The Conflict Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Obstacles, Adversaries, and Inner Struggles (Volume 1) (Writers Helping Writers Series Book 8)
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- Create Date：2021-10-13 01:19:13
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Angela Ackerman
- ISBN：B09HY3QWJS
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Reviews
Allison Collins
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I don’t know about you， but I loathe conflict。 Nobody wants conflict in their life， right？ But good authors know that conflict is an essential building block for a book that will keep readers turning the page。 Conflict is a necessary part of every story， every plot， even how characters grow and change。 External conflict can be easier to figure out – roadblocks， ticking timebombs， people getting in the way of the main character’s goal。 But INNER conflict is much more difficult to write。 As an aut I don’t know about you， but I loathe conflict。 Nobody wants conflict in their life， right？ But good authors know that conflict is an essential building block for a book that will keep readers turning the page。 Conflict is a necessary part of every story， every plot， even how characters grow and change。 External conflict can be easier to figure out – roadblocks， ticking timebombs， people getting in the way of the main character’s goal。 But INNER conflict is much more difficult to write。 As an author， GMC （goal， motivation， conflict） has always been the most difficult thing to figure out for my characters。 But NOW figuring out conflict will be so much easier with the brand spanking new Conflict Thesaurus！ The geniuses at One Stop for Writers and Writers Helping Writers blog， Angela Ackerman and Rebecca Puglisi have just released The Conflict Thesaurus！ You will find in this thesaurus subjects such as Conflict’s role in storytelling: Shaping Characters， how plot and conflict combine， taking a deeper look into conflict， how to point the character toward growth， figuring out who is standing in your character’s way， sourcing conflict for your story or scene。 Types of conflict to look at include types of Relationship friction， Failures and mistakes， Moral dilemmas and temptations， Duty and responsibility， Pressures and ticking clocks， No-win scenarios。 Under each of those headings are sub-headings。 Under each sub-heading are things to look at， such as: Minor complications， Potentially disastrous results， Resulting emotions， Possible internal struggles， Negative traits that may worsen the situation， Impact on basic needs， Positive traits to help the character cope， and Positive outcomes。 There are also wonderful Appendices called: How will your character respond to conflict， and Identifying your character’s internal conflict。Is it any wonder that I’ve been a long-time fan of Angela and Becca？ THIS is the book on conflict I’ve been waiting for， and I know authors everywhere will be thrilled to add this to their writing toolboxes！I was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy and I devoured it。 These thesauruses are always well-thought out and have SO much information， and this one did not let me down。 。。。more
Cheryl Rainfield
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Writers， you need this book。The Conflict Thesaurus is an incredibly helpful book for writers。 You can't have story without conflict。 Conflict advances the plot， and forces the character to make decisions and to act。 The first fifth of the book has valuable articles on conflict--why we need it and how to use it in story--even ways you might not have thought of such as through setting， weather， adding an audience to a failure， and more。 Ackerman and Puglisi break down internal and external conflic Writers， you need this book。The Conflict Thesaurus is an incredibly helpful book for writers。 You can't have story without conflict。 Conflict advances the plot， and forces the character to make decisions and to act。 The first fifth of the book has valuable articles on conflict--why we need it and how to use it in story--even ways you might not have thought of such as through setting， weather， adding an audience to a failure， and more。 Ackerman and Puglisi break down internal and external conflict into categories such as relationships， failures， increased pressure， etc。 with examples on using them。 It's written in a conversational， easy-to-understand tone。 The articles alone are worth the price of the ebook。The rest of the book is broken up into possible conflict scenarios within each of the categories。 Each possible conflict topic has examples of how it can be used， how it might move to minor or disastrous， the resulting emotions， possible internal struggles， negative traits that may worsen the situation， the impact of the character's basic needs， positive traits that can help the character cope with the conflict， and possible positive outcomes。If you've ever read one of the books in the Writer Thesaurus series， you'll know how good this is， and how it can get you thinking about your characters and plot， serve as a jumping off point into something deeper， or help when you're stuck。 Highly recommended。I received a digital ARC of this book for an honest review。 I only review books that I love。 。。。more
