Release date: May 13th, 2024
Welcome to the 2nd edition of Emotion Amplifiers—expanded and updated!
Characters who are in control of their emotions rarely slip up, which makes for boring reading. To avoid that pitfall, channel your dark side and introduce stress that will make it harder for them to think clearly. Your weapon of choice? An amplifier. Pain, arousal, dehydration—conditions and states like these make it difficult for a character to emotionally self-regulate, setting them up for overreactions, misjudgments, and (hopefully) colossal mistakes they’ll have to fix and learn from.
Inside the 2nd edition of The Emotion Amplifier Thesaurus, you’ll find:
- A deep dive into cognitive and emotional dissonance and how psychological discomfort steers a character’s reasoning and impacts their ability to make decisions
- Information on emotional stress as a trigger for self-awareness and personal growth, which makes amplifiers powerful levers to help steer story structure and character arc
- Lists of body language cues, internal sensations, thoughts, and other descriptives to show the effects of more than 50 amplifiers
- Brainstorming help on how to use each amplifier to generate tension and complication, apply everyday pressure, and make a character emotionally volatile
- Fifty-two bonus writing tips to help you wield amplifiers with skill and precision, taking your scenes from good to great
Push your characters. Give them no quarter. Use physical, cognitive, and psychological strain to force them to face their mistakes, acknowledge their true feelings, and work through the contradictions at the heart of every inner struggle.
Read an Excerpt
To view a sample of this book, click on the book image below or preview the full pain and cognitive bias entries.
Buy the book in print and ebook or PDF formats.
See the master list of entries
Add it to your Goodreads list
Return to the main bookstore
48 Comments. Leave new
I second the motion for a Spanish version. Your books are the best ressources for writting, inspiration and enrich the texts. I use the English version, but sometimes the translation in context for Spanish are tricky.
I think It is a must that every writter, editor, teacher and student should use.
Thanks so much for the kind words about this book, and for your feedback about the Spanish version. It’s always helpful to know how our books could be more useful to writers.
[…] added the Emotional Amplifiers Thesaurus to my collection of their […]
When will the paperback be sold on other platforms such as bookshop.org?
Hi, Pamela! To get our books to independent bookstores like Bookshop, we have to enroll them in KDP’s Expanded Distribution program. It takes up to 8 weeks from publication for them to become available everywhere else, but unfortunately, because of an error on Amazon’s part, the timeline for this book has been backed up a bit. It should become available elsewhere by the end of July, and it could happen sooner than that. I’m keeping a close eye on this and am checking for it weekly, so I’ll send you an email when I see that it’s up at other distributors.
[…] Try this list of emotion amplifiers to brainstorm ways to mess with your character’s control and bring their hidden emotion out into the open. And for more on the benefits of emotion amplifiers, check out our companion to The Emotion Thesaurus: The Emotion Amplifier Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Stress and Volatility. […]
[…] If you are curious about how The Emotion Amplifier Thesaurus helped create tension in Jake’s story, the authors have provided a sample entry for you—a versatile amplifier that every character will encounter at some point in the story. Check it out! If you’d like to dive deeper into what this book covers, go here. […]
[…] a big day – The Emotion Amplifier Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Stress and Volatility has just been released, and as part of the Street Team, I’m helping to get the word out about a […]
[…] Today’s post is by Angela Ackerman, co-author of the new second edition of The Emotion Amplifier Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Stress and Volatility. […]
[…] guys! Today’s a big day – The Emotion Amplifier Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Stress and Volatility has just released, and as part of the Street Team, I’m helping to get the word out about […]
[…] guys! Today’s a big day – The Emotion Amplifier Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Stress and Volatility has just released, and as part of the Street Team, I’m helping to get the word out about a HUGE […]
[…] guys! Today’s a big day – The Emotion Amplifier Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Stress and Volatility has just released, and as part of the Street Team, I’m helping to get the word out about a HUGE […]
[…] guys! You’re in for a special treat. Today’s a big day – The Emotion Amplifier Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Stress and Volatility has just released, and as part of the Street Team, I’m helping to get the word out about a HUGE […]
[…] guys! Today’s a big day – The Emotion Amplifier Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Stress and Volatility has just released, and as part of the Street Team, I’m helping to get the word out about a HUGE […]
[…] The Emotion Amplifier Thesaurus, you’ll find:• A deep dive into cognitive and emotional dissonance and how psychological […]
[…] to character growth…the list goes on!), keep an eye out for the 2nd edition of The Emotion Amplifier Thesaurus, releasing on May […]
I would love a spanish version, it would be very useful for my students <3
A Spanish version would be awesome! If we hear from any Spanish publishers who are interested in tackling this project (or any others of of ours), we’ll let you know 🙂
Is this book available in paperback. I really need one in paperback.
Hi, John. I’m sorry, but this book is currently only available in digital formats. However, we’re in the process of updating and expanding this booklet into a full book, and this 2nd edition will be publishing in both digital and paperback options in 2024. If you’d like to stay informed about this publication and when it becomes available, considering signing up for our Publications newsletter, which only goes out when we’ve got a new release to announce.
Hi, Becca. I just wrote you an email as I would like to translate any of these projects to Spanish or even help you translate your posts and website entries. I am from Colombia, so I am a native speaker who uses your projects and websites for the fantasy book I am writing as a hobby. However, here in my country, it is tough to enter the publishing industry, so I work as a freelancer. But I would love to have the opportunity to translate your projects and posts into Spanish.
