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WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

Helping writers become bestselling authors

Talent & Skill Thesaurus

Everyone has a special skill or talent, including our characters! To explore which special abilities might be a fit for your protagonist and story, see the following samples of the entries in our popular Talent and Skill Thesaurus.

For the complete and enhanced collection, please visit One Stop For Writers, where it has a permanent place within our vast Description Thesaurus Collection. You can access it and our other thesauruses with the click of a button as you write.

Recommended Reading: What is a Talent and Skill Thesaurus?

A Knack for Languages
A Knack for Making Money
A Way with Animals
Archery
Astral Projection
Astrological Divination
Baking
Basic First Aid
Being a Good Listener
Blending In
Carpentry
Charm
ESP (Clairvoyance)
Empathy
Enhanced Hearing
Enhanced Sense of Smell
Enhanced Palate
Farming
Fishing
Foraging
Gaining People’s Trust

Gaming
Gardening
Haggling
Herbalism
Hospitality
Hot-Wiring a Car
High Pain Tolerance
Knife Throwing
Knowledge of Explosives
Lip-Reading
Lying
Making People Laugh
Mechanically Inclined
Mentalism
Mimicking
Multitasking
Musicality
Organization
Parkour
Photographic Memory
Predicting the Weather

Promotion
Psychokinesis
Reading People
Regeneration
Repurposing
Sculpting
Self-Defense
Sewing
Sharpshooting
Sleight of Hand
Strategic Thinking
Strong Breath Control
Super Strength
Survival Skills
Swift-Footedness
Talking with the Dead
Throwing One’s Voice
Whittling
Wilderness Navigation
Wrestling

See our other Descriptive Thesaurus Collections HERE.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Zulaikha says

    October 20, 2020 at 10:09 am

    i have a question what can i name my storie about hidden talents

    Reply
    • ANGELA ACKERMAN says

      October 20, 2020 at 12:37 pm

      It really depends on your story’s content. This post might help: https://www.ridethepen.com/good-story-titles/

      Reply
  2. Michael Offner says

    June 27, 2017 at 10:32 am

    What about invented skills, like magic in fantasy worlds?

    How would one go about inventing an entirely new skill?

    Reply
    • ANGELA ACKERMAN says

      June 27, 2017 at 10:54 am

      That’s a great question, Michael. Likely the most important thing to get down would be the worldbuilding of it. Just as you would another element of building a unique would, you would need to understand what the skill is and what it all includes, how it can be used, how it benefits the person within the story (to provide for himself, to work more efficiently, any health benefits, things like that), and what the limits if this skill is. This last part is really important for anything that touches magic or makes your character powerful. You need to know what the limits are, how one trains to improve, what the sacrifice is if one tries to push a skill too far, and if there are any negative side effects of this skill or talent.

      Reply
  3. John Pepper says

    April 3, 2017 at 11:48 pm

    I’d kinda like to see a page for something related to computer skills. Like for hacking.

    Reply
    • BECCA PUGLISI says

      April 4, 2017 at 8:47 am

      This is a great suggestion, John. I actually thought we had this one, but I must have been thinking of the “gaming” entry. I’ll add this to our list of potential adds down the road. Thanks for letting us know what you’d like to see!

      Reply
  4. Indigo says

    May 5, 2016 at 5:25 am

    Other skills you could add (if others have not already said it) are aura reading, the different “clairs” (clairvoyance, clairaudience, clairsentience, claircognizance, clairgustance, clairalience,) and the different “-cognitions” (precognition, postcognition), psychometry, telepathy, telempathy, telekinetics, teleportation, mediumship, divination, channeling, channeled writing, exorcist, psychic surgery, energy healing (see Reiki users), acupuncture, reflexology, among many.

    The different kinds of therapy (massage therapist, spinal-realignment therapist, art therapist, aromatherapy, sound therapy, color therapy, gender therapist, family therapist, couples therapy, counselor), and other mental health aides (psychologist, psychiatrist, neuropsychologist, neurologist). Also, activist, advocate, and people who work in all the different fields of science (physicist, astronomer, biologist, engineer, architect, botanist, geologist, mathematician, paleontologist, archeologist, excavator, historian, geneticist, and many more).

    Also those who work in what’s generally called the “arts.” Artist, sculptor, dancer, improv actor, actor, debater, comedian, linguist, literature professor, singer, playwright, director, make-up artist, graphic artist, fine artist, museum curator, art historian, fashion designer, model, photographer, calligrapher, camera artist, muralist, painter, knitter, weaver, carver, woodworker, silver- or gold-smith, weapon smith, metal smith, storyteller, writer, author, printer, blogger, video-maker, producer, poet, songwriter, musician, conductor, perfumer, jeweler, book binder, illustrator, glue-maker, leather worker, and much, much more.

