You wouldn’t think a productive writer would have to worry about monsters. But sometimes, just when you’ve cleared your schedule, opened your laptop, and promised yourself you’ll finally get that chapter (or email or video) done, something cold and invisible slinks up behind you. Suddenly, you’re … [Read more...] about What Kind of Writing Monster Is Lurking in Your Brain?
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Meet Our 2025 – 2026 Resident Writing Coaches
I love being the Writers Helping Writers Blog Wizard…and am honored to work closely with the Resident Writing Coaches. They’re all talented, generous authors who share their wisdom to help take your writing to the next level. I've learned so much from them, and have a feeling you have, too! This … [Read more...] about Meet Our 2025 – 2026 Resident Writing Coaches
The Coping Mechanism Thesaurus is Coming!
Characters don’t always react to stress and threats in healthy ways--like real people, they lean on coping strategies they’ve developed to survive past trauma and avoid new pain. These dysfunctional coping mechanisms consist of behaviors and thought patterns designed to keep discomfort at bay. But … [Read more...] about The Coping Mechanism Thesaurus is Coming!
Writing 101: How to Find & Write Your Character’s Voice
Writing a strong and consistent character voice is one of the best ways to make your story stand out. A unique voice tailored to your character makes them feel real and more memorable to readers. But voice is tricky to get right. Too little attention to this important aspect of storytelling … [Read more...] about Writing 101: How to Find & Write Your Character’s Voice
How to Use Weather to Create Mood, Not Clichés
Are you afraid of using the weather in your writing? If so, you're not alone. After all, if not careful, weather description can be a minefield of clichés. The sunny, cloudless afternoon at the beach. The gloomy rainstorm at a funeral. Overdone setting and weather pairings can lie flat on the … [Read more...] about How to Use Weather to Create Mood, Not Clichés
Win Feedback on Your First 3 Pages & Blurb
Good news, wonderfulwriterly people…it’s time for our monthly Phenomenal First Pages contest, where we help transform your story’s opening from good to great! If you need a bit of help with your opening, today's the day to enter for a chance to win professional feedback! … [Read more...] about Win Feedback on Your First 3 Pages & Blurb
How To Push Past The Fear of Never Getting Published
"What If No One Ever Publishes My Work?" If you're worried that no publisher will pick YOUR novel, you're not alone. This is a fear I'd venture 100% of authors have ... and of course, it may even come true. Most of us will have at least one book we query that does not sell! However, rejection … [Read more...] about How To Push Past The Fear of Never Getting Published
How to Show Your Character’s Repressed Emotions
Crafting characters that readers will connect to is every writer’s goal and dozens (hundreds?) of methods exist to achieve it: deep backstory planning, character profile sheets, questionnaires, etc. Regardless of the roadmap a writer uses, writing an authentic character boils down to one … [Read more...] about How to Show Your Character’s Repressed Emotions
How to Differentiate Stories from AI Slop
Use Context to Deepen Our Writing From AI Slop For as long as I’ve been a writer, I’ve heard the advice, “Only write if you can’t not write.” The idea behind that tough-love guidance is that writing can be ridiculously hard work, publishing can be even harder, and that most published authors … [Read more...] about How to Differentiate Stories from AI Slop
Show, Don’t Tell: Write Authentic Character Reactions with The Emotion Thesaurus
Showing authentic character emotion isn't easy, which is why so many writers turn to The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression. It covers 130 emotions, providing lists of body language, visceral sensations, dialogue cues, and thoughts to help you describe them. Today, the … [Read more...] about Show, Don’t Tell: Write Authentic Character Reactions with The Emotion Thesaurus
Hidden Ways Procrastination Affects Productive Writers
I’m a productive writer. I get things done. I’ve published ten books, built an author platform, grown a subscriber list, and I regularly speak at writers’ conferences and events. But while researching my latest book, Escape the Writer’s Web, I stumbled across something uncomfortable. Despite all … [Read more...] about Hidden Ways Procrastination Affects Productive Writers
Make Yourself the Most Useful Writer in Your Critique Group
Critical response process turns you into the critique partner every writer wants: someone who offers actionable observations instead of opinionated fixes. Developed by choreographer Liz Lerman for dance and theater critique, critical response process teaches you to describe what's happening on the … [Read more...] about Make Yourself the Most Useful Writer in Your Critique Group