Hi Maria, thanks for reaching out. Currently we have a foreign rights agent who looks after our translations rights, so if you know of a publisher you work with who is interested in acquiring these rights, 2Seas Agency (Marleen Seegers) would be the person to speak to. Have a wonderful week!
I need a paperback please
I am wondering whether “Emotion Amplifiers” will eventually become available in paper format as opposed to electronic (Kindle). Our library currently is not in a position to offer e-books. But your other titles are really popular with our playwriting students and I would like to make this one available to them as well. Thank you.
Hi, Simon! It’s so good to hear that your students are finding our resources useful. Emotion Amplifiers has only ever been available in digital form, but it’s not impossible that it could be a print book some day. We do get a lot of interest in it. I’ll keep your information on file, and if that happens, I’ll let you know.
Hi, Becca! As a professional writer, I absolutely love your books. Have every one of them. They really help me think outside the box.
I, too, am very interested in Emotion Amplifiers in hard copy. Don’t like any of my important reference books in digital form as I look things up as I’m writing. Digital format is so cumbersome when you’re trying to stay “in the moment” and “with your character’s voice.”
Please keep me on your mailing list for future books, and certainly, if this one comes out in hard copy.
Email: ma****@*********ak.com.
Warm regards,
Martha Novak
Thanks for the kind words, Martha. I’m so glad you’re finding our books useful. Angela and I are currently in discussion about the possibility of publishing Emotion Amplifiers as a print book. We recognize that writers who use our resources in print form would like to be able to access all of our publications that way. If we decide to pull the trigger on that, we’ll make an announcement in our Upcoming Publications newsletter, that only goes out when we’re getting ready to publish a new book. I’m assuming you’re subscribed to that? If not, here’s the link: https://twitter.us20.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=cc1cb11597b48d3f26dd7e1c3&id=f6515a7617
Have a great day! And thanks for letting us know what we can do to make writing easier for you.
First. The Emotion Thesaurus is a great reference book. However, it really upset me to purchase the book on Amazon, and only finding out after I got it that a second edition, with an additional 55 emotions, existed. The first edition should either no longer be listed (the second edition completely replacing the first on the same Amazon page), or there should be a clear notice is big bold letters stating a more thorough second edition is available… with a link to that page. I now have mixed emotions. I have a nice resource, but feel like I was tricked into wasting my money on an inferior product. Now I’m hesitant to buy any of the other books for fear an updated version will become available.
Hi DT, I am sorry to hear you purchased the 1st edition when the second edition was available. I recommend returning it to Amazon with an explanation so you can get the copy that you wished to.
If you visit the page, you will see there IS a banner that clearly announces there is a second edition of that book (with a thumbnail of the new book cover to make it even more noticeable) and right at the start of the book’s description it states “Did you know there’s a SECOND EDITION of The Emotion Thesaurus? Click the author’s names to find it.”
This is all Amazon allows us to do, so we have done all that we can. We still have the 1st edition available as some people still wish to buy it as a collector’s edition, and there are hundreds if not thousands of links to the 1st edition all across the internet from other sites, resource pages, and blog posts, and if we remove the 1st edition, it will break all of these links.
Thanks for your understanding,
Angela
I ordered the book and have a screenshot of the order. I’m not able to email it, tho. My email program has issues with the one set up on your website.
I’ll send you a private message, Therese–no worries!
I’ve ordered a copy of your new “Emotional Thesaurus” BUT I don’t know how to ‘send a screenshot’ so that I may also receive the additional offer. Please help.
Hi Susanne – I’m sending you an email 🙂
[…] how your character’s behavior changes when affected by an amplifier, Becca and I created an Emotion Amplifier e-booklet as a companion to The Emotion Thesaurus. You can also find Emotion Amplifiers at One Stop for […]
Hi I am from India and want to know how to order your books. Are they available from Amazon. Thanks
Hi Lionel,
yes all our books can be purchased as a ebook, PDF, or print book. If you go here, you’ll find all the links to where they can be bought: https://writershelpingwriters.net/bookstore/
Have a great day!
Great assist, but I am surprised you didn’t include “fear/fright”. Will you be revising this edition in future to include those?
TY
HI Lacy,
Fear is an emotion, so that one is covered in the Emotion Thesaurus. This book is strictly amplifiers (states and conditions that “amplify” emotional reactions. 🙂 You can find that one here: https://writershelpingwriters.net/bookstore/ Happy writing!
This is going to sound like a silly question but I am not tech savvy in the least. I do not have a kindle, so is it possible to just download it to my desktop? I have all Emotional, Positive Trait and Negative Trait Thesaurus and this will round out my Characters.
Stacy, not a silly question at all! Any ebook you can read on a computer no problem. You just need to download a ereader app. Here’s the one for Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/gp/digital/fiona/kcp-landing-page
Or if you like, here is the PDF version: https://writershelpingwriters.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Emotion-Amplifiers-PDF.pdf
Hope this helps!
I love, love, love the Emotion Thesaurus. I have it bookmarked on my Kindle Cloud Reader, and keep it as an open tab while I am writing so I can be there with one click. Which I do quite often.
Thank you for this amazing resource.
Hurray! Glad to hear it, Joe! Happy writing!
You have been an incredible inspiration, thank you for all your advice.
Thank you, Nickey! We are happy to help however we can 🙂
I have the nook version of Emotional Thesaurus and use it all the time!
So glad you’re giving it a workout, Keila! (love your name!)
Exciting!! Congratulations.
Thanks Anita!