The Positive Trait Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Attributes (Writers Helping Writers Series Book 3) by Angela Ackerman (PDF)

Description

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? UNEARTH YOUR CHARACTER’S UNIQUE PERSONALITYCharacter 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 overcomeIf 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.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Every writer needs both the Positive Trait Thesaurus and the Negative Trait Thesaurus. They go together. Add in the Emotion Thesaurus and the great downloads and extras these talented writers give you on their website (which add up to another fabulous book on their own) and you probably won’t need too many other books on the craft of writing. A good dictionary and a Synonym finder and you are all set.I have bought all three “Thesauruses” and loved them so much I bought all three for my Kindle too so I can have them on the move and when travelling. These Thesauruses are exceptionally well organised and contain huge amounts of information in a concise and practical format.You could just leap in and pick a handful of traits to apply to your character(s) and they would still be better off than when you started. However, taking the time to read through the “users guide” chapters will add so much to your understanding of how to craft truly memorable characters that it is well worth the time invested to do this. Then use the listings to pick and choose traits and counter-traits and the ways in which they would possibly be exhibited to start building a team of people that will resonate with readers. Also use the listings to develop conflict between characters in a psychological way by giving each person traits that would “irritate” or “confuse” the other – much more subtle than the standard good guy VS bad guy.I can’t rate these books highly enough. I know I’m going to be buying them again every couple of years as they become tatty and worn out with daily use!

⭐This is the third book I have bought from seller. I also have the Emotional Thesaurus (second edition) which is a WONDERFUL tool for writers. I also have The Positive Trait thesaurus which is great too. As far as this book, I haven’t used it yet, but skimmed through it and I think it will be just as helpful as the other two. I know some people say that some of the books are the same, which is why I read the description and looked inside preview and determined which one would be most helpful to me. Most of all, these books are simple to use and I love the layout which really makes it easy.

⭐This book has been a wonderful resource to have on hand! I expected just a list of character traits and some info about each of them, but this book provides so much more. The first section covers all kinds of information you’ll find helpful in creating your characters, including how needs and morals influence character strengths, how attributes develop, how to overcome the fatal flaw, how to choose the right attributes for your character, etc. Very useful stuff! Then you get to the traits themselves, and you have dozens to choose from. For each trait, they give you a definition; similar attributes; things that could have caused that trait to develop; behaviors, thoughts, and emotions associated with that trait; positive and negative aspects; examples from literature; traits in your supporting characters that could cause conflict (and we all know how important conflict is!); and scenarios that might be challenging for characters with that particular trait. I’ve already purchased “The Negative Trait Thesaurus” and find it just as helpful, and I hope to acquire the whole series at some point.

⭐A colleague recommended another book in the series. When I went in to order, spotted this and two others. Ended up getting all four. Excellent for writers of any level. I’m a writer and media psychologist; I know having this information at my fingertips as I write helps enrich my characters. Even with my expertise I continually learn character traits and other psychological elements, which make a full, well rounded character. These books are written to help that process immensely. A good writer is continually learning how to write better characters and these books aid that process.

⭐One thing must be put straight from the start. The Positive Trait Thesaurus is not just a collection of positive traits listed as in many character guides but much more. This guide goes much deeper into the subject. Any thesaurus can give you character traits and synonyms but very rarely do they give you what you actually are looking for: an explanation what these traits mean, what is their origin, what possibly causes them and what impact do they have on people. The Positive Trait Thesaurus gives you more or less a full package on each relevant trait and much more. You can use this book as a brainstorming guide, a writing partner who gives you new fresh ideas from a bottomless well. Positive traits are very difficult to handle without using the same old stereotypes and clichés time after time. The Positive Trait Thesaurus offers new ideas and perspectives to avoid just that. Examples from movies make this book easy to use and understand. Beginners may benefit most of this guide but it is resourceful idea book for seasoned writers as well.

⭐The writing dynamic discussed in my book, The Moral Premise, require a mechanism with polar opposite values. Positive and Negative Traits are close cousins to values. In fact, Angela and Becca explain that the traits they index and detail in their thesaurus can be used four ways: (a) interactive, or action, (b) identity, essence, (c) achievement-based, or goal, and (d) moral attribute, or motivation. It is this last use that perfectly dovetails with The Moral Premise statement. Use their Positive Trait Thesaurus with their Negative Trait Thesaurus to write your Moral Premise statement. The Kindle version’s index e-links to exhaustive describe page for each trait. These are great resources for writing, too, after the MP is figured out, because of the myriad examples the authors provide for the trait’s cause, how they suggest character behavior, character thoughts, and at the end of each descriptive page a list of opposing traits that cause conflict…potential polar opposite values. These two books are the perfect working companion to The Moral Premise astute writer.

⭐This is a useful book for writers but, IMO, it’s all back-to-front… I had to go 95% of the way through it to find a list of personality traits because the first quarter goes on and on about character traits, the second quarter gave loads of details about each trait, the third quarter was a list grouped into various ways you would use each trait and the final quarter is the table of contents.If it had been written from back to front then it would have got the full 5 stars, but it’s all topsey-turvey and confusing.If you are looking for a book that will give you a list of positive personality traits, get this book but read it backwards to how it’s presented. If you are hoping to read it front to back, you’ll get frustrated and confused.Sorry.

⭐Oh I love this book. Its shows how positive traits can be annoying to others, what traits you have that was the cause of your life styles, your thoughts and emotions assiscuated with it. It’s amazing, the book is very informative and each page captures your attention from the font, to the bullet points and I never get tired of going back over and looking at it again

⭐This is just what I need. A excellemt value for money and a must buy for any writer.

⭐Great resource for writing!

⭐Got this following a recommendation on a writers site. Working through the book and it is very interesting with good supplementary appendices.

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