I’m all about trying to improve my writing skills. The stacks of books, both virtual and physical, take up more than one shelf of my bookcase and four bookshelves in Kindle Fire. So, it is with great expectation that the new Urban and Rural Settings Thesaurus (I wonder if it’s ‘thesauri’) are now available.
As we storytellers sit before the keyboard to craft our magic, we’re usually laser-focused on the two titans of fiction: plot and character. Yet, there’s a third element that impacts almost every aspect of the tale, one we really need to home in on as well: the setting.
How would you describe this place to someone who’s never been here?
The setting is so much more than a painted backdrop, more than a stage for our characters to tromp across during the scene. Used to its full advantage, the setting can characterize the story’s cast, supply mood, steer the plot, provide challenges and conflict, trigger emotions, help us deliver those necessary snippets of backstory…and that’s just scratching the surface. So the question is this: how do we unleash the full power of the setting within our stories?
Well, there’s some good news on that front. Two new books have released this week that may change the description game for writers. The Urban Setting Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to City Spaces and The Rural Setting Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Personal and Natural Spaces look at the sights, smells, tastes, textures, and sounds a character might experience within 225 different contemporary settings. And this is only the start of what these books offer writers.
In fact, swing by and check out this hidden entry from the Rural Setting Thesaurus: Ancient Ruins.
And there’s one more thing you might want to know more about….
Becca and Angela, authors of The Emotion Thesaurus, are celebrating their double release with a fun event going on from June 13-20th called ROCK THE VAULT. At the heart of the Writers Helping Writers site is a tremendous vault, and these two ladies have been hoarding prizes of epic writerly proportions.
A safe full of prizes, ripe for the taking…if the writing community can work together to unlock it, of course.
Ready to do your part? Stop by Writers Helping Writers to find out more!
Don’t miss out on some fantastic prizes.
alvaradofrazier.com 
Oh yeah, I heard an interview with these guys about the emotion thesaurus–so cool that they’ve come out with setting thesauruses (spelling?)
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What I really like about these thesauri 🙂 is I can go back during revision and find out what I’ve left out. Sometimes we write so fast, just to get the words down, that we forget all the sensory details to create the scene.
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thank you so much for letting me do a bit of “urban sprawl” on your blog, Alvarado! I am so appreciative of all the help and time you’ve given, and for the visibility. So very glad you are finding the Setting Thesaurus helpful too! 🙂
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I just finished your book and reviewed it on Goodreads and Amazon. The details you’ve provided for the settings makes a writers job much easier.
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Thank you so much!
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Wonderful information, I tend to be weak on describing my settings. Thanks so much for sharing!
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