Book Review: The Emotion Thesaurus

Look what I got in the mail!

In my interview with debut author, Donna Earnhardt, she recommended a few books that helped her become a better writer. The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi was one of them.

It is a fabulous guide to character expressions. “Show don’t tell” (SDT) is important in story writing. If you are struggling with how to “show” your character’s emotions, then this book is a great resource.

As I flipped through the pages of the book, I was immediately impressed. The book is structured in a way that makes it easy to use.

How it works:

You search for the emotion you are looking for among the 75 emotions listed in the book. Since it is listed in alphabetical order, it is easy to find.

Then you read through the different emotional responses, select the appropriate cues you want to use and apply it to your story.

Under each emotion, you will find the following subheading:

• Definition
• Physical signals (body language)
• Internal sensations (physiological response)
• Mental response (thoughts)
• Cues of acute or long-term emotion

Here are some of the advantages of this book:

1. You will find fresh ways to describe emotions
2. It is a great brainstorming tool for developing your character
3. If your thoughts or ideas have run dry, this book will help spark an idea for you
4. It will help you write a story that readers can experience emotionally

I love my book and can’t wait to revise my stories to give it that extra spark it needs to get readers to connect emotionally to it.

Pick up your copy today! 

But here's a little secret. . .

Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominic / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

   . . .you can go to Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi's blog, The Bookshelf Muse, and get a FREE preview of the Emotional Thesaurus. They have a good list of emotions available on their site.  

Got a secret to share with me?