This is a neat list, but I agree with some of the other commenters--I think it's easy to mis-use this sort of list as an excuse to slip into lazy writing.
Personally, I suggest Angela Ackerman's book "The Emotion Thesaurus." I like her book because it focuses on the psychological aspects of human emotions, and the physiological effects they can possibly have. She doesn't just list a bunch of physical actions, but rather takes the time to delve into what sort of character would use a certain set of actions, and when might be appropriate to include them. It's only a couple bucks on Amazon, if you want to check it out: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00822WM2M/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1#navbar
Great post. Your topic reminds me of the book 'How Not to Write a Novel.' https://www.amazon.com/Write-Novel-Them-Misstep-Misstep-ebook/dp/B00166YCBU
From its Amazon page: 'Many writing books offer sound advice on how to write well. This is not one of those books. On the contrary, this is a collection of terrible, awkward, and laughably unreadable excerpts that will teach you what to avoid—at all costs—if you ever want your novel published.'
Another amazing reference for learning how to show character feelings is the Emotions Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi. They have a whole series of similar books on other subjects, as well as a website - One Stop For Writers - that are also awesome resources.
I recommend The Only Academic Phrasebook You'll Ever Need: 600 Examples of Academic Language to my undergrads. It's in American English. This website is a phrasebank in British English.
I work at a library, and we do put a romance sticker on the spine of our copies of "Outlander." The librarians who swear up and down that they "don't read romance" or "don't like romance" are all crazy about this series. It's one of those romances that flies under the radar. It is different from the sorts of romances in the paperback romance section, though, and I feel like the people who borrow the mass market romances are not usually the same folks who will read all of Outlander. Or listen to the crazy long audiobook versions of Outlander.
Now, Outlander has some outlandishly HAWT sex scenes, and you might be interested to know that Diana Gabaldon has a book all about writing sex scenes, titled I Give You My Body: How I Write Sex Scenes. It's $2.99 on Amazon.
What are you describing? Are you describing emotions? Physical characteristics? Location? Action? Amazon has all kinds of books that focus on particular subjects and how to describe them; for example, The Emotion Thesaurus and Writing Vivid Settings. If you take a look at those two, it will lead you to other books that focus on how to write descriptions.
Welcome! I am just halfway through my Social Psychology BA program :) This book has been extremely helpful for writing research papers. Also, powerthesaurus.com., grammarly and online APA citation generators. After writing so many academic research papers, choosing fresh language and sentence flow can become tiresome. Even after you get the hang of citation formats and paper organization, it’s just nice and handy to have those little helpful tools! You will do great!
On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft- Stephen King
Remember the adage: show don't tell? So instead of Timmy said wisely, show him thinking like knitting his brow, pinching his nose, etc. For example: Timmy sucked in his breath and stared at his nemesis. "I'm better than you."
Highly recommend The Emotion Thesaurus by Becca Puglisi and Angela Ackerman. The writers have a series of writing thesauri I think are worth looking at.
As you might imagine, I’m a fan of the book <em>Eats, shoots & Leaves.</em>
I'd recommend The Emotion Thesaurus. It really helps with finding different body language and internal sensations for different emotions. I'm still rifling through it, but I guess when you've used it often enough, you will remember what you can use when. Or just make a shorter list for yourself with those reactions that work for your characters.
Being descriptive is a challenge, and can be daunting. However, what comes to mind when you describe a setting? It's what you hear, see and smell. Depending on the situation, touch and taste. Those can be difficult to explain without experiencing it yourself, or at the very least, read enough to have a vague idea. As another comment said, reading is you best option. Also, I highly recommend The Emotional Thesaurus
It's a magnificent guide on description, there are 7 books in their series. I cannot stress enough how amazing these are. I have 6 out of 7. If you're like me, and need help sometimes, they will give you a sudden boost of confidence. If I had to choose only two I'd go with The Emotional Thesaurus and Emotional Trauma Thesaurus. Believe me, I know how hard writing can be, and we all need assistance at times. Best of luck, and happy writing.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00822WM2M/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
If I implied it's free, that was a mistake. I bought it and have the kindle version bookmarked.
Buy the book the Emotions Thesaurus. Within it there’s explanations of internal and external manifestation of the emotion identified. Also provided are examples of to what the emotion becomes if not resolved. https://www.amazon.com/Emotion-Thesaurus-Writers-Character-Expression-ebook/dp/B07MTQ7W6Q/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=emotions+thesaurus&qid=1619008841&sprefix=emotions+the&sr=8-3
This book is a good resource for possible body language. This page is also worth checking out. Keep in mind that this sort of thing doesn't have to be in your first draft if writing it doesn't come easily to you. You can add it in later when you edit. I would also suggest paying attention when you read books and note how different authors handle it. You can glean some interesting possibilities from that.
