The Rural Setting Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Personal and Natural Places (Writers Helping Writers Series Book 4) Kindle Edition

I haven't really gotten into the book I'm just glanced over it and I already have so many ideas of how I'm going to present my next book I'm excited

I bought Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi's The Rural Setting Thesaurus (JADD Publishing 2016) to buttress my knowledge of the rural settings that make up so much of my current WIP--actually, the entire ecosystem that is the background for my trilogies in Man vs. Nature. Ackerman and Puglisi didn't disappoint. The authors cover settings at home, at school, in inhabited rural areas, and the very rural (the arctic tundra, the badlands, and more). For each of the dozens of locations, the authors cover sights, sounds, smells, tastes, textures, and sensations (all the sense) as well as possible conflict, people found here, and related settings. Then they give an example of what a description of the setting might be. For example, the example for river is:"I stumbled up the hill, my body baked as dry as the land I'd crossed. Flashes of liquid light winked through the trees ahead and my legs tremored.  Cocking me head, I heard it at last: the gentle burble of salvation."If you're writing about a rural location you haven't visited or don't know enough about--especially the all-important sensory detail--there's no better book out there than this. Oh--this is part of a series by these authors covering:The Urban Setting ThesaurusThe Positive Trait ThesaurusThe Negative Trait ThesaurusThe Emotional Wound ThesaurusThe Emotion Thesaurus

Great addition to the Ackerman/Puglisi thesaurus collection. Maybe one of the most important because settings are so often overlooked. This is not just for looking up a synonym for a weak word. So much more than you probably expect from a Thesaurus. It begins with some of the most comprehensive help I've read for using settings to improve your story - using for conflict, tension, setting mood, symbolism & metaphors, common errors used in settings, and MUCH more.Each setting has suggestions for sounds, sights, smells, textures & sensations, possible sources of conflict (!),people you might find there, links to other settings that might relate to and more. These aren't only single word suggestions but also descriptive phrases as well (very good ones!). Each ends with super-useful notes & tips, and examples.I like to just browse the entries and find settings I hadn't even thought of that I want to incorporate into my story.Complete your collection with The Positive Trait Thesaurus, The Negative Trait Thesaurus, and the fantastic Emotion Thesaurus. All unique in the Thesaurus world and same superb quality. Want even more - visit WritersHelpingWriters website for (free!) like physical attributes, textures, shapes, symbolism & motifs, weather, emotional wounds (seriously there is one for that) and more. I can't imagine what the authors are going to come up with next, but I'm looking forward to it.., ., .

There are many books on the market today that 'tell' an author how to write. One of the tried and true axioms in writing is 'show, don't tell.' Guess what? The Rural Setting Thesaurus (and its companions, which include The Urban Setting Thesaurus among many others) 'shows' you how to write. The Rural Setting Thesaurus doesn't tell us, "Write one’s setting in this place exactly like so." No, it includes a huge variety of everyday settings in which your characters might find themselves. Then, it proceeds to unpack those settings into sights, sounds, smells, tastes, textures and sensations, possible sources of conflict, people commonly found there, and even notes related settings (conveniently hyperlinked in the Kindle version). Further, these incredible references provide additional setting notes and tips and helpful example descriptions for each one. As if all that isn't valuable enough, authors Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi go even further by including key techniques and devices to employ in rural settings, and the resulting literary effects one can achieve by doing so.An author could spend every dime of their past, present and future royalties on a whole library of reference books and still not achieve a return on their investment as valuable as this thesaurus. I think I’ll creep into the root cellar and see what’s lurking in that musty corner under the stairs.

I try not to give too much away about the content of books. I have various reasons for reading this type of book. One of these days, I'll finish writing a book or as my wife says, she'll publish it after I pass on. At my current writing pace, it's going to be about 9,000 pages before I finish it. Just kidding around. This book is a good, educating and entertaining read. The only complaint I have isn't really a complaint, but I've mentioned it on other Kindle books. I just think the flow of this book and many others in this field, break their flow, my reading flow, with the plugging of their other books. I normally would take a star off, but this one isn't too bad for it.If I could share an old business tip it's don't distract your viewing audience's attention to anything besides whatever you got their attention with in the first place. It's kind of frustrating to be reading along only to see "To see how to do this, see my book "(name)". That would require me to stop reading your book. Still, overall, this is a good book with lots of things in it to learn.

I recently purchased 3 books of Angela and Becca's thesaurus series. I elected to purchase urban setting, rural setting, and the emotion thesaurus (expanded edition). All 3 have become an absolute staple for my writing. They give you the inspiration to write your scenes effectively with showing not telling. I will definitely be expanding my book collection with their series.. I WISH they had books about castles, fantasy, or historical type settings. I would buy those in a heartbeat!

This is one of a series of books to assist writers. I also own 'The Urban Setting Thesaurus'. They've been invaluable to my writing development.As a writer, there's a knack to not only describing a place well, but also to bringing it to live, and how it adds depths to the character's emotions and actions. These books don't take the thinking out of what you write - they add fuel to it!At times, I've struggled with show and don't tell in my storytelling. Truthfully, this set of books is gifting me skills that no other books on the craft of writing have.There's a myriad of settings that the authors explore, and it's clear that they've put heart and soul into it. I look forward to writing my fantasy story as this book helps me create a clearer picture of where my characters are at.This is a great buy for any author.

Very easy,very slender in content. Some of the ideas exposed are not even ideas, they are so obvious. I daresay my high school students could think of more unusual ones if asked. Then, as one reviewer remarks, it is a book meant for the US. Persons in the UK, the Continent, or elsewhere have to adapt the text to suit their contexts. I don't think the authors would have had much trouble in widening the text's horizons somewhat.This is the age of instant communication and fast travel after all. So many nowadays have friends, family, contacts all over the world and have experience of different lifestyles, languages and cultures from all sorts of places. I must admit I was expecting a much more in depth sort of book and this text does not come up to my expectations.I don't think I shall waste time and money in buying others from the series.

This worked less well for me, it’s more tailored to the American market.

You get what you pay for.. and that is, the required skills to write quality fiction. A definite must have.

As a writer living in the UK, this book is good for ideas, but obviously it's an American book and so if you're outside the US you will need to adapt it a little to suit British rural settings. But, it is a useful tool for the writer just to get you thinking.