Timi V
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Like all of their thesauruses， they are not just a great tool for writers but also can be considered an engaging and helpful psychology textbook。 If you use it as a writer you will understand the psychological needs of a character and how humans work， however I also recommend this book as a semi self-help book since the writing and the questions at the beginning can help solve our own conflicts。 The writing is really good， funny， making us reflect deeper on our character’s inner world and a lot Like all of their thesauruses， they are not just a great tool for writers but also can be considered an engaging and helpful psychology textbook。 If you use it as a writer you will understand the psychological needs of a character and how humans work， however I also recommend this book as a semi self-help book since the writing and the questions at the beginning can help solve our own conflicts。 The writing is really good， funny， making us reflect deeper on our character’s inner world and a lot of times our own。 Great job！ Recommend it to everyone who wants to write a great book and while doing this learn a few new things about themselves too！ As a psychologist and writer I use all of the thesauruses that they published until now。 。。。more
Joy Melville
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I am so impressed with the effort， time， and research that went into the creation of THE CONFLICT THESAURUS！ As an author， this is one of the KEEPER REFERENCES that will be in my personal Reference Library。 Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi have done it again！ They've built another resource that far exceeded my expectations。 I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone desiring to deepen and strengthen their work in progress to give the reader a rich and realistic story！ I am so impressed with the effort， time， and research that went into the creation of THE CONFLICT THESAURUS！ As an author， this is one of the KEEPER REFERENCES that will be in my personal Reference Library。 Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi have done it again！ They've built another resource that far exceeded my expectations。 I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone desiring to deepen and strengthen their work in progress to give the reader a rich and realistic story！ 。。。more
Michelle Cornish
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Another gold mine of information from Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi。 Not only is 80% of the book filled with tons of different conflict scenarios falling into categories such as relationship friction， failures and mistakes， moral dilemmas and temptations， duty and responsibility， and increased pressure and ticking clocks （my personal favorite）， but the introduction provides many useful tips for creating conflict in your story。 I especially liked the list of techniques designed to escalate te Another gold mine of information from Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi。 Not only is 80% of the book filled with tons of different conflict scenarios falling into categories such as relationship friction， failures and mistakes， moral dilemmas and temptations， duty and responsibility， and increased pressure and ticking clocks （my personal favorite）， but the introduction provides many useful tips for creating conflict in your story。 I especially liked the list of techniques designed to escalate tension。 Individual conflict entries provide examples， minor complications， potentially disastrous results， resulting emotions， negative traits that may worsen the situation， impacts on basic needs， positive traits to help the character， and positive outcomes。 This is a must read for any writer who wants their readers turning the pages！ I'm already looking forward to the second volume。 。。。more
Tony
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This book is pure gold。 Simple as that。 From beginning to end， it is an idea factory for writing。 Need a moral dilemma for your protagonist？ No problem， you’re covered！ Want to create a no-win scenario？ A host of options are available。 You get the idea。The book starts with an extensive preamble on the role of conflict in stories。 It discusses how the plot benefits from conflict， the difference between internal and external conflict， how conflict helps grow a character， and a look at the choices This book is pure gold。 Simple as that。 From beginning to end， it is an idea factory for writing。 Need a moral dilemma for your protagonist？ No problem， you’re covered！ Want to create a no-win scenario？ A host of options are available。 You get the idea。The book starts with an extensive preamble on the role of conflict in stories。 It discusses how the plot benefits from conflict， the difference between internal and external conflict， how conflict helps grow a character， and a look at the choices one must make due to conflict。 