The Emotion Thesaurus by Vickie McDonough

As we travel on our journey to publication, we may find tools along the way that help us reach our destination. These helpful items can include blogs like this one, workshops, and conferences. There are also wonderful books that may teach various techniques or offer encouragement. Today, author Vickie McDonough shares how one book has been helpful in her writing life. After reading this article, I ordered the book myself! ~ Dawn

The Emotion Thesaurus

by Vickie McDonough

As a writer, it’s important to continue to grow and learn. Publishers’ needs change, as do styles and what’s acceptable and what’s not. When I first started writing, books contained much more description but now, publishers want most books to start with action. I’m a visual person and learn best from workshops, but I’m always looking for other resources to help make my writing better and my characters more realistic. To show and not tell and to find new ways to say the same thing.  Well, I found a doozy of a resource.

For a long while, the Bookshelf Muse at http://thebookshelfmuse.blogspot.com has posted a Character Traits Thesaurus in the sidebar on the right of their blog. I’ve found this an invaluable writing tool. When I needed help developing Brooks Morgan, hero of End of the Trail, book 6 in the Texas Trails series, which released this month, I turned to The Bookshelf Muse. Brooks is a cocky drifter, and The Bookshelf Muse website was a big help in developing this character. Under the Character Thesaurus, click on the word “witty,” and you’re taken to a page with a whole plethora of information about that character trait, such as the definition, causes, examples in literature, and much more. This site has been a huge help as I’ve sculpted my characters—and it’s free. Please note: the Emotion Thesaurus has recently moved to a page of its own: http://thebookshelfmuse.blogspot.com/p/emotion-thesaurus.html.

But now there is something more—The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide To Character Expression—the book. It contains a wealth of info about 75 characteristic traits. The list starts with ‘adoration’ and goes through ‘worry.’ Some others included are:

            Anger

            Anguish

            Confidence

            Denial

            Hopefulness

            Pride

            Smugness

            And many more.

           

Maybe you’re wondering why you’d want to buy the book when you can get this information free at the website? Because the book contains much more information about the traits.

Let’s use Brooks as an example again. Brooks laughs a lot and is often amused, especially by the heroine’s actions. The Emotion Thesaurus describes ‘amusement’ as: “appealing to the sense of humor; to feel entertainment or delight.” That’s Brooks to a tee. 

The next section in the book is PHYSICAL SIGNALS and some examples are: 

• Widening of the eyes 
• A slack mouth 
• Becoming suddenly still Sucking in a quick breath 
• A hand covering one’s mouth           

Can you see how this book is a tool that can help improve your writing and stimulate your creative process? We all have our own favorite phrases to express things, but this book can help you come up with something new—something different. It can help you when you have writer’s block. 

Besides the Definition, each character trait also includes the following information:       

• Internal sensations
• Mental responses
• Cues of acute or long-term __________(name of trait)
• Cues of suppressed __________(name of trait)

Lots of interesting information, as you can see. And lest you think I have some personal investment in this book, let me assure you that is not the case. I just enjoy sharing useful writing tools with others. One more thing I want to mention about the website, besides a Thesaurus of Character Traits, it also has a Thesaurus of Weather Terms, Settings Terminology, and a Colors Thesaurus. Also, don’t forget to check out their archives for some great information from past blogs.

Whether you’re a new author or you have 50 books published, let me encourage you to never stop learning your craft. Keep improving and finding new ways to say something you’ve said before and be open to learning from someone with a new idea or craft book.

Click to reach Amazon.

Vickie McDonough is the award-winning author of 25 books and novellas. She is a past winner of ACFW’s Genesis Contest and a multiyear finalist in the Carol Award’s. She has been an ACFW member for eleven years and is the ACFW treasurer. Vickie’s latest book, End of the Trail, the sixth book in the Texas Trails series, released this month.

To learn more about Vickie and her books, please visit:

Her website: www.vickiemcdonough.com

Texas Trails website: www.texastrailsfiction.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VickieMcDonough

This-n-That Thursday: Self-editing Tips: Novels vs. Articles

Along with working on full-length novels, many of us write articles for blogs or magazines (online or print). We cross over because we enjoy writing shorter and different pieces, and we’re also trying to build our platform/presence in the reading/publishing communities.

As a freelance editor, I see common mistakes made by writers who move between working on their manuscripts and publishing articles. You see, the guidelines/rules applied in those two worlds don’t always agree. 

When it comes to publishing novels, guidelines from The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) and The Christian Writers Manual of Style (CWMS) are used. Guidelines for articles are found in the Associated Press Stylebook (AP). 

It would be nice and easier for us if these three books agreed on everything. But no—nada—they don’t. So, it’s up to us to make sure that we use the right style book and guidelines for what we’re writing.

I’ve given some examples of differences below. Do you have any others that you can share?

~ Dawn

Tip # 1: Commas

Novels and Short Stories

In a series of three or more elements, separate the elements by commas.

Example: Sharon made a salad that included fresh watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, and grapes.

