Amazon.com: Customer reviews: The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression

STOP! Don't buy this. Get the second edition instead!

Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2019

First, let me say this is a useful book for a writer (The Emotional Wound Thesaurus being another) . However, with only 75 emotions listed, it is far from comprehensive. The good news: there is a second edition that increases the total to 130 emotions. The bad news: this first edition is still being sold and is listed first on Amazon, so unless you know about the second edition you could end up purching the inferior version and only find out about the other one after you have spent your money. So... pleased that I have some great insight into ways to describe 75 emotions felt by my character; pissed off that I'm missing out on the remaining 55. If they don't stop selling the first edition they should at least update the info to include a notice, in big bold wording, that a more thorough second edition exists (with perhaps a link to its page)

91 people found this helpful

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Excellent reference - from beginning to end!

Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2019

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This is an excellent book!! Listing many emotions, this book also details many of the "physical signals" that a person feeling that emotion might display, while giving writers tips for showing that a person is feeling these emotions. Excellent reference - from beginning to end! Please mark if you find my review helpful. Thank you so much!

22 people found this helpful

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Charles Justus Garard

ANOTHER SHOW, DON'T TELL . . . BUT THIS TIME A VALUABLE LIST

Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2016

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Actually I finished THE EMOTION THESAURUS earlier than admitted, but I hesitated on the review because it is not an easy work to define in its entirety. This reference work by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi, however, is an excellent follow-up to SELF-EDITING FOR FICTION WRITERS since both deal with the importance of showing instead of telling. Both works start the same, but the book by Renni Browne and Dave King, which I reviewed prior to this book, continues as a lecturing text giving extended advice to writers of novels and short stories. Ackerman and Puglisi, on the other hand, after a lengthy introduction where they emphasize the importance of nonverbal communication (body language, facial expressions, tone of voice, etc.) so that readers can connect with characters on an emotional level, offer a book of lists.

As a reference tool, this work, like others, belongs within arm's reach of the writer's work station. It is unique in what it offers -- a compendium of emotions with attached subcategories to show how they might be used on the page in a believable manner. This must have been a grueling work to compile, drawing upon, as they mention, other writers in a critique circle.

Two uniformly structured pages are devoted to one particular emotion shown in caps at the top of the left page. Each word is followed by a short definition. The first subcategory is "Physical signals" followed by examples of about 30 words or short phrases. The next subcategories are "Internal Sensations," "Mental Responses," "Cues of Acute or Long-term Determination," "May Escalate to (other emotions and page numbers)," and "Cues of Suppressed Determination."

Writer's tips are provided at the bottom of each right page, supplying advice on how to present or utilize these emotions in a believable manner.

This is not, as I mentioned at the outset, an easy work to read through because it does not flow with the continuity if a typical text. For me, it was a matter of highlighting certain examples of words and phrases which showed what characters could be feeling, selecting words that I might use in my current work of fiction in progress, particularly works that would apply to the immediacy of a situation rather than to those that were more extensive and required reaching beyond a particular scene.

Anyway, use this book as it benefits you. It is certainly accessible.

15 people found this helpful

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Donald HuntTop Contributor: Writing

It Is All About Word Pictures.......

Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2015

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This is a very good tool for all writers, whether you are writing a book, writing a
school assignment, or writing a letter to motivate someone, this thesaurus will
be helpful.
It is not enough just to write that a character is angry,happy,or scared. A writer
needs to show that the character is all of those things. And that is not as easy as
it seems.
This thesaurus will give the writer suggestions and ideas on how to show, Physical
Signs, Internal Sensations, Mental Responses, Long Term Cues, and Suppressed Cues,
among others.
It also shows, how and why, a writer needs to fill out a storyline, using emotion.
Because, as a writer, you want your readers to feel a connection with the characters, to
feel what they feel. Not just to be told that a character is terrified.
Make that happen, and your readers will what to see much more of your stories, and that is the
goal of every writer.

12 people found this helpful

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Rebecca

Excellent brainstorming tool for any writer

Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2016

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This is a great tool to help you get out of a description rut. As any writer knows, it's all too easy to fall back on the same handful of emotional responses (my characters "sigh" so much they have breathing problems).

This book is essentially a list of physical and visceral reactions to the most common emotional responses. I find that it's a great brainstorming tool. Obviously it isn't meant to provide "exact" phrases you would use in your writing. It's more like a springboard to help you visualize your own characters and how they might react in ways you hadn't thought of. In that respect it's an excellent resource. My characters are much more three-dimensional and real as a result of this book.

It IS a bit limited and the lists are a little repetitive. Granted, emotions like anxiety, fear, and dread overlap, and so do normal responses to those emotions, but a lot of the things listed are very generic, making it easy to loose the subtle nuances between those words. However - that's the WRITER'S job, not the thesaurus author's job, so I can't fault the book too much. I just wish it had more emotions listed than the basics that are covered.

But overall it's an excellent resource and one I reach for whenever I'm struggling with my characters. I also reach for it whenever doing an editing pass, mainly as a way to make sure I'm not in a descriptive rut without even realizing it. My writing has definitely improved with use of this book and I plan to purchase the others in the series.

3 people found this helpful

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DA

Wonderful tool for any writer's toolbox!

Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2017

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I have had my eye on several books by these authors, and I finally decided to make an investment in my writing journey and add a few to my Writer's Toolbox! I can tell already that The Emotion Thesaurus is going to be an amazing addition moving forward, and I can't wait to put it to use!

Since I am so excited to use it, I turned to page 74, and skimmed through the page to see what was listed for the emotion "Excitement." There were a number of inspirational words and phrases that could get the creative juices flowing if one was stuck on how to describe a particular feeling. The book is easy to follow, with definitions of each word at the top of the page, and then listings of Physical Signals, Internal Sensations, Mental Responses, Cues of Acute or Long-Term Excitement and Cues of Suppressed Excitement. What was really fun was seeing the feeling I had when flipping through this book described in the second line of Cues of Acute or Long-Term Excitement. "An intense desire to share the feeling with others."

So here I am, following through with my emotion and sharing my feelings about this wonderful tool that no writer should be without. I guess they pegged that one! Can't wait to see what else they have in store for my characters next!

One person found this helpful

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Cara

An Excellent Resource

Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2019

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I have had this book for all of five minutes! I've already had to smack my roommate's hand to keep him from stealing it! I've discovered that I basically have to rewrite all my emotional scenes! And I've contracted an unshakeable desire to buy all the rest of the set!

All those utterly horrible consequences aside, I am exceptionally pleased with this purchase. I was worried it was overpriced, but it's my birthday. So I figured I would splurge. I'm not disappointed. In fact, I expect I'll have my money's worth out of it by the end of National Novel Writing Month.

It isn't a big or heavy book, but don't mistake that for lacking content. It is exceptionally well organized and it goes into just the right amount of detail.

I think I'll be buying "Positive Traits" and "Negative Traits" next. But I would really love to see some kind of a "fight scene" thesaurus next!

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Great Resource!

Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2012

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I've long been a fan of Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi's blog, The Bookshelf Muse, as it offers great tools and resources for writers. When they announced that they were compiling their info and writing a book, countless other writers and I were thrilled.

Angela and Becca believe that emotions are the core of good characters. "Without emotion," they say, "a character's personal journey is pointless." This is true, but how do we translate that emotion into print to provide a rich and satisfying experience for the reader? The Emotion Thesaurus provides answers to that question and a whole lot more.

The introduction discusses the significance of showing versus telling, the power of emotion, and the importance of verbal and nonverbal communication. Also discussed is the misuse of backstory, utilizing setting, and identifying root and visceral emotions, among other things. The authors' friendly instruction and encouragement continues as they share tips on maintaining this tricky balance.

Since this is a thesaurus, the bulk of the book of course, focuses on the alphabetical entries. From "Adoration" to "Worry", each entry includes the definition, physical signals, internal sensations, mental responses, emotional cues, and a writer's tip. For example, the physical signals for Loneliness include a longing gaze, sullenness, talking to oneself, a heavy sigh, and two dozen other ways to illustrate a lonely character. Internal sensations are insomnia and fatigue, and mental responses include avoiding crowds or social situations.

This ingenious book aids the brainstorming process by lending a hearty dose of information and inspiration. The Emotion Thesaurus is a resource that's provided a creative boost for both my fiction and nonfiction writing. I highly recommend it!

3 people found this helpful

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KSargent

Can't Write Without It!

Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2016

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The Emotion Thesaurus is in a special pile of "resources I can't write without" that sits next to my laptop. I bought this after I finished my novel and needed to vary my characters' actions. My characters sighed and breathed and nodded thoughtfully a lot. The thesaurus was so helpful. I looked up the emotion a character felt and found a long list of physical actions, internal sensations, mental responses to illustrate that emotion--as well as evidence that the character has felt the emotion for a long time, what the emotion may escalate to, and evidence the emotion is being suppressed. For example, let's say my character is conflicted. Instead of taking a deep breath or holding his breath (which is a crutch when I write), the thesaurus gives me better options. A physical action may be opening/closing of the mouth as if struggling to find the right words. An internal sensation may be tightness in the chest. A mental response may be feeling guilt because others will be negatively affected by the character's decision. Evidence my character has been conflicted for a long time might be sleeplessness. Feeling conflicted may escalate to feeling overwhelmed (I can then look up overwhelmed in the thesaurus). My character may joke around and avoid the subject as he suppresses his conflicted feelings. The thesaurus helps me visualize my character and get inside his head, so I can write with more interest and freshness. I highly recommend this "can't-write-without" resource.

45 people found this helpful

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Aisling D.Top Contributor: Writing

Absolutely essential for fiction writers, and many nonfiction writers, too

Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2013

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Years ago, I wrote my books using a similar book that listed descriptive phrases related to specific emotions. I loved it.

This book beats it by a mile. "The Emotion Thesaurus" includes physical signals, what's going on internally, what emotions are most likely to follow, and how that same emotion -- suppressed -- will show up in your characters.

It's another of those rare books that I review with five stars, and those five stars are well-earned by this vital reference book for fiction writers.

Most of what I write is actually nonfiction, and I'll be using this book to convey my own reactions (for first-person books) and enrich some of my how-to guides (descriptions of frustration), and "true story" books.

People writing sales letters will like this book because you'll find new ways to connect with potential customers, using in-depth descriptions of how it feels to have whatever-the-problem-is, and how it feels to finally find a solution.

All in all, I think this is a must-own book for writers in almost any field.

6 people found this helpful

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3 star		5%
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