The Positive Trait Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Attributes (Writers Helping Writers Series) - Softcover

Ackerman, Angela; Puglisi, Becca

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0989772519 ISBN 13: 9780989772518

Publisher: JADD Publishing, 2013

Synopsis

It’s a writer’s job to create compelling characters who can withstand life’s fallout without giving up. But building authentic, memorable heroes is no easy task. To forge realistic characters, we must hobble them with flaws that set them back while giving them positive attributes to help them achieve their goals. So how do writers choose the right blend of strengths for their characters—attributes that will render them admirable and worth rooting for—without making it too easy for them to succeed?

Character creation can be hard, but it’s about to get a lot easier. Inside The Positive Trait Thesaurus, you’ll find:

• A large selection of attributes to choose from when building a personality profile. Each entry lists possible causes for why a trait might emerge, along with associated attitudes, behaviors, thoughts, and emotions.

• Real character examples from literature, film, or television to show how an attribute drives actions and decisions, influences goals, and steers relationships

• Advice on using positive traits to immediately hook readers while avoiding common personality pitfalls

• Insight on human needs and morality, and how each determines the strengths that emerge in heroes and villains alike

• Information on the key role positive attributes play within the character arc, and how they’re vital to overcoming fatal flaws and achieving success

• Downloadable tools for organizing a character’s attributes and providing a deeper understanding of his past, his needs, and the emotional wounds he must overcome

If you find character creation difficult or worry that your cast members all seem the same, The Positive Trait Thesaurus is brimming with ideas to help you develop one-of-a-kind, dynamic characters that readers will love. Extensively indexed, with entries written in a user-friendly list format, this brainstorming resource is perfect for any character creation project.

About this title

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.

Review

"In these brilliantly conceived, superbly organized and astonishingly thorough volumes, Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi have created an invaluable resource for writers and storytellers. Whether you are searching for new and unique ways to add and define characters, or brainstorming methods for revealing those characters without resorting to clichés, it is hard to imagine two more powerful tools for adding depth and dimension to your screenplays, novels or plays."

~ Michael Hauge, Hollywood Script Consultant and Story Expert, author of Writing Screenplays That Sell

Edition details

• Publisher: JADD Publishing
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0989772519
• ISBN 13: 9780989772518
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 256