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WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

Helping writers become bestselling authors

On The Quest for Knowledge, Writers Must Show Courage

October 4, 2018 by ANGELA ACKERMAN

When we step onto the writing path, we know there will be a lot to learn. We see the mountain ahead and sure, it’s intimidating. But hey, we’re head over heels for story, in love with the author’s dream, and we want that future to be ours. So we adjust our pack, yank out some beef jerky to gnaw on, and start the climb.

What we don’t realize until we’re in the thick of it is that there is no end to our education. In fact when we crest the mountain, instead of being handed a certificate, trophy, or even a celebratory cheesecake from someone shouting, “You did it! You’re finally good enough!” we see another mountain waiting. And another after that. A range of them, actually.

At this point, one of three things tends to happen…

Some writers quit, deciding what’s ahead is too daunting and will take too much. They move on to other things, forgoing this dream.

Others choose to stay at that first summit. Their writing plateaus. The knowledge they have acquired might be enough to achieve their individual publishing goals depending on what those are. Or it might not.

The third group (after a mental tug-of-war that may include chocolate bingeing, ugly crying, alcohol, and various other grief stage coping mechanisms) decide to keep going.

Sure, they see the way ahead won’t be easy but they’ve realized something: a big part of the joy of writing is the learning itself.

They look back and remember who they were at the start of the journey and who they are now. They see how the layers of hard-won knowledge have stretched them, challenged their ideas of what is possible, and pushed them to be the very best version of themselves.

Do you remember your first summit? I do.

I felt proud of how I’d grown. Terrified at the mountain range ahead as I knew enough to grasp just how much I didn’t yet know. And, as is true for so many of us, doubt was there, too–doubt that I could ever learn enough about writing craft to succeed.

But I wanted that knowledge. I craved it. So screw doubt. I decided to focus on the journey, not the goal, and become a Learner of Craft. (Many of you have done this same thing, adopting the Learner’s mindset, and that’s why you’re here, reading this post!)

One of the best parts of opening myself to learning are the writing epiphanies that come along: those missing cogs of knowledge that slide into place and it…all…suddenly…CLICKS. My eyes go wide and bright because holy batman, that one small lesson just transformed how I see story!

Many of these moments can be credited back to specific sources so I thought I’d share a few in hopes that you might find new helpful resources as well.

1) This book and this video series. Thank you universe for helping me find Michael Hauge, because through him I began to grasp inner conflict, character arc, and most importantly, realize the influence an emotional wound has on the human psyche and how we can use it in fiction. (If it weren’t for Michael sparking our interest in this whole area of story, The Emotional Wound Thesaurus might never have been written.)

2) Katie Weiland. She has incredible insight into writing craft, has an amazing site, writes great books and is one of the best human beings I know.  There are too many aha moments to count here, so just trust me and go find her online to fill your knowledge well.

3) When story structure baffled me, I found Save The Cat. Between that and Screenplays that Sell, my knowledge took another big leap forward.

Hurray for Beat Sheets!

4) I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention several other books that helped me very early on: Description (Monica Wood), Self-Editing For Fiction Writers (Renni Brown & Dave King), and Writing the Breakout Novel (Don Maass).

(Through our work on the blog and our books, Becca and I have a gained a bit of a reputation for being experts in description, particularly “show and tell.” So, how ironic is it that what drew me to wanting to understand them at depth was the fact that I was terrible at both? Thank goodness for Description as it started the ball rolling.)

The Breakout Novel book taught me about tension (hmm, kind of important–who knew?) and Self-Editing gave me the basics of editing when I really disliked that end of things, showing me the beauty behind the process of working something until its true essence could shine through.

5) The Critique Circle. This online critique site endured some of my early work (sorry, CC members) and I learned valuable lessons on giving feedback with diplomacy, accepting feedback with grace, and divorcing emotion from the process so I could take what was given and improve. Great site–go visit. It’s free to join, and guess what? That’s where Becca and I met!

For me, this love of learning turned into a love of teaching.

I travel the world to teach and absolutely love writing our signature Description Thesaurus books and helping writers in that way. A few years ago Becca and I embarked on another journey with Lee Powell of Scrivener, creating One Stop for Writers. Lee has since moved on to other adventures, but Becca and I continue to create tools that are changing the face of storytelling. It is so satisfying to create things we KNOW writers really need.

Resources To Check Out

Becca and I also try to give back as much as we can so we urge you to check out these free resources to broaden your knowledge. First, the Writers Helping Writers Tools Page. There’s a mother-lode of downloadables here that will help you in many areas of writing craft and beyond.

