Writers' Guides: The Positive Trait Thesaurus and The Negative Trait Thesaurus – Review and Giveaway

When Angela Ackerman asked me to review The Positive Trait Thesaurus and The Negative Trait Thesaurus, I wondered if the books would be able to help my current project. I love The Emotion Thesaurus, the first book she and Becca Puglisi co-authored, but my current project is a work-in-progress. I’ve been working with this character for some time and know him well. But I know the quality of their work so I asked them for copies of both books.

These books detail character traits, what leads to them and how each trait works within the story. In addition to the listings for each trait, there are sections on psychology and personal development and how character and story work together. Newer writers especially will benefit from this information.

These books are tools to improve your writing. The best way to see how they work is to use them.

I looked up my character’s greatest negative trait—insecure. I read Possible Causes and patted myself on the back. I’d worked both guilt and abandonment into my backstory.

Not every insecure person acts the same way and the list of Associated Behaviors is lengthy. Again, I found several behaviors already written into my story: My character focuses on swimming, his strength, to avoid academics, in which he feels weak. He also engages in negative self-talk while comparing himself to someone who does well in school, his brainy best friend.

These books are thorough, so I wasn’t surprised to find something that would improve my work. One insecure behavior is sticking close to people who make the character feel comfortable. If my character moves away from his best friend and toward a fellow jock, this could make his problem more difficult to solve. Apparently, I still have work to do where his negative traits are concerned.

Next, I looked up a strength; my character is funny. The causes for his humor include the positive (his offbeat way of looking at the world) and the negative (he needs affirmation and wants attention).

We often overlook negative aspects to positive traits but Ackerman and Puglisi include this in the listing for each positive trait. Being funny keeps people at a distance. In my story, this hides my character’s insecurity, a fact I need to play up to strengthen my story.

Ackerman and Puglisi list supporting character traits that may lead to conflict with a funny character. This list includes studious and focused which describes my character’s best friend. I need to use conflict between them to much greater advantage.

If you are rewriting, look to these books to help fine tune your story and make the most of your character’s and their personalities. For new works, the books can help you explore your characters and how to make their lives truly dreadful. Either way, your work is sure to benefit from these two reference books. The authors take such a thorough approach to the craft of character that you will come away from their books with new insight into your story.

–SueBE
Author Sue Bradford Edwards blogs at One Writer's Journey.

***** BOOK GIVEAWAY *****

We also have a giveaway from the authors, Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi! After that fabulous review, I'm sure you'll want to win this set for your writer's reference library. Just enter the Rafflecopter form below for a chance to win a paperback copy of The Positive Trait Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Attributes (ARV $14.99) AND The Negative Trait Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Flaws (ARV $14.99), or e-copies—reader's choice! The contest is open to US and Canada for print copies and internationally for e-copies. If you have problems using Rafflecopter, be sure you are running the latest version of your web browser and have javascript updated.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Good luck!