Because the fiction I write is based on my own past and overcoming emotional wounds, the discovery of The Emotional Wound Thesaurus was all the more important for me to learn to develop unique and layered female protagonists. Even though the conflict and themes of my current and future novels will somewhat reflect my own experiences, I also desire to write for and create relatable characters for women of all backgrounds.
I've heard the notion that parts of who we are as people are reflected in the characters we write. Often, our first novel represents ourselves in part or in whole more than any other. I see it as a form of therapy as we work out our own personalities and struggles in the safe space of a fictional world. However, eventually, I'd like to write characters that are not like me at all! Perhaps an alter ego, or a story inspired by something I see on the news or hear about from friends.
For my current fiction project, I’m writing from the POV of three sisters. Here are five ways I see The Emotional Wound Thesaurus can help writers create characters of depth – even when those characters are different from themselves or anyone else they know.
1. Forward and Intro Sections. Whether you think you know your characters or not, read the first 40 pages of this book! If you're not sure about your character's wounds yet, skim the table of contents and choose a few that seem to fit with your story concept. But then, go back and read the beginning chapters which offer exceptional insights on Self-Care for Writers (especially important if you'll be exploring wounds that are close to your own personal experiences), The Mirror of Fiction: a Reflection of Life and Our Deeper Selves, What is an Emotional Wound?, Character Arc: an Internal Shift to Embrace Change, and more. Even though I'd already used the online database of wounds to develop my characters, I still had several breakthroughs and "ah-ha" moments in understanding my fictional sisters and how to convey the various parts of their journey in my story.
2. Consider the PRIMARY Emotional Wound and choose two additional wounds. You may--as I did and especially if you're basing your main character after a part of your own life--begin to see overlapping characteristics related to multiple wounds. This will help you to discover the dominating negative and positive traits, triggers, fears and responses for your character. In turn, you'll be able to highlight these for fiction and the purpose of your story without overwhelming your reader with too many issues for your character to tackle. However, this process will help in knowing your character on a deeper level that should help in developing scenes, writing dialogue, or even choosing hobbies, family status, or a career path.
3. Multiple POVs. This is the first time I've attempted writing a novel with the point of view of three distinct women. Having access to The Emotional Wound Thesaurus has been a vital part in giving each woman a unique back story, personality, and voice despite the fact that they are sisters.
4. Add Your Own Elements. I'm certain this resource isn't intended to be an end-all-be-all, but more of a spring-board of potential. Though there are realistic and unrealistic manners in which someone will respond to an emotional wound, there are ways to modify these responses depending on your character. For example, say a character is still in the process of overcoming the wound of "Becoming a Caregiver at an Early Age". As a result, she's avoided becoming a parent herself. Instead, she has a dog to fulfill her need of caring for another being, but also sees it as "safer" than becoming a mom and she can practice being "overprotective" without rejection or push back. I came up with this detail on my own as it seemed to fit her personality.
5. Emotional Wounds are Directly Related to Positive and Negative Traits. Even if you don't analyze your characters or dive as deeply into their wounds as I have for mine, you'll find this resource helpful in creating rounded characters. This goes for your protagonist, supporting characters, and even the villain. On the most basic level, choose a wound and a few associated negative and positive traits and you've got yourself a unique character attempting to overcome the past while battling a conflict in the present.