Second, visit this massive page of Tip Sheets and Checklists at One Stop for Writers. You don’t have to be a member to get these so head over, save them to your computer, and share them with others on social media if you like. If you do want to take a closer look at One Stop for Writers we have a Free Trial, too.

 What people, books, or websites helped your writing skills leap forward? Let me know in the comments!

ANGELA ACKERMAN
ANGELA ACKERMAN

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

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Filed Under: About Us, Critiquing & Critiques, Focus, Motivational, One Stop For Writers, Revision and Editing, Show Don't Tell, Software and Services, Story Structure, Uncategorized, Websites, Writer's Attitude, Writing Craft, Writing Groups, Writing Resources

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Julie says

    June 19, 2019 at 10:25 pm

    Oh my gosh!! Catching upon the articles I saved. What a wonderful, well organized and super useful article!!!

  2. Lia says

    February 15, 2019 at 12:08 am

    I loved Jessica Brody’s Save the Cat Writes a Novel, as well as Deb Dixon’s Goal-Motivation-Conflict.

    • ANGELA ACKERMAN says

      February 15, 2019 at 9:38 am

      I have not yet read the Novel version of Save the Cat, but I want too! I loved the original and have the “Save the Cat Goes To The Movies” one!

  3. K.M. Weiland says

    October 6, 2018 at 5:09 pm

    Awww. I just came over here to share this on Twitter, but what a nice surprise to see myself in here. 🙂 Thank you so much for the kind words! Made my day!

    • ANGELA ACKERMAN says

      October 6, 2018 at 6:23 pm

      You have helped so many, Katie! Thanks so much for being an inspiration for everyone and causing us to dig deeper!

  4. Joy V Spicer says

    October 5, 2018 at 10:42 am

    The book that really helped me settle into being a writer was Dorothea Brande’s ‘Becoming A Writer’, that was over 15 years ago! Since then, you and Becca, Katie Weiland, ‘Self Editing for Fiction Writers’, Anne R. Allen, Kristen Lamb and others I can’t remember off the top of my head. Thank you so much for your Thesaurus series, an understatement to say they added so much more to my writing.

  5. LINDA STRAWN says

    October 4, 2018 at 11:38 pm

    I’ve been a subscriber of your site as well as Katie Weiland’s. Both have been a tremendous help.

  6. Traci Kenworth says

    October 4, 2018 at 7:50 pm

    You and Becca. Janice. Kate. Donald Maas. James Scott Bell. C.S. Larkin. To name a few.

  7. :Donna says

    October 4, 2018 at 4:50 pm

    Wow, Angela…what a packed post! I will always voice how amazing I think you and Becca are, certainly the info you put out there for all of us. Just mind-boggling. YOUR site is a MAJOR resource, to say the least!

    i have most of the books you’ve mentioned 🙂 and more which you can see many in this pic: https://writersideup.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/books-my-writing-books.jpg
    It’s an old pic and not all my books are there (I have ALL your thesauruses but only 3 are in the pic!). I’ll add to that books by Cheryl Klein (I have SECOND SIGHT which I think MAGIC WORDS is an updated version of: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-magic-words-cheryl-klein/1123447519?ean=9780393292244#/ ) and certainly Uri Shulevitz’s WRITING WITH PICTURES.

    I’m all over Katie Weiland’s site and books too. I can’t think of the other sites, but they’re out there!

    • BECCA PUGLISI says

      October 5, 2018 at 8:26 am

      Thanks so much for the kind words, Donna!

  8. Nicole says

    October 4, 2018 at 12:14 pm

    In addition to you guys (thanks!), Janice Hardy and her Fiction University website and planning your novel guides have really helped.

    • ANGELA ACKERMAN says

      October 4, 2018 at 12:30 pm

      Yes, Janice site is a treasure trove. I was really happy when she started crafting her writing guides!

    • Janice Hardy says

      October 4, 2018 at 12:42 pm

      Aw, thanks!

  9. Carol Baldwin says

    October 4, 2018 at 8:34 am

    YOU GUYS!!! That’s who has helped me. Thanks for this post–just what the doctor ordered–and all the invaluable links. Donald Maas’s new book, The Emotional Craft of Fiction is also excellent.

    • ANGELA ACKERMAN says

      October 4, 2018 at 11:10 am

      I loved that book of his, and also 21st Century fiction. So many great insights with both of these, and I recommend these all the time to writers. But I will always have a fondness for Breakout, because that was the book that caused a big shift at a time when I really needed that core knowledge.

      And Carol, we are so unbelievably HONORED to be in your corner and part of your journey! Thank you for telling us! <3

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