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

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.

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.

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!

Hi, Love this book! It's like the psychologist's explanation of what makes people tick. It's a great resource, incredibly detailed and soundly researched. I recommend it to any writer who needs help with details to create certain personalities. For instance, if you want to create a person that's courageous, it offers a description of the trait, what categories it can be applied to (such as that person would be achievement oriented), a list of similar attributes (brave) and reasons you might describe a character as courageous - one would be they "have a strong moral code." It's invaluable once you understand how the author can contribute to your writing. It will really help you dive deep into developing a character before you even start writing a story. I usually buy books for my ipad so I can carry with me and read at will. This series I'm going to also get in paperback.

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 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.

Another invaluable resource for fiction writer's from Ackerman and Puglisi. I will use each of their 3 character trait reference books from now on when developing new characters. So many traits, so many nuances that characters can be infused with to make them seem real and believable. Well organized and easy to reference. I'd put it on anyone's "Must own" list. *Note* I prefer to rate using Goodreads' rating scale, so a 4-star rating is excellent.

I have this one, the negative and emotion thesaurus. They are great and I love going to them for reference or when I’m feeling stuck. It helps me write things in a way that... feels more real. I’m not using the words for emotions as much as more, but describing it through internal/external struggles. On another note: It would be great if you made one about clothes. Ways to describe them, what they would feel like...etc. I don’t know if that is up your alley but your books are super helpful! I can’t wait to get the other ones.

Très bon livre pour développer les qualités des personnages, avec des bonnes analyses et des pistes pour aller plus loin. Dommage qu'il n'y ait pas d'équivalent (ou alors je ne l'ai pas encore trouvé!)

Good book

Helpful resource

This is one in a trio of books which help authors to develop real and intense characters. Despite the title this book is so much more than just a mere thesaurus. It starts by introducing character development and the different traits which give them depth and humanity. This in itself is enough for this to be one of the best around, but it truly excels when it comes to the Thesaurus. There is an index of words which describe positive traits in your character. I have the ebook, so click on this word and it takes you to an in depth discussion in ways in which this can be used in your book. This includes a definition, categories for the word, similar attributes, possible causes for this attribute, associated behaviours that go with the attribute, associated thoughts the character might have, associated emotions, positive aspects, possible negative aspects of the attribute, examples from literature traits in supporting characters that may cause conflict and challenging scenarios for the character with this attribute. As you can see from the above this is no one word attribute, but an in depth discussion which can assist with the development of lifelike characters. This book. Is outstanding. It covers everything you can think of and then some more. No author should ever be without this book. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Any new author needs to read this and have it at hand. Any established author will still find this useful.

Great, in fact excellent for teaching character to your children. I loved using these in writing projects and teachable moments with a house full of boys. Highly recommend to expand and offer good ways to teach positivity in many contexts. Also deepens their writing strengths.