Why am I passionate about this?
When your storytelling simulates imagined physiological experiences, it guides your listeners to vicariously see, hear, smell, taste, and touch the world of your story. While my books suggest six kinds of stories and four buckets to find stories, I also use these favorite resources for training my brain to think in sensory language. Dip in to find a steady supply of metaphors, images, mannerisms, and context builders that make your story come alive. Current strategies that maximize clicks rarely tap into the wealth of sensory language needed to build epic, long-lasting results.
Annette's book list on develop sensational storytelling skills
Why Annette loves this book
Yes, it says for writers, but this book is a great resource for in-person storytelling. On these pages are thousands of ideas on how you can show, not tell.
Comb through ideas on how to express a characterâs emotion with posture, tone, and mannerisms. Donât just say, âhe looked guilty.â Look up âguiltâ and find ways to indicate guilt without telling people what to think. Have your guilty character âavert her eyes,â âshift her feet,â âpull at her collar,â or âsuddenly lose her appetite.â I regularly flick through this book to train my imagination on the sensory cues that make a story come alive.
6 authors picked The Emotion Thesaurus as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
The bestselling Emotion Thesaurus, often hailed as âthe gold standard for writersâ and credited with transforming how writers craft emotion, has now been expanded to include 55 new entries!Â
One of the biggest struggles for writers is how to convey emotion to readers in a unique and compelling way. When showing our charactersâ feelings, we often use the first idea that comes to mind, and they end up smiling, nodding, and frowning too much.Â
If you need inspiration for creating charactersâ emotional responses that are personalized and evocative, this ultimate show-donât-tell guide for emotion can help. It includes:
- Coming soon!