Lately, I’ve been running into authors who don’t know about this book, much less its ‘sequels,’ and it’s more than worth doing a quick post on the topic. I can state without any reservation that if you do not have a copy of The Emotional Thesaurus, you are cheating yourself. There is no other single book that you can buy that will help your writing more; and yes, that includes that other book you were just thinking of, whatever it was.

The Emotional Thesaurus is a book that does exactly what it sounds like, only more so. It gives you synonyms for different emotional states, which by itself is extraordinarily useful. How many times have you had to stop to figure out how to describe what a character was feeling? But it goes far, far deeper, giving you body language, internal effects, and behavior associated with each emotion.

I first got my copy eight years ago, after passing it over many times because I didn’t think I needed it. I’m pretty good at off-the-top emotional descriptions, including body language. I finally got it after my now-wife kept telling me how good it was for her writing. Turns out it’s been very useful. Sure, I’m good at this on my own, but the book has more than what I have in my head — which, after all, is the point of keeping reference books around to consult.

And even better, it speeds things up. Doing putting myself in the mind of each character experiencing each emotion and figuring out what body language or behavioral cues are best takes concentration. If I can save a few moments while writing or editing, then that’s a few moments more to spend on the manuscript in front of me.

Each entry has several sections:

  • Definition
  • Physical Signals
  • Internal Sensations
  • Mental Responses
  • Cues of Acute or Long-Term [emotion]
  • May Escalate to [list of emotions]
  • Cues of Suppressed [emotion]
  • Writer’s Tip

For example, if you want a physical signal for frustration, it mentions obvious stuff like sighing, pursed lips, clenched jaw, and so on; but also things like changing direction mid-stride or the character splaying his or her hands wide, then relaxing them. A POV character might also experience jaw pain or a sensation of tightness in his or her chest, and be tempted to slam or throw objects unnecessarily.

There are over seventy different emotions and mental states in the book, so odds are pretty good you’ll find what you’re looking for. There are also several sources at the back worth checking out, including Dr. Paul Ekman, the consultant behind Inside Out (one of my favorite movies) and the inspiration behind the main character of the TV show Lie to Me.

But that’s only one book. The creators of The Emotion Thesaurus have since come out with a series of eight other thesauri, such as The Rural Setting Thesaurus (very useful when describing rural settings, even if you live there) and its twin The Urban Setting Thesaurus (for, obviously, an urban environment). These two books will take places your characters might go and describe features about them, helping to prevent white-room syndrome. (Here’s hoping they come up with some for medieval and Victorian settings, because I know many authors who could use those.) There’s also the two-volume Conflict Thesaurus, for internal and external struggles characters might face, or The Emotional Wound Thesaurus for keeping characters haunted by their past traumas consistent.

If you can only get one, get The Emotion Thesaurus. If you can go with a little more, then you should look at all the books in this series and see what might help you.

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