The Positive Trait Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Attributes
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-03 15:01:32
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Angela Ackerman
- ISBN：0989772519
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Character 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 overcome
If 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。
“In these brilliantly conceived， superbly organized and astonishingly thorough volumes， Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi have created an invaluable resource for writers and storytellers。 Whether you are searching for new and unique ways to add and define characters， or brainstorming methods for revealing those characters without resorting to clichés， it is hard to imagine two more powerful tools for adding depth and dimension to your screenplays， novels or plays。”
- Michael Hauge， Hollywood script consultant and story expert， author of Writing Screenplays That Sell and Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds: The Guaranteed Way to Get Your Screenplay or Novel Read
* 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 overcome
If 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。
“In these brilliantly conceived， superbly organized and astonishingly thorough volumes， Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi have created an invaluable resource for writers and storytellers。 Whether you are searching for new and unique ways to add and define characters， or brainstorming methods for revealing those characters without resorting to clichés， it is hard to imagine two more powerful tools for adding depth and dimension to your screenplays， novels or plays。”
- Michael Hauge， Hollywood script consultant and story expert， author of Writing Screenplays That Sell and Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds: The Guaranteed Way to Get Your Screenplay or Novel Read
Reviews
Frank Chirico
，
A must have。 Also get the Negative Trait Thesaurus as well。 Fantastic collection of valuable information。
Sarah Lapalme
，
Amazing resource for writer's on identifying your characters' positive traits and writing believable characters。 Amazing resource for writer's on identifying your characters' positive traits and writing believable characters。 。。。more
Nikki Kincaid
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I write darker characters （or， at least， I tend to focus more on the darker traits）， but this book reminds me that positive traits are what make characters relatable。
Rita Peterson
，
What a great book to kick start my brain in thinking more creative！
Kirsten McNeill
，
I read this book from cover to cover， but not all in one go。 Being a reference guide for creating characters， I wanted to take my time。 Read a few pages here and there to really process the information。 It is a great resource for building heroes in your stories with individual entries for different traits and explanations and tips on how to build a balanced character。
Lia Nguyen
，
I am not a writer but this is is absolutely a reference that I could use it to create my own fantasy or fiction characters in my fashion collection。 Also it helped me out to find out more about who I want to be and able to observe people around me。
Jane Nash
，
this is a brilliant resource for authors who are stumbling with writer's block - all of this series are a great brainstorming exercise done for you - now it's time for you to make the magic on the page with all these juicy tidbits。 this is a brilliant resource for authors who are stumbling with writer's block - all of this series are a great brainstorming exercise done for you - now it's time for you to make the magic on the page with all these juicy tidbits。 。。。more
Elle Stephens
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I don't write without these books！ help to flesh out characters in believable ways I don't write without these books！ help to flesh out characters in believable ways 。。。more
Amy Whitcomb
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I purchased both the POS and NEG Trait Thes and love them both！ Pooling various traits REALLY helps figure out who your character is。 It allows you determine how they would act in certain situations。 Love， love， love these 2 books！
Ellie T
，
The first time I tried to make a character， guess what？ I didn’t look at the front where it listed the different categories of personality！ But the categories are really useful。 The categories really help to blend a character’s personality。 For example， without the categories， I made an ‘uhhh。。。。 what？’ character。 But with the categories， I was able to blend together a mature， introverted character that’s going to be changed by SOME WILD EXTROVERTS！ You heard it， there’s an s at the end！ It’s ev The first time I tried to make a character， guess what？ I didn’t look at the front where it listed the different categories of personality！ But the categories are really useful。 The categories really help to blend a character’s personality。 For example， without the categories， I made an ‘uhhh。。。。 what？’ character。 But with the categories， I was able to blend together a mature， introverted character that’s going to be changed by SOME WILD EXTROVERTS！ You heard it， there’s an s at the end！ It’s even worse than not plural！ 。。。more
Elle
，
A good resource， but of more use in conjunction with Ackerman & Puglisi's other writing help book， The Emotional Wound Thesaurus。I've experienced some disconnect due to the book's definition of some traits don't always match my understanding/association of the trait/name， which can make it frustrating to find what you're looking for at times， especially if led there from the Wound Thesaurus。 Of course there's a limit to how many traits can be included in one book， but several times I've been una A good resource， but of more use in conjunction with Ackerman & Puglisi's other writing help book， The Emotional Wound Thesaurus。I've experienced some disconnect due to the book's definition of some traits don't always match my understanding/association of the trait/name， which can make it frustrating to find what you're looking for at times， especially if led there from the Wound Thesaurus。 Of course there's a limit to how many traits can be included in one book， but several times I've been unable to find a trait I'm looking for and the 'close' traits included just don't seem close enough。 There's also some debate to whether certain traits should be in Positive or Negative Thesaurus， especially when the authors spin all traits in both books into both positive and negative uses/outcomes。 Maybe a single Trait Thesaurus would have been best， so readers don't have to search two different books to wonder if they want the positive use of a Negative-classified trait or the negative use of Positive-classified trait。A good reference， but not a must-have due to its limitations and confusions。 。。。more