Articles

Serial commas are not used unless leaving out the comma before and (or another conjunction) would cause confusion.

Example: Peter took his sons to the baseball game and fed them hotdogs, popcorn and peanuts.

Tip # 2: Titles to Works

Novels and Short Stories

Large works that can be subdivided into small components should be italicized (titles of books, movies, plays, and TV programs). Smaller, stand-alone works should be in quotation marks (song titles, short stories, poem titles, episode titles).

Example: The last book I read was Short-Straw Bride, the last movie I saw in the theater was The Avengers, and today’s Seriously Write post is “Self-editing Tips: Novels vs. Articles.”

Articles

All composition titles (including books, movies, plays, poems songs, TV programs, etc.)  should be in quotation marks (not italics). Exceptions are the Bible and reference materials (almanac, dictionaries, encyclopedias and hand books).

Example: I would like to see the movie “The Hunger Games.” Taylor Swift sings a beautiful and haunting song on the soundtrack called “Safe and Sound.”

Tip #3: Numbers

Novels and Short Stories 

Spell out whole numbers one through one hundred, round numbers (hundreds, thousands, millions), numbers referring to someone’s age, and any number beginning a sentence. Use numerals for all other numbers.

Example: When my dad turns eighty on July 28, grandkids from thousands of miles away will be attending his surprise party.

Articles

Spell out whole numbers below 10; use numerals for 10 and above. Use numerals for ages of people and animals.

Example: My 80-year-old dad has three children and six grandchildren, but if you include all the spouses, he has 17 children and grandchildren combined.

Falling in Love with Romance Part 3: Attraction and Longing

Happy Wednesday, my writing friends, 

Romance! One of my favorite topics. So far we've covered the joy of writing romance, and last week, we began answering the question: What are the key elements of a successful romance novel? We started with characters (of course!) and this week we'll  take a gander at attraction and longing. 

Attraction

I love this part of romantic stories! Hero and Heroine meet, and immediately we know they belong together. This story is about them, and everything must happen to move them toward a wonderfully satisfying ending. Why? Good, old fashioned romantic magnetism. Even if outwardly Hero despises Heroine, the reader senses he can't help but be drawn to her on some level. If we accomplish this, we've hooked our readers. 

Quick tip: One subtle way to show this is to have the hero state the opposite of what the reader senses he’s feeling. Remember Mr. Darcy’s statement that there were no suitable women at the dance in Pride and Prejudice. His bluntness, and Miss Bennett’s reaction, clued us in that underneath it all sparks were flying—even if the characters didn’t know!

Longing

The next step goes beyond that simple, ooh la la physical attraction to a desire based on worthy character traits. It can be their smarts or joy or compassion or strength—something that draws them.

Maybe our lovebirds can ignore their initial lure toward each other, but this can’t be denied. And now, the aching begins. Heroine’s sassy remarks intrude on Hero’s thoughts. Hero’s quick reaction to a crisis replays in Heroine’s mind.

As the story builds, the longing grows stronger until, even though plagued with obstacles, the longing wins—and love occurs!

Only to be thwarted one last time—but we’ll talk about that next week.

Happy writing and God bless,

Ocieanna

If You’re Going To Succeed As A Writer, You Must Beat Resistance and Write Like Crazy by Caleb Jennings Breakey

When I first saw Caleb Jennings Breakey at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, I was struck by his enthusiasm and his joy. God's love shone like a beacon through his huge smile and I really wanted to attend his workshop. But, there were so many choices, I went to a genre-specific class (also very good) instead. Last week, I was delighted to find a video of one of his talks and asked him to post for us. I know you'll enjoy this encouraging call to write. ~ Angie

You've waited all day for this. You can't believe it's finally here. You sit down, fire up Word or Scrivener, and . . .

Blink, blink, blink.

Nothing comes. So you check your email. Facebook. The weather.

This is our nemesis. Its name is Resistance. And if you're going to succeed as a writer, you need to learn how to beat it.

First, consider reading the man who first identified Resistance: Stephen Pressfield, author ofThe War of Art, Do the Work, and Turning Pro. Pressfield doesn’t always sound good to Christian ears, but his writing wisdom is spot-on.

If you'd rather just get a quick glimpse of Resistance and how to beat it, check out the video below and be encouraged. We're all in this together.
 

What do you do to beat resistance? 

Caleb’s Bio

There's a voice in your head that loves to whisper, "You're not special. You're average. You're nobody. So conform. Get back in line. Be like everyone else."

I'm Caleb, author of Following Jesus without Leaving the Church (Fall 2013), and I believe God made me to help you conquer that voice— especially in your spiritual life.

If you're lookin’ for someone to talk with about God, email me: calebbreakey@gmail.com. If you're a fellow Brother or Sister just checkin' out this page, please pray for me. If you're in the ministry and want to talk about an upcoming event, call me: 360-223-1877. All I request is a fun chat with at least one knock-knock joke—no speaker's fee required.

Connect with Caleb

http://www.calebbreakey.com/

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