Welcome to 2016! I’m having a difficult time trying to realize that this is a new year. A new year with lots of potential for getting things done, for learning new things, for growing as a child of the Most High, and the amazing opportunities He sends my way! I don’t know about you, but I get excited when I think that my Heavenly Father is the Author and Finisher of my story! He doesn’t just start my story and then leave it and watch to see what a mess I make of it. Believe me, it would be a mess! No, He started it and He is going to finish it. And boy am I glad! I don’t want to face the mountains of this year alone.
Since this is the start of the New Year, the first post on this blog for the New Year, I was wondering what I should post about. I could tell you all about the goals I’ve made for this year, the plans I have for upcoming books, the amazing word count I’m trying for . . . But if I did that, I’d have to figure all those things out first.
Don’t get me wrong, I do have some vague sort of goals as far as writing goes, but that’s about it. I’ve never been much on setting goals probably because I never was interested enough in actually sitting down to think of any.
So . . .
I decided I should tell you about my absolute favorite resource from last year!
If you are a writer
If you know of a writer
If you have a child/friend/sibling who writes
If you want to be a writer
This book is for you. I only wish I had had it years before. It would have made my life so much easier. And writing so much more fun!
“The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression” is wonderful.
• If you’ve ever had difficulties trying to figure out what a character is feeling or doing when they experience a certain emotion, this will tell you.
• If you’ve ever felt like your characters were lifeless when they should be amazed, determined, disgusted, lonely, scornful, terrified, or uneasy, this book will help.
• When your character has been full of confusion for a time, perhaps that confusion might turn into feeling overwhelmed, frustration, resignation or insecurity.
• And, instead of “telling” what your character is feeling, you can show it because, for each emotion there is a list of physical signals (blinking, straining to hear), internal sensations (butterflies in the stomach), mental responses (forgetting what one was about to say), cues of acute or long-term emotions which might escalate to others.
• If that wasn’t enough, there is a short writing’s tip on every-other page.
• Organized in alphabetical order of emotions, this invaluable book is always with me when I write.
If you don’t get any other book this year to help you with writing, get this one. And no, I’m not getting paid to recommend it.
I also just noticed that there is a companion kindle book called “Emotion Amplifiers” that is free right now. I just got it, so I don’t know what treasures it holds!
Do you have a favorite writer’s resources? What is it? Have you tried “The Emotion Thesaurus”?
That sounds really awesome!!
It's so much fun! I want to write a short story for each of the emotions in the book. If I only had time . . .
Sounds like a really neat project, but time is the ticket, isn't it? 😉
I love this book! It has completely changed the quality of my writing and makes ME happier with my own work. And that free eBook…yippie! I'm downloading it now. Thanks for telling me about this book so many months ago, Rebekah! I hope others find it as helpful as I do!
You're welcome, Ivy! I'm glad I stumbled across it. 🙂
Must. Get. This. Book!! I often have a hard time accurately describing what my characters are feeling, so this would definitely be SO much help to me!!! 😀
Thank you so much for sharing about this wonderful resource with us, Rebekah! I'll be looking for it. 😉
You're welcome, Faith! I hope it's as helpful to you as it was/is to me.