    I hope these helped. 😀

    Reply
    • ANGELA ACKERMAN says

      May 5, 2016 at 11:48 am

      Excellent list, Indigo! Wowsers!

      Reply
  5. Samuel Lee says

    January 10, 2015 at 8:08 pm

    Since I’m half-obligated as a writer, and half-obligated by my friend Archer, I’m going to throw some talents up for consideration:

    -Debating
    -Communicating
    -Cooking
    -Scavenging
    -Programming
    -Hacking
    -Teaching
    -Painting
    -Writing
    -Instrument Playing
    -Information of Assimilation (essentially a walking encyclopedia)
    -Piloting
    -Dog-fighting (not with dogs, in the air or space combat)
    -Improvisation

    Reply
    • ANGELA ACKERMAN says

      January 11, 2015 at 1:05 pm

      Great adds! A few of these have similar ones up already by another name, but great ideas here–thanks so much!

      Reply
  6. Claire Sayers says

    December 30, 2014 at 12:52 pm

    Great list.

    Lock picking, public speaking, and riding a unicycle should be on this list.

    Reply
  7. Valencia says

    October 26, 2014 at 10:37 am

    Thank you very much for this list! I always use this as reference on my works. It would be nice if you can make one for dancing (dances such as ball and waltz). Thank you again!

    Reply
    • ANGELA ACKERMAN says

      October 27, 2014 at 3:59 pm

      We will add that to our list–thanks Valencia!

      Reply
  8. Brittney says

    October 9, 2014 at 5:40 pm

    I love your website so much. I’m on it everyday! Would you mind adding someone who is good with sailing?

    Reply
  9. Grace says

    September 20, 2014 at 3:33 pm

    Love the site. it helps me out so much! Is there a chance you could add Arcobatics to the list?

    Reply
  10. Christopher D. Votey says

    September 4, 2014 at 6:19 pm

    Great list. I’m sure you have many more, but wanted to throw out Tactician or Strategist. I consider them vastly different, but can see lumping them together. It’s one of those skills that many think they have but few truly do.

    Reply
    • ANGELA ACKERMAN says

      September 6, 2014 at 2:19 pm

      Good ones–thanks!

      Reply
  11. Dan says

    July 10, 2014 at 9:24 am

    Please consider adding, Swordfighting (Two handed, cutlass and sabres )

    Thanks!
    D

    Reply
    • ANGELA ACKERMAN says

      September 6, 2014 at 2:19 pm

      will do!

      Reply
  12. Thea Nishimori says

    May 21, 2014 at 11:26 pm

    Great article and ideas! However, I think you mean “Speaking With A SILVER Tongue,” not “Speaking With A Sliver Tongue.” 😉

    Reply
  13. Gina Scott Roberts says

    May 14, 2014 at 9:38 pm

    What about garroting? So many people think it’s done the way Hollywood shows it….

    Reply
  14. Sarah Lilliendahl says

    May 13, 2014 at 10:02 pm

    Just rummaging through the new talents and skills thesaurus and Survival Skills caught my eye, but when I click on it, it led me to the Fishing entry. I tried it several times with the same result. Just thought I’d say something in case you weren’t aware and others had had the same experience 🙂 Thanks for all of your amazing work!

    Reply
    • ANGELA ACKERMAN says

      May 13, 2014 at 10:05 pm

      Whoops–my fault! I just linked Fishing and Survival Skills today, and must have messed up my cutting and pasting of links. All fixed now–thanks Sarah! 🙂

      Reply
  15. Robyn Campbell (@authorswrite) says

    March 13, 2014 at 9:56 am

    Don’t forget horseback riding, you guys. I did use this though for the wilderness navigation. EXCELLENT! xoxo

    Reply
    • ANGELA ACKERMAN says

      April 3, 2014 at 4:54 pm

      we will add it to the list. There are so many skills and talents to profile, our hardest choice is which to pick next!

      Reply
  16. Annette Taylor says

    December 18, 2013 at 11:09 am

    I hope you include gardening and sculpturing in your skills and talents thesaurus. I’m thinking about a characters who might need those skills and it would be a great help to me.

    Reply
    • BECCA PUGLISI says

      December 18, 2013 at 1:02 pm

      Annette, those are on our list. I’ve already scheduled this week’s entry, and we’re taking a break after that for the holidays, but I’ll bump them to the top of the list for January :).

      Reply

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