Abigail Teed
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P
Ivy Seablom
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Awesome toolI think this book is an awesome tool that I will be able to use while writing my book。 It really breaks things down to help me build up my characters better。 Plus I love that they have additional books like this too！
The_Tuck
，
This book is just a series of bullet point lists about generic character traits with headings， such as "similar attributes"， "associated behaviors"， and other paint by numbers character information。 I didn't find my time with it useful。 I suppose it is meant to be thumbed through when you are stuck。 In other words， a light reference book。 They divide up these traits into a series of five books so， you're out like $75 if you plunge into all of these。 I picked two of them up because the goodreads' This book is just a series of bullet point lists about generic character traits with headings， such as "similar attributes"， "associated behaviors"， and other paint by numbers character information。 I didn't find my time with it useful。 I suppose it is meant to be thumbed through when you are stuck。 In other words， a light reference book。 They divide up these traits into a series of five books so， you're out like $75 if you plunge into all of these。 I picked two of them up because the goodreads's score were high and I couldn't peruse them before reading。 The score seems artificially high to read about character traits such as "Nature-focused"。 This book also provides some examples of each trait pulled from film， books and popular culture。 These were the most amusing part。 Often， they are wrong and sometimes they are just goofy。 Under "Professional"， which they defined as "exhibiting specialized knowledge and applying it with courtesy and good judgment"， they listed， as an example， "Donald Trump"。 。。。more
Lucy Mitchell
，
Essential for writers！ This book came to my rescue during a tough edit。 I only wish I had read this earlier in my writing career。
Kelly
，
This is a super helpful reference book for when you're feeling kind of stale with ideas and need help exploring the possibilities for what a character's motivations and desires or reasons might be， and what traits they might have。 I think leaned upon too heavily it could make one's writing prosaic but as an occasional tool or just a little bit of a prompt to use when you're stuck it's great。 This is a super helpful reference book for when you're feeling kind of stale with ideas and need help exploring the possibilities for what a character's motivations and desires or reasons might be， and what traits they might have。 I think leaned upon too heavily it could make one's writing prosaic but as an occasional tool or just a little bit of a prompt to use when you're stuck it's great。 。。。more
Laura
，
A really good writing companion。 Would recommend all the books in this series。
Jaimee Walls
，
A must-have for great characterization！
Ashley Nikole
，
EVERY WRITER MUST read this book and use it OFTEN in their writing process！！ It's a total goldmine & will add that extra "oomph" to your writing。 EVERY WRITER MUST read this book and use it OFTEN in their writing process！！ It's a total goldmine & will add that extra "oomph" to your writing。 。。。more
Lyn
，
Coupled with The Negative Trait Thesaurus， a must for writers to build believable， well-rounded characters。
M。A。 Nichols
，
I love this series of books。 They're great desk references for authors wanting inspiration for their writing。 It helps spur new ideas and helps your writing from becoming stagnant and repetitive （just like having a regular thesaurus does for your word choice）。 I would highly recommend these books for anyone looking to improve their craft。 I love this series of books。 They're great desk references for authors wanting inspiration for their writing。 It helps spur new ideas and helps your writing from becoming stagnant and repetitive （just like having a regular thesaurus does for your word choice）。 I would highly recommend these books for anyone looking to improve their craft。 。。。more
Alexander Shay
，
A handy partner to the Negative Trait Thesaurus， though it is set up a little bit differently， with four areas they recommend characters should have strengths in to better balance them。 There's a couple blurbs at the front about villains and positive traits to make them more believable， and as with its companion volume， the PTT includes both the positive and negative aspects of each trait。 It's a detailed list and a good starting point for making characters who are well rounded and realistic。 A handy partner to the Negative Trait Thesaurus， though it is set up a little bit differently， with four areas they recommend characters should have strengths in to better balance them。 There's a couple blurbs at the front about villains and positive traits to make them more believable， and as with its companion volume， the PTT includes both the positive and negative aspects of each trait。 It's a detailed list and a good starting point for making characters who are well rounded and realistic。 。。。more
Eric Huffbind
，
A resource that， as a novelist， I simply can't live without！ A resource that， as a novelist， I simply can't live without！ 。。。more
Catarina
，
