The Occupation Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Jobs, Vocations and Careers by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi.

I am a big advocate of the Writers Helping Writers Thesaurus series, The Occupation Thesaurus being the eighth book brought to us by the curators of The One Stop for Writers website. It follows a similar format to the previous books, with the first 10-15% of the book giving an in-depth on how the thesaurus works with regards to the psychology and motivation of your characters.

Now Angela and Becca are clear that to list all occupations would be endless but those referenced in the Occupation Thesaurus are from a wide spectrum, covering something in most employment sectors. Even if your character's specific job is not listed, the needs, traits ideally suited to, sources of friction, even twisting the fictional stereotypes section provoke questions that will lead to your own character's motivations and will help to develop your characters back story.

For many people, their job defines them, it may not be the only thing to define them, but when asked people normally list their job before they say they are a parent. One of the most common questions when getting to know someone is “what do you do for a living?” and that opens a list of other questions, that most find it hard to answer. The Occupation Thesaurus helps to answer those sometimes-awkward questions. It’s understanding this backstory that helps you to engage with your characters and in turn, the readers engage with your story.

At the back of the book are charts with ideas as to what occupation may be suited to a specific character trait and a character career assessment page, and our ever-helpful authors provide a cheat sheet, 

Finally, because the authors know that the list of occupations would never be complete, they list websites to search for more information as well as a list of recommended reading to help you create a powerful novel with realistic characters.

To sum up, The Occupation Thesaurus is a 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rated, essential guide, to help you to build realistic characters, giving them a backstory that will make them more engaging to your readers and ultimately help you to write a wonderful story.

I would like to thank Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi for allowing me to read an advance copy of The Occupational Thesaurus, giving me an opportunity to write an honest review before publication on the 20th of July 2020.

Useful Links:

Want to see the list of jobs included in Angela & Becca’s new THESAURUS BOOK releasing July 20th? Here it is, The Occupation Thesaurus: https://writershelpingwriters.net/list-of-jobs-in-the-occupation-thesaurus/

 #writing #amwriting

The Occupation Thesaurus Writing Guide Table of Contents: https://writershelpingwriters.net/list-of-jobs-in-the-occupation-thesaurus/

 A sample entry from The Occupation Thesaurus Writing Guide (FIREFIGHTER): https://writershelpingwriters.net/2020/06/sneek-a-peek-at-the-occupation-thesaurus-firefighter/

The main book information page at Writers Helping Writers for The Occupation Thesaurus: https://writershelpingwriters.net/the-occupation-thesaurus-a-writers-guide-to-jobs-vocations-and-careers/