A unique section highlights the different types of adversaries one might use to create conflict。 It finishes up with a guide on inserting conflict into a story， the how， where， and when。The bulk of the book， and the real meat of the topic， is contained in the entries。 Most situations contain a list of examples to help determine the opportunities for conflict。 The next heading includes the minor complications for the conflict example， perhaps if it is being used as an annoyance or to set up something larger。 There are examples of both negative and positive results for the encounter。 Other sections include internal struggle options and some of the emotions which might come out。 There is also a description on how the type of engagement might be categorized within Maslow’s pyramid of needs。 Each section provides a plethora of ideas on how one might work the conflict into a story。Overall， I am impressed by The Conflict Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Obstacles， Adversaries， and Inner Struggles （Volume 1）。 It is the fertilizer for growing engaging character-based stories。 It is the conflict version of angsty dialogue prompts， an opportunity to realize and create discord in any situation。 A great tool to have in the creativity chest。 Five of five stars on Goodreads。 。。。more
Tracy Perkins
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Ackerman and Puglisi unleash writing alchemy again with this latest installment of their writer’s guide thesauri。 Conflict is the brew that transforms a story from meh to page turning addiction— putting the readers children’s lives at risk because they drink the story at every stoplight。 As the saying goes， no great story ever started with a salad 。 。 。The Conflict Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Obstacles， Adversaries， and Inner Struggles （Vol。 1） is the writer’s cocktail cookbook。 Imbibing tens Ackerman and Puglisi unleash writing alchemy again with this latest installment of their writer’s guide thesauri。 Conflict is the brew that transforms a story from meh to page turning addiction— putting the readers children’s lives at risk because they drink the story at every stoplight。 As the saying goes， no great story ever started with a salad 。 。 。The Conflict Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Obstacles， Adversaries， and Inner Struggles （Vol。 1） is the writer’s cocktail cookbook。 Imbibing tension with over 100 recipes of liquid intelligence worth spilling onto the page， and innumerable combinations that can be mixed to inebriate a character inside and out。 Not unlike a de rigueur liquid lunch before your daughter’s wedding after sleeping with her future father-in-law， the book covers problems， moral dilemmas， ticking clocks， obstacles， and no-win scenarios。 It’s plot brainstorming distilled and served in a sparkling Martini glass filled with Gin and Angostura Bitters—hold the ice—sporting a cocktail sword through a green olive， and a cloth napkin covering the stiletto。An inspiring writer’s reference， The Conflict Thesaurus （Vol。 1）， belongs on every writer’s bookshelf who has ever experienced writer’s block or needs a little kick in the plot twist。Thanks to the author for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Halli Gomez
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The Conflict Thesaurus is the newest addition to the thesaurus family。 They are all wonderful， but this may be the best one yet！ All books， even ones referred to as "quiet，" need conflict。 The Conflict Thesaurus gives you a list of conflicts， each one including examples， minor and major complications， emotions， impacts， and possible outcomes。 They give you a lot to think about and possibilities for your individual story。 In addition， before we even get to the specific conflicts， there is a compl The Conflict Thesaurus is the newest addition to the thesaurus family。 They are all wonderful， but this may be the best one yet！ All books， even ones referred to as "quiet，" need conflict。 The Conflict Thesaurus gives you a list of conflicts， each one including examples， minor and major complications， emotions， impacts， and possible outcomes。 They give you a lot to think about and possibilities for your individual story。 In addition， before we even get to the specific conflicts， there is a complete section about conflict， what it means， how it impacts us as individuals and society， moral dilemmas， ticking clocks， as well as examples。 This section also talks about one of the most important and necessary parts of a story: stakes。This book should be at the top of your writer toolbox！ 。。。more
Harley Christensen
