Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Author Toolbox Blog Hop: Developing Characters in Your Writing

#AuthorToolboxBlogHop
Hello and welcome to the Focused on Story Blog and to the Author Toolbox Blog Hop #AuthorToolboxBlogHop which meets every third Wednesday of the month to share resources and tips for authors. Thanks to Raimey Gallant for hosting this venture. 

Please join us to learn more about the craft of writing and to meet bloggers who are dedicated to helping each other become the best writers possible. Click here to visit other blog hop participants.
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The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression (Second Edition) (Writers Helping Writers Series) Paperback
The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression
Available at your Favorite Bookseller
Tip on Developing Characters in Your Writing by J.Q. Rose

If you are a romance writer, you don't want to edit a romantic scene and discover it reads like a second-grader wrote it or that you used the same words over and over and over and over. I have a tip today to help you find the right words to show not tell a love story with characters who will grab a reader.

My go-to book for helping me to get out of that stuck stage when writing a scene is The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writers Guide to Characters Expression. 

The description describes the purpose of the book--"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."

The table of contents is easy to use to find the emotion you need to portray. You'll appreciate it when looking through the 130 emotions listed to discover the one you need. Here are examples of the emotions that are covered in the book--Fear, Frustration, Happiness, Impatience, Nostalgia, Pride and more.

In the listings for each emotion, you will find ideas to keep your writing fresh.
  • physical signals
  • internal sensations
  • mental responses
  • cues of acute or long-term (emotion)
The authors do not suggest you copy the information word for word, but rather to allow their suggestions to inspire you to show, not tell the story.

Since writing this book, the authors have extended the Thesaurus into a series for other topics in writing like character flaws, character attributes, psychological trauma and more.

Do you use this book or any in the series? Please leave a comment below. Thank you.
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16 comments:

Raimey Gallant said...

I have an older edition of this book. I did enjoy flipping through it. I haven't used it much, but you bet if I'm stuck, I'll definitely dive back into it. :)

D.E. Haggerty said...

I've found various websites that help with emotional writing. I've printed out their guides (e.g. other ways to say roll the eyes) and use them when I'm editing. When editing, I always do a search for emotional ticks (eye rolling, shrugging, sighing, etc) to make sure I don't repeat them. Often, they aren't necessary!

Erika Beebe said...

Excellent source today. I have that one too and I find it so helpful to see all the examples when i'm stressed about how to make these emotions show up different in different characters :)

Maggie Blackbird said...

I love the Emotion Thesarus and have a copy. I also belong to One Stop for Writers. It's a great place full of excellent writing resources. TY for sharing!

emaginette said...

Looks like the book has a following. hehehe

Anna from elements of emaginette

J.Q. Rose said...

My edition is old too. They say they've added more, so now I'm curious. What 55 emotions did they add??

J.Q. Rose said...

Oh yes, the old roll the eyes sneaks in to my writing too. I'll google that emotional writing and see what's there. Thanks for the tip.

J.Q. Rose said...

Thanks. Yes, seeing something fresh is a shot in the arm for writers. Thanks for stopping in.

J.Q. Rose said...

Thanks for the resource. I'll check it out.

J.Q. Rose said...

Yes, it does! I haven't tried any of the others in the series. Have you?

Juneta key said...

Great post. I own all their books so far. Love that one.

Helena Fairfax said...

I'm always repeating the same things, JQ. My characters do a lot of gazing :) It's so hard to spot this for yourself. This is where a great editor is invaluable. Thanks for the book recommendation!

Brigitte Kirady said...

I have this book on my Kindle and I love it! I use it especially when I'm stuck or am having a hard time writing a particular emotion. Great post!

J.Q. Rose said...

Hmmm...I bet they are all helpful. I'll check into another one in the series. Thanks.

J.Q. Rose said...

Yes, this really does give you some other ideas for explaining the same thing. Thanks for stopping in.

J.Q. Rose said...

Thanks, Brigitte. I have mine on the kindle too. No page flipping to get to the right topic.!!

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