*I apologize if this review is super messy and/or repetitive。 I wrote it late at night without my review notes and will probably don't feel like editing it tomorrow morning。*Wow， this was a lot more thorough than The Emotion Thesaurus， which I wasn't expecting。 （This kind of sounds like I didn't enjoy The Emotion Thesaurus， but I assure you that I did！）But this thesaurus is just a level up。 Much like the foreword said， this thesaurus is "concise and all encompassing" and will definitely help you *I apologize if this review is super messy and/or repetitive。 I wrote it late at night without my review notes and will probably don't feel like editing it tomorrow morning。*Wow， this was a lot more thorough than The Emotion Thesaurus， which I wasn't expecting。 （This kind of sounds like I didn't enjoy The Emotion Thesaurus， but I assure you that I did！）But this thesaurus is just a level up。 Much like the foreword said， this thesaurus is "concise and all encompassing" and will definitely help you brainstorm on a bigger scale。 The entire 27-page introduction， and the way everything is lined up makes for a very easy guide that will go in-depth with the various positive traits （attributes）， how to pair different traits， and how they will ultimately help to sculpt well-rounded， multifaceted characters。 I especially found the sections Negative Aspects and Challenging Scenarios helpful。 Furthermore， sections like Associated Behaviors and Thoughts are great tools for any writer who wishes to give their characters a stronger voice， get into a character's mindset and， lastly， distinguish characters from one another。I've now revisited my character bios to add various details （with inspiration from the Appendix A Questionnaire and the Appendix B Positive/Character Attributes Target Tool， which I found really interesting） as well as elaborated on some of the character traits I had already "come up with" myself。 One thing I also took from this book is that I grew more confident in my fictional work prior to getting my hands on these thesauri; I noticed how I'd already thought of most details in terms of personality， habits， etc。 - everything even down to the voice pitch that is mentioned in Appendix A I had already made notes on - but it would only makes sense that have already garnered this much information on my cast of characters （and the world they live in - but we'll get to that in the Rural + Urban Setting Thesaurus review）， given the fact that I've been working on my current writing project for almost two years now。 In this way， the appendices are more complimentary to my notes than anything， but since they are so thorough they allow me to dig deeper into my character's minds and their persona - and I can will get very nerdy with this stuff！This is not the kind of book you read from front-to-back， but it works really well that way because with the help of this book I now see my characters in a different light; it almost feels like they are real people that I know outside of my head， people that I can actually talk to。 （Wow， okay， so that sounded slightly mental。 Lol。） 。。。more
Roger Alderman
，
This book always remains close by as I work on my own fiction titles。
Madelaine Shaw-Wong
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Like all of Angela Ackerman's books on writing， I find it an invaluable tool in writing my own stories。 Like all of Angela Ackerman's books on writing， I find it an invaluable tool in writing my own stories。 。。。more
Chris Lofts
，
I have three in this series; this one along with the Guide to Character Flaws and the writers guide to character expression。 Not a book to read end to end， in the same way you wouldn't read any thesaurus。 The introduction provides some great insights and in the sections themselves ideas around the kind of attributes in characters that may cause conflict between protagonist and antagonist， provides much food for thought。 Great companion books which have a well-deserved place on my desk where I wr I have three in this series; this one along with the Guide to Character Flaws and the writers guide to character expression。 Not a book to read end to end， in the same way you wouldn't read any thesaurus。 The introduction provides some great insights and in the sections themselves ideas around the kind of attributes in characters that may cause conflict between protagonist and antagonist， provides much food for thought。 Great companion books which have a well-deserved place on my desk where I write so they're nice and handy。 。。。more
Willow Woodford
，
The Positive Trait Thesaurus talks about using traits to deepen your characterization to help your reader become emotionally invested in them。 They use a similar format as the Emotion Thesaurus by defining the characteristic， listing similar attributes， possible causes and associated behaviors。 I haven’t used these as thoroughly as I should， mostly because when I bought them I was in the middle of writing something I’d already developed characters for， but I’m in the beginning of a new project a The Positive Trait Thesaurus talks about using traits to deepen your characterization to help your reader become emotionally invested in them。 They use a similar format as the Emotion Thesaurus by defining the characteristic， listing similar attributes， possible causes and associated behaviors。 I haven’t used these as thoroughly as I should， mostly because when I bought them I was in the middle of writing something I’d already developed characters for， but I’m in the beginning of a new project and I intend to make full use of it。 。。。more
Tracey Pedersen
，
I love this book series！ The detail inside is worth a lot more than I paid for this book。 I don't buy paperbacks anymore but I bought the whole series of these and had them shipped to Australia。 Well thought out， well-ordered and easy to flick through and find what you want。 Any writer looking for a way to improve their words should check out these books！ If I could give them 6 stars， I would！ I love this book series！ The detail inside is worth a lot more than I paid for this book。 I don't buy paperbacks anymore but I bought the whole series of these and had them shipped to Australia。 Well thought out， well-ordered and easy to flick through and find what you want。 Any writer looking for a way to improve their words should check out these books！ If I could give them 6 stars， I would！ 。。。more
D。A。 Henneman
，