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Ready to take your story from “Meh…” to “Couldn’t put it down！”？Nothing’s worse than leaving readers feeling less than satisfied when they finish your book — if they finish it — because they failed to connect with your characters， or the plot fell flat as the characters aimlessly meandered from scene to scene without anything really happening。When we fail to throw roadblocks at our characters that prevent them from achieving their wants/desires/goals， there’s nothing at stake， nothing for them t Ready to take your story from “Meh…” to “Couldn’t put it down！”？Nothing’s worse than leaving readers feeling less than satisfied when they finish your book — if they finish it — because they failed to connect with your characters， or the plot fell flat as the characters aimlessly meandered from scene to scene without anything really happening。When we fail to throw roadblocks at our characters that prevent them from achieving their wants/desires/goals， there’s nothing at stake， nothing for them to overcome。 In short， there’s no conflict。 And， as is often said， without it， there is no story。So as writers， how do we amp up those stakes and create enough conflict for the characters in our stories， compelling readers to devour our words all the way to “The End”？Enter The Conflict Thesaurus， the latest installment in the thesaurus series by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi。 Joining its seven siblings， The Conflict Thesaurus is both a thesaurus and a masterclass in the art of crafting conflict。 And， as with everything that Ackerman and Puglisi create， it’s extremely well thought out and organized。The beginning is loaded with valuable lessons that ensure you have a basis for understanding what conflict is and why it is an integral part of storytelling — everything from how it helps shape your characters and bolsters plot to how it can be used to make your characters’ struggles relatable to readers， plus how to use the three C’s （Conflict， Choices and Consequences） to connect character and plot so that the story keeps moving forward…and so much more。Next up is the “thesaurus” portion of the content， which is comprehensive and chock-full of an endless supply of entries with examples for throwing your character into turmoil。 The book concludes with several appendices， which offer more valuable lessons/delicious tidbits to aid you in incorporating the concepts into your story。 And， mind you， this is only Volume I！ ;）For the price of a coffee or two， The Conflict Thesaurus is a resource that will help take your conflict — and your stories — to the next level。And that， dear writer， is priceless。Kudos to Ackerman and Puglisi for another stellar installment in an already brilliant series！ 。。。more
B。 Livingstone
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The Conflict Thesaurus， much like it's sister thesaurus'， is a keeper。 There are so many conflicts that can take place in a story and many times they are written pretty much the same and become predictable。 This thesaurus not only helps describe the conflict， the complications， and possible outcomes; but it takes you deeper into how the situation impacts your character。 It gives you possible emotions your character may experience and internal struggles。 It describes how negative and positive tra The Conflict Thesaurus， much like it's sister thesaurus'， is a keeper。 There are so many conflicts that can take place in a story and many times they are written pretty much the same and become predictable。 This thesaurus not only helps describe the conflict， the complications， and possible outcomes; but it takes you deeper into how the situation impacts your character。 It gives you possible emotions your character may experience and internal struggles。 It describes how negative and positive traits may worsen or help the situation。 But they don't stop there， they also describe how the conflict may impact your characters basic needs。 All of this allows you really expand on the conflict， and really put your readers in your character's place so they can feel what your character is feeling， and experience the situation right alongside them。 I have this in ebook form， but I can't wait to get my hands on a print copy so I can add this baby to my resource library。If you haven't check out this the rest of the Writer's Guide set， you really should。 。。。more
Michelle
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The Conflict Thesaurus is a must have for any writer who has benefitted from the library available from Writers Helping Writers。 Simply put， this edition introduces conflict's role in your book and helps shape it up for your characters。 There's an impressive selection to choose from， ranging from relationships， personal failures， moral dilemmas， responsibilities， pressure， and no-win scenarios。 This is exactly what I was looking for to round out my writing。Eagerly awaiting Volume 2！ The Conflict Thesaurus is a must have for any writer who has benefitted from the library available from Writers Helping Writers。 Simply put， this edition introduces conflict's role in your book and helps shape it up for your characters。 There's an impressive selection to choose from， ranging from relationships， personal failures， moral dilemmas， responsibilities， pressure， and no-win scenarios。 This is exactly what I was looking for to round out my writing。Eagerly awaiting Volume 2！ 。。。more
Denise
