I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an
honest review.
When I first heard about this book, I was struck by how much
I wanted it. How it filled a need I didn’t even know I had.
As any writer knows, one of the most difficult things to
communicate is the emotion of a character. How can you communicate a
character’s feelings subtly yet distinctly? In other words, how do you show these
emotions to your reader without telling them? And how can you do so without
using clichés?
Ms. Garver’s book Emotions
in the Wild is a guided journal that shows writers how to use the power of
observation in their everyday lives to create an “emotions bible” to guide them
in crafting a unique reference book for their writing, a personal source book
for help in describing what an emotion (anger, jealousy, etc.) looks like,
sounds like, and even how it might be provoked.
The book begins with an introduction explaining how to use
the journal. The rest of the book is divided into emotion chapters—a total of
39 different emotions are given for examination. Each chapter includes pithy
quotations from famous individuals to stimulate thought about the emotion.
Following the quotes are sections where the writer records observations on the
particular emotion’s “Common Triggers,” “Facial Expressions,” “Postures and
Movements,” “Range of Reactions Observed,” and “Related Words, Idioms, and
Phrases.”
In the past when I’ve been stumped with how to describe or
explain something, I’ve often used Roget’s “Concept Index,” but now I’m looking
forward to incorporating this journal into my life and watching it bear fruit
in my writing. Five Stars! Click here to buy it.
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| Me and my copy. |
Sounds like a good read, thanks for the review!
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