The Rural Setting Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Personal and Natural Places

Becca Puglisi · Angela Ackerman

Jun 2016 · JADD Publishing

About this ebook

Within the pages of a book exists a world drawn from a writer’s deepest imaginings, one that has the ability to pull readers in on a visceral level. But the audience’s fascination will only last if the writer can describe this vibrant realm and its inhabitants well. The setting achieves this by offering readers a unique sensory experience. So much more than stage dressing, the setting can build mood, convey meaning through symbolism, drive the plot by creating challenges that force the hero to fight for what he wants, and trigger his emotions to reveal his most intimate feelings, fears, and desires. 

Inside this volume you will find: 

• A list of the sights, smells, tastes, textures, and sounds for over 100 settings revolving around school, home, and nature

• Possible sources of conflict for each location to help you brainstorm ways to naturally complicate matters for your characters

• Advice on the many effective ways to build mood, helping you steer both the character’s and readers’ emotions in every scene

• Information on how the setting directly influences the plot by acting as a tuning fork for what a character needs most and by testing his dedication to his goals 

• A tutorial on figurative language and how different descriptive techniques can bring settings alive for readers while conveying a symbolic message or deeper meaning

• A review of the challenges that arise when writing description, as well as special considerations that apply specifically to rural and personal settings

The Rural Setting Thesaurus takes “show-don’t-tell” to new heights. It offers writers a roadmap to creating fresh setting imagery that impacts the story on multiple levels and keeps readers engaged from the first page to the last.

About the author

Becca Puglisi

As an author, Becca loves nothing more than coming up with new content for her Writers Helping Writers® descriptive thesaurus collection (including the best-selling Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression, now an expanded Second Edition), which has sold over half a million copies. She also is co-founder of One Stop For Writers®, a unique online resource containing many helpful tools, craft tutorials, and the entire hyperlinked and searchable thesaurus collection to help writers elevate their storytelling. Becca is an international speaker who enjoys teaching workshops and presenting various writerly topics. Her books are represented by foreign rights agent Marleen Seegers of 2 Seas Agency.

Angela Ackerman

The author of numerous bestselling resource books printed in 8 different languages, Angela enjoys sharing her passion for writing craft. She is a writing coach, international speaker, and a firm believer that writers succeed best together. The desire to help writers in new, innovative ways led to One Stop for Writers®, a unique site originally co-founded with Becca Puglisi and Lee Powell (the creator of Scrivener for Windows and Linux). This creative portal contains game-changing tools and resources that enable writers to craft powerful fiction.