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An excellent tool for writers that either gives you ideas for a new writing project or nudges you back in the writing lane if you get stuck on a particular point and can't find your way。 I find it's helpful for writer's block as well。 Sometimes just reading through sections of it is enough to break through that block and crush it。I own several of their thesaurus books and love them all。 An excellent tool for writers that either gives you ideas for a new writing project or nudges you back in the writing lane if you get stuck on a particular point and can't find your way。 I find it's helpful for writer's block as well。 Sometimes just reading through sections of it is enough to break through that block and crush it。I own several of their thesaurus books and love them all。 。。。more
LynneV
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The thesauruses by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi have become a permanent staple on my writing desk--I own them all both digitally and in hard-copy， that's how much I love them--and this will be a very welcome addition。Like the other thesauruses， the Conflict Thesaurus is perfect for brainstorming your plot and works well with the other thesauruses。 The lay-out is similar to the other additions in the series: first they explain the concept and how you can incorporate the thesaurus entries int The thesauruses by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi have become a permanent staple on my writing desk--I own them all both digitally and in hard-copy， that's how much I love them--and this will be a very welcome addition。Like the other thesauruses， the Conflict Thesaurus is perfect for brainstorming your plot and works well with the other thesauruses。 The lay-out is similar to the other additions in the series: first they explain the concept and how you can incorporate the thesaurus entries into your storytelling， then there's a bucketload of conflict examples （seriously。。。 So。 Much。 Conflict！）， guaranteed to get every story on the road。Every thesaurus entry is broken down in:- Examples- Minor complications- Potentially disastrous results- Resulting emotions- Possible internal struggles- Negative traits that may worsen the situation- Impact on basic needs- Positive traits to help the character cope- Positive outcomesI honestly cannot say enough good things about this！ Just flicking through the pages gave me a bunch of ideas for stories already， and with Preptober coming up， that's a good thing！ In my opinion， every writer needs this on her shelf！I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Andrea Koehler
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It offers exceptional detail on categories and levels of conflict， as well as individual entries。
Bonnie Martin-Woodward
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Loving this the latest in the series of useful guides by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi。 A wealth of conflicts to add layers to your characters！ Five stars！
Annie Lima
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This is a great resource for writers！ Many of the types of conflict listed here were ones I had never even thought of including in a story。 The book does a great job of presenting lots of aspects of conflict， including examples of each type and ways in which they can affect characters。 After I’ve finished the first draft of my next novel， I plan to go through each scene and look up each type of conflict I’ve used， and check this book for insights and details I may want to add。 This will be a val This is a great resource for writers！ Many of the types of conflict listed here were ones I had never even thought of including in a story。 The book does a great job of presenting lots of aspects of conflict， including examples of each type and ways in which they can affect characters。 After I’ve finished the first draft of my next novel， I plan to go through each scene and look up each type of conflict I’ve used， and check this book for insights and details I may want to add。 This will be a valuable addition to my collection of writing resources！ 。。。more
M。E。 Browning
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I'm a huge fan of the thesaurus series by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi。 On October 12th， the CONFLICT THESAURUS joins the lineup。 Like any thesaurus， it offers a place to start， a way to spark your own creativity or remind you of an angle you may not have considered。 Then it's up to you to build your prose into something uniquely yours。 I've had a sneak peek。 The first 59 pages discuss the craft aspect of conflict （in clear， concise language） and the remaining pages are dedicated to offeri I'm a huge fan of the thesaurus series by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi。 On October 12th， the CONFLICT THESAURUS joins the lineup。 Like any thesaurus， it offers a place to start， a way to spark your own creativity or remind you of an angle you may not have considered。 Then it's up to you to build your prose into something uniquely yours。 I've had a sneak peek。 The first 59 pages discuss the craft aspect of conflict （in clear， concise language） and the remaining pages are dedicated to offering specific situational examples。 Craft books can be tricky to recommend because writers approach their craft in so many ways， but I have every single one of their books on my shelf。 As a resource， they are second to none。 。。。more
