names.
One of the biggest problem areas for writers is conveying a character's emotions to the reader in a unique, compelling way. This book comes to the rescue by highlighting 75 emotions and listing the possible body language cues, thoughts, and visceral responses for each.
Using its easy-to-navigate list format, readers can draw inspiration from character cues that range in intensity to match any emotional moment. The Emotion Thesaurus also tackles common emotion-related writing problems and provides methods to overcome them.
This writing tool encourages writers to show, not tell emotion and is a creative brainstorming resource for any fiction project.