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![The Emotional Wound Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Psychological Trauma (Writers Helping Writers Series Book 6) by [Becca Puglisi, Angela Ackerman]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51EiJVfHfsL._SY346_.jpg)
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The Emotional Wound Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Psychological Trauma (Writers Helping Writers Series Book 6) Kindle Edition
by
Becca Puglisi
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Angela Ackerman
(Author)
Format: Kindle Edition
Becca Puglisi
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Angela Ackerman
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LanguageEnglish
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Publication dateOctober 18, 2017
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File size2721 KB
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"This is far more than a brilliant, thorough, insightful and unique thesaurus, this is the best primer on story -- and what REALLY hooks and holds readers-- that I have ever read." ~ Lisa Cron, bestselling author of Wired For Story & Story Genius
"Emotional trauma, rightly used, will greatly increase the strength of the reader's bond with your characters. But how can a writer avoid clichés while brainstorming this backstory material? Once again, Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi supply the answer." ~ James Scott Bell, International Thriller Writers Award winner
"This book is an invaluable resource providing situations that led to the character's emotional wound, false beliefs, fears and responses that impact personality, as well as triggers and opportunities that can lead into plot ideas. It's a great addition to the thesaurus collection from Ackerman & Puglisi." ~ Joanna Penn, NYT & USA Today bestselling author
"Short of hiring a psychologist for in-depth discussions about your characters, this book is one of the single best resources I've ever encountered for drilling deep in your character's psyche." ~ K.M. Weiland, bestselling author of Structure Your Novel & Creating Character Arcs
"I've been exploring backstory wounds for decades. This emotional guide adds depth to your characters, meaning to your plots, and promises richer, truer, and more stirring stories." ~ Martha Alderson, bestselling author of the Plot Whisperer books
"To weave stories that connect directly to a reader's heart, an author knows has to go deeper than they've ever gone before. The Emotional Wound Thesaurus takes them there." ~ Steena Holmes, NYT & USA Today bestselling author
"The Emotional Wound Thesaurus is a must-read for authors who want to write engaging, emotional stories with characters who leap off the page." ~Jennifer Probst, NYT & USA Today bestselling author
"Emotional trauma, rightly used, will greatly increase the strength of the reader's bond with your characters. But how can a writer avoid clichés while brainstorming this backstory material? Once again, Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi supply the answer." ~ James Scott Bell, International Thriller Writers Award winner
"This book is an invaluable resource providing situations that led to the character's emotional wound, false beliefs, fears and responses that impact personality, as well as triggers and opportunities that can lead into plot ideas. It's a great addition to the thesaurus collection from Ackerman & Puglisi." ~ Joanna Penn, NYT & USA Today bestselling author
"Short of hiring a psychologist for in-depth discussions about your characters, this book is one of the single best resources I've ever encountered for drilling deep in your character's psyche." ~ K.M. Weiland, bestselling author of Structure Your Novel & Creating Character Arcs
"I've been exploring backstory wounds for decades. This emotional guide adds depth to your characters, meaning to your plots, and promises richer, truer, and more stirring stories." ~ Martha Alderson, bestselling author of the Plot Whisperer books
"To weave stories that connect directly to a reader's heart, an author knows has to go deeper than they've ever gone before. The Emotional Wound Thesaurus takes them there." ~ Steena Holmes, NYT & USA Today bestselling author
"The Emotional Wound Thesaurus is a must-read for authors who want to write engaging, emotional stories with characters who leap off the page." ~Jennifer Probst, NYT & USA Today bestselling author
About the Author
Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi are bestselling authors, writing coaches, and international speakers. Their books are available in five languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world. Angela and Becca also co-founded their popular Writers Helping Writers site, a hub where authors can hone their craft, as well as One Stop For Writers, an innovative online library built to help writers elevate their storytelling.
Product details
- ASIN : B076KFRFNF
- Publisher : JADD Publishing (October 18, 2017)
- Publication date : October 18, 2017
- Language : English
- File size : 2721 KB
- Simultaneous device usage : Unlimited
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 327 pages
- Lending : Enabled
- Best Sellers Rank: #44,526 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:
Customer reviews
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4.8 out of 5
998 global ratings
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Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2017
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58 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2019
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Excellent reference - from beginning to end! Showcases personality traits that may emerge due to emotional wounds a person has suffered, along with triggers that may aggravate a wound and opportunities for a person to overcome a previous wound. Perfect for helping one write a developed and believable story line! I highly recommend this book. Please mark if you find my review helpful. Thank you so much!

5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent reference - from beginning to end!
By Peggy on February 28, 2019
Excellent reference - from beginning to end! Showcases personality traits that may emerge due to emotional wounds a person has suffered, along with triggers that may aggravate a wound and opportunities for a person to overcome a previous wound. Perfect for helping one write a developed and believable story line! I highly recommend this book. Please mark if you find my review helpful. Thank you so much!
By Peggy on February 28, 2019
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20 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2017
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Well, a value add for the readers of The Emotional Wound Thesaurus is free THERAPY! While using this guide to give my characters more dimension, I recognized some of my own behaviors and was able to link them back to emotional wounds from my past and use the information provided for some needed self-awareness and self-compassion.