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This series of reference books are helpful IMO:
The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression (Second Edition) (Writers Helping Writers Series Book 1) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MTQ7W6Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_x.ZYFb04W6T50
Another fun gift is this:
The Writer's Block: 786 Ideas to Jump-Start Your Imagination https://www.amazon.com/dp/0762409487/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_-a0YFbYVJF23B
Look into The Emotion Thesaurus by Becca Puglisi.
There is a whole fantastic series for just this thing.
Amazon (AMS) ads are a great place to start. If you haven't already, check out Brian Meeks book on AMS ads (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072SNXYMY)
Start with a small daily budget, monitor your ads daily and see how they convert. Ignore the current suggested bids as they can really be out to lunch.
The problem may not be your ads at all, they could be with your blurb, your cover, your price or your look inside.
Use AMS ads to set a baseline, then if they aren't converting as well as you would like (1 in 10) then consider tweaking each of the above, one at a time, leaving enough time between changes to monitor the impacts. That way you can see if the changes are having a positive impact. It takes a while, but it is worth it to have measurable results.
What kind of novel do you want to write? Read novels that are similar. Also, I've found that subs like r/WritingPrompts are helpful in that it can get you into practicing writing daily without much pressure. Practice, practice, practice, is my advice.
I've started to read the first in a series of books about developing characters, which has helpful information. I will link it below:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MTQ7W6Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_d_asin_title_o00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Another great resource is the Emotions Thesaurus. It helps you find other ways to describe your characters’ emotions besides “she was angry.” Showing how your characters are feeling, what they are experiencing on physiological and mental levels, will go a long way to helping readers connect with them.
To anyone from Canada or anywhere that's not in the sales range, you can get book 2 (the writing prompts) kindle version for $1.32CAD or $0.00 (kindle unlimited).
Use an academic phrasebank - or even better, make your own.
A phrasebank is a list of ways that professionals say various things...how they say who was in the participant pool, how they say that two groups were the same, and so on. You can find them online or buy a book of them.
The cost-to-benefit ratio is excellent.
One helpful resource is "On Writing" by Stephen King. The first half is a memoir, and the second half deals with the craft of writing.
I’m just leaving this right here for the writers in the room. Not really smut-related, more about writing sex scenes from both male & female perspectives.
I love the Outlander series and I think the authors short book of writing sex scenes would be fun to read and educational :)
"I Give You My Body . . .": How I Write Sex Scenes (Kindle Single) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HA4LFB6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_bKLGAbHTK4JZY
Miskatonic University
No, once he spills the chamber pot everywhere I'm done. This is because the story seems focused on making details goopy and abhorrent as possible with no goal in mind other than basically "ha, he's peeing on the wall!" or "spilled toilet water, classic!". In short, if in under a page the majority of the narrative is focusing on peeing on everything, I am out because I expect the author to treat the rest of the book with a similar level of tact. (Note, I write splatter-punk-esque pieces with undead monsters ripping themselves in half to keep coming at the MC when an obstacle pins down the monster's hips, so this is not a "I am delicate as a spring flower" moment, this is a complaint about the application of off-putting details.) This will have a negative impact on your readers due to primacy: they will think of this character as the guy who pees on stuff and spills chamber pots despite what you do later.
Even editors warn about first impressions with characters. try taking a look at How not to Write a Novel: 200 Classic Mistakes and How to Avoid Them for some tongue-in-cheek insight about crafting exciting intros and a narrative that sticks with the reader, for better or worse.
EDIT: Clarity
Its is the possessive form, it's always means it is. This is an entertaining book about punctuation https://www.amazon.com/Eats-Shoots-Leaves-Tolerance-Punctuation-ebook/dp/B000OIZSVY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1517055704&sr=8-1&keywords=eats+shoots+and+leaves
Do yourself a favor and read Stephen King's book "On Writing". The first half tells you what made him the writer he is today. The second half is his personal tips and tricks on the craft, including his take on the plotting vs pantsing theory as well as referencing other self-help books on writing. He also challenges new writers to commit to 1k words a day, which doesn't work for everyone but it certainly lit a fire under my ass.
edit: link for the book on amazon. 13 bucks well spent. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FC0SIM/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1