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Becca Puglisi

Angela Ackerman

The Conflict Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Obstacles, Adversaries, and Inner Struggles (Volume 1) (Writers Helping Writers Series) Paperback – October 4, 2021

by Becca Puglisi (Author), Angela Ackerman (Author)

647 ratings

Book 8 of 8: Writers Helping Writers Series

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Every story starts with a character who is motivated by a need and has a goal that can resolve it. Whether their objective is to find a life partner, bring a killer to justice, overthrow a cruel regime, or something else, conflict transforms a story premise into something fresh. Physical obstacles, adversaries, moral dilemmas, deep-seated doubts and personal struggles…these not only block a character’s external progress, they become a gateway for internal growth. The right conflict will build tension and high stakes, challenge characters as they traverse their arcs, and most importantly, keep readers emotionally invested from beginning to end.

Inside Volume 1 of The Conflict Thesaurus, you’ll find:

A myriad of conflict options in the form of relationship friction, failures and mistakes, moral dilemmas and temptations, pressure and ticking clocks, and no-win scenarios
An analysis of each scenario that maps out possible complications and catastrophes, internal struggles, and the stressful impacts on a character’s basic human needs
Guidance on using conflict to influence your protagonist's character arc through opportunities for failure and success
Master class instruction on internal conflict: what it is, why it's important, and how to incorporate it at the scene and story levels
Information about the role conflict plays in generating high stakes that are personally significant to the character, upping the tension for readers
A breakdown of the various adversaries your character might encounter along the way

Don't give your character a break. Keep the hits coming with a variety of obstacles that will force them to work harder to get what they want. With over 100 entries arranged in a user-friendly format, The Conflict Thesaurus is the guide you need to write intense and satisfying fiction readers won’t forget.

Print length

300 pages
Language

English
Publication date

October 4, 2021
Dimensions

7 x 0.68 x 10 inches
ISBN-10

0999296396
ISBN-13

978-0999296394
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ JADD Publishing (October 4, 2021)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 300 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0999296396
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0999296394
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.16 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 0.68 x 10 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #15,934 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #37 in Words, Language & Grammar Reference
- #43 in Fiction Writing Reference (Books)

Customer Reviews:
647 ratings

About the authors

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Becca Puglisi
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Becca Puglisi is an international speaker, writing coach, and author of bestselling books for writers. Her books are available in multiple languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world. She is passionate about learning and sharing her knowledge with others through her Writers Helping Writers blog and via One Stop For Writers—a powerhouse online library created to help writers elevate their storytelling. Her books are represented by foreign rights agent Marleen Seegers of 2 Seas Agency.
During her free time (ha), Becca enjoys playing video games, watching movies with her family, baking, and adding to her stash of emergency supplies. She has always enjoyed contemplating the What if? scenario, which serves her well during hurricane season in south Florida.
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Angela Ackerman
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Angela Ackerman is a writing coach, international speaker, and co-author of eight bestselling books for writers, including The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression (now an expanded 2nd edition) and her latest volume, The Occupation Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Jobs, Vocations, and Careers. Her books are available in eight languages, are sourced by universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world.
Angela is also the co-founder of the popular site Writers Helping Writers®, as well as One Stop for Writers®, an innovative online library filled with powerful tools and resources built to help writers elevate their storytelling. If you're ready to take your fiction to the next level like thousands of other writers around the globe, give one stop for Writers' FREE TRAIL a try.
A strong believer in writers helping and supporting other writers, she tries to pay-it-forward however she is able to.
http://writershelpingwriters.net
http://onestopforwriters.com
See more on the author's page

Customer reviews

5 star		89%
4 star		8%
3 star		2%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Margaret-Mary Jaeger

Important info for serious writers

Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2021

Verified Purchase

As a writer of romantic fiction, I must always instill conflict in my storyline. This book - this wonderful book! - has been so helpful since I rec'd an arc and then purchased it! The book is broken down into categories and lists everything that would be helpful for a writer to know when constructing a character arc and story arc. I can't wait for volume 2~~

15 people found this helpful

Helpful

TheppinTop Contributor: Writing

Pick and choose a conflict? Uh, not so fast.

Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2021

Verified Purchase

For me, The Emotions Thesaurus is by far the most useful in the series. This one, though, might be good if you’re writing melodrama using shallow characters. I think the tendency to want to look through this thesaurus to rustle up some conflict for its own sake will be tempting, but prove disastrous for your story. Conflict that pushes the story forward should be brought into your story by the complex characters you develop, not because you find it in the thesaurus. If you do have complex, multi-dimensional characters, and just happen to have one of the thesaurus’s pre-planned conflicts inherent in a believable situation, then all is good and helpful. Something else that royally ticks some of us off is that this thesaurus will never end. It will be volume 1, 2, 3, etc. And frankly, if you do you work on character development, you won’t have need or the time to spend plowing through this book. If only writing were so easy…

37 people found this helpful

Helpful

Julie R. McGue

Couldn't wait to add this title to my writer toolkit!

Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2021

Verified Purchase

I have been anxiously awaiting the publication of The Conflict Thesaurus! It does not disappoint. Every writer, whether they craft fiction or memoir, needs this book by their computer. It is chock full of useful tools to consider in creating characters and narrative with internal and external conflict. Because I write memoir, my personal favorites are the chapters on "Being Unable to Forgive Someone" and "Having to Betray a Friend or Loved One." This guide rounded out my collection of The Emotional Wound Thesuarus and The Emotion Thesaurus. I can't wait for Ackerman & Puglisi to put out Volume 2 of the Conflict Thesaurus.

18 people found this helpful

Helpful

Paul Irvine

The gem is the 35 page Conflict exposition

Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2022

Verified Purchase

As expected, the many ideas and expansions of all kinds of conflicts is excellent, especially for us, um, more mature folks that need prompts ;-). Well done as with all their thesaurus'. The hidden gem in this book, however, is the first 35 pages the proves a well structured, focused, succinct exposition on use and place and breath of CONFLICT in stories. Oh my Gosh!! What a treasure for that aspect - and a very important one - of writing well. Kudo's for them adding that introduction.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

AllAboutThatBook

Another Winner....

Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2021

Verified Purchase

I have all of Angela and Becca's previous books and use them frequently. Although there is nothing in them you probably don't already know, it is organized so that the information you are looking for is easy to find and saves you time thinking of what it is you're trying to say. I own more than 400 writing reference guides/books, etc. and I would part with every one of them to keep their thesauri. Highly recommended....

9 people found this helpful

Helpful

Roberta McFarland

Helps with conflict

Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2022

Verified Purchase

This thesaurus is more explanatory than many of the other books in the series. while I don't care for the idea, "In storytelling, a plethora of conflict is encouraged." as the authors say on page 15, it is a truth. each section goes into how a particular situation can be caused and affect a person or plot. It is handy to have these thesauruses on kindle, I prefer referring to the printed book.

Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2021

Verified Purchase

I love these books! They are so well thought out and informative... have several

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Jenny Sandiford

I love this book!

Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2022

Verified Purchase

I love this book! I've found it really useful for flicking through to get inspiration for writing conflict. But also for working out the complications and consequences that arise from particular situations.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Sacha Black

One for every writer's bookshelf.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 13, 2021

Verified Purchase

Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi should be on every writer's bookshelf. Conflict is at the core of story and this book will teach you why as well as how to craft exquisite conflict that both creates killer stakes for your characters and hooks your readers for life.

Ackerman-Puglisi's thesaurus is so much more than just a "thesaurus". It's a tutor, a guide, and a writing mentor all crammed into one thesaurus. Not only that, but packed into the front end of their latest thesaurus is an array of writing lessons you NEED if you want to craft the best conflict for your story. They dive into internal conflict, why you need it, what it should look like and how to craft it on paper at the story, scene, and character level. And that's aside from the dozens and dozens of conflict entries.

Ackerman-Puglisi have done it again. This really is a must read for any writer hoping to improve their characters and stories.

11 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Fantastic resource to get the brain pumping

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 23, 2021

Verified Purchase

A mistake would be to utilise this book thinking it will have the exact scenario your characters are in. Perhaps, one or two may be identical, but this resource combats what I call ‘plot-lock’ by offering a wide variety of conflicts, and the emotions and traits associated with such conflicts, that can be studied and applied to your characters. The specific conflict, for example ‘disobeying an order’, usually takes up two pages, and each section follows roughly the same structure, which I found aided in it’s readability. Not only does it deal with the ephemeral conflict, it deals with the fallout of such.

I found the introductory chapters of this book and the emotion thesaurus (another 5* resource) to be incredibly insightful and useful.

4 people found this helpful

Robert Coleman

Another book in an invaluable series

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 2, 2022

Verified Purchase

I've collected all the books in this series so far - and they've all been invaluable in my writing endeavours. But I must put in a spoiler alert here: this is just Conflict Thesaurus Book 1 - there's a second book to buy later this year.

One person found this helpful

RR

Very useful!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 11, 2022

Verified Purchase

A wonderful and useful thesaurus to have in my collection. I have three of the writes’ thesaurus, and they are on my desk, by my laptop, all the time ready to help. I’ll be adding more.