But, back to intended purpose of this guide - the comprehensive scenarios (from common to extreme) will help authors define and reveal characters through the provided triggers, behaviors, beliefs, fears and possible resulting personality traits. It will support efforts to build empathy or disdain for your characters - or possibly both. This thesaurus contains a few helpful tools to help flesh out your specific character's emotional wound journey. This will be an ongoing and much used resource.
Well done!
But, back to intended purpose of this guide - the comprehensive scenarios (from common to extreme) will help authors define and reveal characters through the provided triggers, behaviors, beliefs, fears and possible resulting personality traits. It will support efforts to build empathy or disdain for your characters - or possibly both. This thesaurus contains a few helpful tools to help flesh out your specific character's emotional wound journey. This will be an ongoing and much used resource.
Well done!
43 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2018
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I saw a previous post that stated that print in the physical book looked horrible, so I was hesitant to purchase it. However, I decided to just take a chance and I’m glad that I did. Everything looks perfect! The content is GREAT, but my main reason for making this post was to provide any concerned potential purchaser with a bit of ease and let them know that the physical book is also a good option for purchase.

5.0 out of 5 stars
Physical book looks great
By K. Greene on March 31, 2018
I saw a previous post that stated that print in the physical book looked horrible, so I was hesitant to purchase it. However, I decided to just take a chance and I’m glad that I did. Everything looks perfect! The content is GREAT, but my main reason for making this post was to provide any concerned potential purchaser with a bit of ease and let them know that the physical book is also a good option for purchase.
By K. Greene on March 31, 2018
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30 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2017
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I love all of the thesaurus books and use them for all of my writing but this book is truly a treasure. This book adds to my repertoire as I build my characters out - the positive and negative traits and now their wounds - to add depth and enrich my characters. This book allows you to look at various wounds for your characters, and how they might affect the character, building a well-rounded character and avoiding any cardboard characters. It contains examples of wounds, needs impacted, false beliefs and fears, results of these and how the character may have responded. There are multiple options, not just one, and personality traits and triggers too that can exacerbate the wound. However, this is not just a dry recitation of wounds, but an educational text on character arcs and how to write using the wounds. The information in this book, as with the others, is invaluable and is essential on every writer's shelf.
18 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2017
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What can I say? Another super useful thesaurus from Angela Ackerman and Becca Pugilisi. This one is a bit different than their other Thesauri in that the first part of the book discusses how authors may need to harness their own wounds when digging deep to flesh out a character. It's set up a bit like the old DSM-V in how it first discusses the diagnosis of the wound (first 50 pages), and then goes into the symptoms part (the rest of the book). This works well alongside their other thesauri, such as the Negative and Positive traits thesaurus'.
8 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

liz Mistry Crime Fiction author
4.0 out of 5 stars
useful
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 1, 2020Verified Purchase
In the past I've used the other thesauruses (thesauri?) produced by this partnership and loved them. They're really good for nipping into just to double check you're portraying the setting, the emotion or the character traits well. The Emotional Wound Thesaurus, I think is a good aid for the crime writer. Although it's not an exhaustive list, it is quite comprehensive, easy to navigate and looks at the emotional wound from a variety of standpoints. Again, it's one of those books that you dip into and stay for the long haul.
2 people found this helpful
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Sarah
5.0 out of 5 stars
Most helpful book when developing Character Arc
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 2, 2017Verified Purchase
I have the other books from this line and they have all been so helpful to me. Not only am I writing better story structure but I’m also writing better character arcs. I love this book. There are some harder elements to this one exploring the darker side of emotional wounds but it’s been a great journey. This book has helped me with the Villain of the story too, something I was struggling with before. I highly recommend this book.
2 people found this helpful
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Ruth Searle
5.0 out of 5 stars
Essential reading
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 10, 2020Verified Purchase
As a thriller writer I find this series invaluable. Great for crafting memorable characters. Highly recommended.
One person found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 3, 2021Verified Purchase
This is just what I need. A excellemt value for money and a must buy for any writer.

Nicola
5.0 out of 5 stars
Buy it!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 21, 2018Verified Purchase
I have all the series in these books. They are a fantastic help to writing and so easy to use.
One person found this helpful
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