The Urban Setting Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to City Spaces (Writers Helping Writers Series)

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 Urban Setting Thesaurus (and its companions, which include The Rural Setting Thesaurus among many others) 'shows' you how to write. The Urban 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 Urban 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 sneak past that cheap motel up ahead and make my way to the Penthouse Suite and order some room service!

I've used this myself multiple times, as well as gifted it. The format of information presenting in these books is second-to-none. You could use a thesaurus and still not be able to find the "feel" you're looking for, but if you use this book as a reference, it's right at your fingertips. I love the way the sensations are listed in reference to environment, and how easy it makes fleshing out a scene. Whenever I have a friend interested in writing, storyboarding, or any creative expression involving artful expression and experience of scenery, I'll always direct them to this series. An absolutely invaluable reference.

Excellent! Re: The Seller – Book arrived in excellent condition, as if I had purchased it from a bookstore. Thanks for having taken such good care of it. Re: The Authors - I have to commend the authors for having the patience, determination, and fortitude to create such a work. I probably would not have given setting much thought had it not been for the fact that a story I am working on takes place in a building with multiple shops contained on the ground floor. The authors open with several chapters on the importance of setting with respect to backstory, characterization, etc. They also cover our misperceptions and snags when it comes to conveying info regarding setting. (Silly me. I was going down that rabbit-hole, too – too much or too little description!) Then comes the meat of the work: the various settings themselves, the smells, sounds, people likely to be found there and much more. We think we know that we know until we are reminded of what we have forgotten. I saw opportunities for secondary characters, clue placements, red herrings, and many other angles I can use to flesh out and give depth to an 80,000-100,000-word work. I had borrowed this work from the library and kept renewing it, reluctant to let it go. Fortunately, it has not been on hold where someone else might get it. But then I knew sooner or later I would have to return it. So, I began to try and copy some pages. I said, “try”. By the time I had copied my first 10 messy, crooked pages, I came to realize I may as well buy the book! And here we are!

This is a book every writer needs! Each setting provides sights, sounds, smells, tastes, textures and sensations, possible sources of conflict, people commonly found here, related settings that may tie in with this one, setting notes and tips, and finally setting descriptive examples. Before the authors list each of the settings they describe why setting is important and how to use it effectively. I bought a few books on writing and this is by far the best. I have 3 thesauruses by these authors and plan to get them all. Bonus worksheets available at their website as well. YOU NEED THIS BOOK!

Here's why I love this book -- and it's sister the Rural Setting Thesaurus: in addition to having the usual information about a setting to involve all the senses -- Sights, Sounds, Smells, Tastes, Textures and Sensations -- this book also includes inspiration. The section within each entry titled Possible Sources of Conflict is very helpful for brainstorming or idea-generation. So while I can use the assistance with remembering what my last cruise was like in all the visceral ways (who takes notes on vacation? not me!), reading through the additional, writer-related sections has my muse working overtime. In addition to that, the Setting Description Example really makes me want to write setting THAT well; it helps form a goal for me by showing me how it can be done. I highly recommend this book for everyone writing in every genre because even fantasy and science fiction have familiar settings.

This isn't a handbook on researching urban settings you haven't been to. It's a book with some "springboard" prompts for different urban settings (airports, gas stations, motels, etc.). Will be very handy as a quick-reference guide if working on a scene set in, say, a train station, and struggling with white room syndrome and in need of some quick ideas to make the setting come to life. Research will still be required if setting your story in a city/state/country you've not been in, but this is still a useful little tool.

This is a really useful too that would likely be beneficial to most writers for multiple uses. It works well as a prompt book when you can't think of an idea for a story as well as helping you out with making your settings more vivid and realistic. The book is organised into common places you'd find in an urban setting with various things you might expect to find in that setting as well as sounds and smells. This is a great thing to have around when you are stuck in your writing. Definitely worth the cost.

Love, love, love these books. Cannot say enough about them. Highly recommend.

Great book...

Helpful resource

Andere recensies gaven het al aan, het is echt een boek bedoeld voor de US-markt. Dat is met veel schrijfboeken het geval, vooral dit soort zinvolle boeken. Daarbij zijn de voorbeelden talrijk, maar wel vaak gebaseerd op open deuren. Ik vond dit persoonlijk niet erg, omdat ik niet uitging van een copy and paste thesaurus. Dus het is een ongelooflijk handig boek om ideeën op te doen, omdat het je opweg helpt echt vanuit verschillende zintuigen een setting te creëeren.

As an author sometimes I struggle to come up with authentic sounding phrases and descriptions of places, people and so on. This set of books - Character Traits (2) and Settings (2) are a fantastic aid. If you want to deepen your readers' experience and give them true and believable characters and amazing worlds and settings you will love these books too.

Good tips for writing an urban setting. Although this is based in America it has some tips for the UK writers.