Brandi MacCurdy
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And they've done it again， you guys。 Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi have another book in their Thesaurus Series - this one all about Conflict。 And the best part？ It's VOLUME 1。 If you are not familiar， Writers Helping Writers is an endless resource for any level of author out there。 The website is a treasure trove of information that seems refilling everytime you check it out。 Part of their immense stock， is the The Thesaurus Series。 Each book in the series dives into a different aspect of de And they've done it again， you guys。 Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi have another book in their Thesaurus Series - this one all about Conflict。 And the best part？ It's VOLUME 1。 If you are not familiar， Writers Helping Writers is an endless resource for any level of author out there。 The website is a treasure trove of information that seems refilling everytime you check it out。 Part of their immense stock， is the The Thesaurus Series。 Each book in the series dives into a different aspect of descriptive writing with guides， insights and examples。 The latest is this golden beauty - The Conflict Thesaurus Volume 1。And， of course， no story is complete without some form of Conflict。 It's arguable that every author out there could use a brush up with what struggles their characters can encounter。 The time and effort that went into creating this resource is unimaginable。 There are endless amounts of possible conflicts for your character to face。 Conflicts that you didn't even think possible！ I love reading a good resource， doing my research and finding something that makes me think "There is no way I would have ever considered that！" This book is amazing and other priceless resource！ 。。。more
Sacha Black
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One for every writer's bookshelf。Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi should be on every writer's bookshelf。 Conflict is at the core of story and this book will teach you why as well as how to craft exquisite conflict that both creates killer stakes for your characters and hooks your readers for life。Ackerman-Puglisi's thesaurus is so much more than just a "thesaurus"。 It's a tutor， a guide， and a writing mentor all crammed into one thesaurus。 Not only that， but packed into the front end of their l One for every writer's bookshelf。Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi should be on every writer's bookshelf。 Conflict is at the core of story and this book will teach you why as well as how to craft exquisite conflict that both creates killer stakes for your characters and hooks your readers for life。Ackerman-Puglisi's thesaurus is so much more than just a "thesaurus"。 It's a tutor， a guide， and a writing mentor all crammed into one thesaurus。 Not only that， but packed into the front end of their latest thesaurus is an array of writing lessons you NEED if you want to craft the best conflict for your story。 They dive into internal conflict， why you need it， what it should look like and how to craft it on paper at the story， scene， and character level。 And that's aside from the dozens and dozens of conflict entries。 Ackerman-Puglisi have done it again。 This really is a must read for any writer hoping to improve their characters and stories。 。。。more
Jemi Fraser
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In a word: Fantastic！I'm a romance writer and I love happy endings！ In real life， I've been a teacher for more than a couple of decades。 I'm great at defusing conflict and alleviating stress。 But as we all know， every good story needs conflict。 The better the conflict， the better the story， and the better the happy ending！ Cue stress for this mediator personality。Angela and Becca have created the Conflict Thesaurus and it is magnificent！In this thesaurus， a wide variety of conflicts are describe In a word: Fantastic！I'm a romance writer and I love happy endings！ In real life， I've been a teacher for more than a couple of decades。 I'm great at defusing conflict and alleviating stress。 But as we all know， every good story needs conflict。 The better the conflict， the better the story， and the better the happy ending！ Cue stress for this mediator personality。Angela and Becca have created the Conflict Thesaurus and it is magnificent！In this thesaurus， a wide variety of conflicts are described。 For each， the thesaurus lists examples， minor complications， potentially disastrous results， resulting emotions， possible internal struggles， negative traits that may worsen the situation， impact on basic needs， positive traits to help the character cope， and positive outcomes。In short， everything a writer might want to know！Looking to strengthen your writing？ You won't go wrong with any of the books in this series， but the Conflict Thesaurus might just be your favourite！ 。。。more
Jarm Boccio
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