Welcome to Writers Helping Writers® (formerly “The Bookshelf Muse“).
Our mission? To offer help and support, empowering writers everywhere.
This site has many one-of-a-kind tools and resources for writers, editors and teachers, so we encourage you to poke around.
We are strong believers in innovation and are always trying to think about what writers need most of all. In addition to our bestselling Writers Helping Writers Descriptive Thesaurus Guides we have a web app that is changing the game for writers all over the world.
One Stop For Writers® is a portal to innovative tools and resources that puts everything you need to write bestselling fiction at your keyboard.
If you are looking for a creativity partner that will help you write magnetic, powerful fiction that stands out in our creative marketplace, give our 2-week FREE TRIAL a try. It might just change your writing life!
Angela Ackerman:
Angela is Canadian, and loves her home near Calgary, Alberta, nestled close to the Rockies. She enjoys traveling with her family, exploring new and unusual places, and is constantly amazed at how the universe seems to bring along the people she needs to connect with at just the right time.
The author of 8 bestselling resource books printed in 8 different languages, Angela enjoys sharing her passion for writing craft. She is a writing coach, international speaker, and a firm believer that writers succeed best together. The desire to help writers in new, innovative ways led to One Stop for Writers®, a unique site originally co-founded with Becca Puglisi and Lee Powell (the creator of Scrivener for Windows and Linux). This creative portal contains game-changing tools and resources that enable writers to craft powerful fiction.
Angela’s foreign rights are being cared for by Marleen Seegers of 2 Seas Agency. To contact Angela about workshops, retreats, or other events, please get in touch or request a Speaker’s Brochure. To discuss opportunities regarding her popular One Stop For Writers® site, please choose the One Stop email option below.
EMAIL Angela (Writers Helping Writers®)
EMAIL Angela (One Stop For Writers®)
Becca Puglisi:
Becca Puglisi lives in sunny south Florida, where she can be found beaching with her family, baking in the kitchen, or reading on the couch.
As an author, Becca loves nothing more than coming up with new content for her Writers Helping Writers® descriptive thesaurus collection (including the best-selling Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression, now an expanded Second Edition), which has sold over half a million copies. She also is co-founder of One Stop For Writers®, a unique online resource containing many helpful tools, craft tutorials, and the entire hyperlinked and searchable thesaurus collection to help writers elevate their storytelling. Becca is an international speaker who enjoys teaching workshops and presenting various writerly topics. Her books are represented by foreign rights agent Marleen Seegers of 2 Seas Agency.
To contact Becca about workshops, retreats, or other events, please get in touch or request a Speaker’s Brochure. To discuss opportunities regarding her popular One Stop For Writers® site, please choose the One Stop email option provided below.
EMAIL Becca (Writers Helping Writers®)
EMAIL Becca (One Stop For Writers®)
DO YOU BELIEVE IN FATE?
If so, you can read about how Becca and Angela met in person for the very first time. Spoiler Alert: the universe definitely had a hand in things!
Hello Angela! I met you at a When Words Collide event (aka: the good old days), where I picked up your Positive and Negative Trait Thesauri (Thesauruses? Nope. Not that). The books have been very helpful to me – thanks! I’ve just stumbled onto your site here and find it quite exciting but not sure where to start. How does one apply for a writing coach? I’ve signed up for your newsletter, and am excited to join in….
Hi Louise! So nice to see you here and I’m glad you found us. The Resident Writing Coach program isn’t something people apply for actually, it’s where we reach out to superstars in the community who know their craft and love sharing their knowledge with others. We ask them to join us for a year at a time, whihch equates to four posts a year. Is this what you meant, or something else? Just let me know what you need help with and I’m happy to steer you to whatever you need! 🙂
Angela
Hi Angela & Becca,
I am new… But I find your page very informative… I also love your topics!
I am now starting to write the untold stories of our country SA…
Thank you.
Cedric
So glad you found us, Cedric!
Very good site and source for writers
Hello Angela:
I am a member of the CRUISE WRITER GROUP and our workshop got cancel due to the virus. Will you be teaching a ONLINE or in PERSON workshop based on the same or similar material that you had planned for the CRUISE WRITER GROUP? The workshop was suppose to be November 2020 for a TWO-DAY master course on building powerful characters and arcs.
Thanks, Carol
Hi Carol,
Thanks for asking. Because this was a 10+ hour intensive it’s not a session I would give as a webinar or series of webinars, but when time allows I do try to offer webinars (especially now). If you like I can let you know when I have dates for the next one, either bu Becca or myself as we teach the same materials. Let me know if that’s of interest?
It’s too bad we had to cancel the cruise, but right now it was the right thing to do. Hopefully, I’ll see you in person at some future workshop!
Yes, I would be interested!!
Hi, I’m from Liberia. I am very interested in writing and have an anthology of poems and many short stories that are unpublished due to financial constraints. How can you help me?
That’s great. Do you have a critique group? That’s a good way to get feedback on your writing to see if it’s strong enough to publish.
[…] How Your Hero’s Past Shapes His Future (by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglusi of Writers Helping Writers), Creating Compelling Scenes & Characters by Shirley Jump, and Simple System to Rock Your […]
[…] She’s also one half of the team over at Writers Helping Writers, alongside Becca Puglisi. You can find out more here. […]
Hi, my name is Maureen I’ve mostly written about other people for newspaper articles. Do any of you have that background? Thanks for a great website!
No we don’t have a journalism background. At one time I thought I might go that route, but I chose fiction instead. 🙂 Happy writing!
I’d like to hear what people think about the ease-of-use with the Kindle version vs the book version.
Thoughts?
Thanks!
Phillip
You can find some advice for this if you look up the reviews on Amazon but I would say overall we see people in three camps: some love the digital for its portability, and that’s all they need. Then we see people who want the print because they like seeing the entire thesaurus entry on a 2-page spread, and they also want the kindle for when they don’t have the physical copy with them. Then, we see people who bought the kindle, and realized they are going to use it so much they should have just gotten the print.
I know that’s maybe not helpful to you, but all I can offer is this: overall we sell more print than kindle of the Emotion Thesaurus, and it’s the same way for some of the others as well. For the rest, it’s 50-50, so equal. This suggests to me a preference for the print, or to have both.
I think for you, think about if you write at home, or away, and what would be better for you to reference. The upside of the kindle is that all the entries are linked, so you can travel from one to another easily and quickly. The con is that you have to scroll through 4-5 pages or so to see a full entry.
Thanks, Angela!
Looking forward to the new Thesaurus. The Emotional Wound Thesaurus has seriously up-leveled my writing craft. I feel ready to create my best-seller!
[…] Thesaurus Ackermann & Puglisi ist eine Thesaurus Reihe aus den USA, die in kompakter Form menschliche Stärken und Schwächen, Verletzungen, Emotionen sowie städtische und landschaftliche Settings beschreibt und sind ein wertvolles Hilfsmittel, um Figuren lebding und Settings atmosphärisch zu gestalten. Die Bücher gibt es auf: writershelpingwriters.net […]
[…] mentors can inspire us to get outside of our own comfort zones. When I had lunch a month ago with Angela Ackerman, she inspired me to: 1) find a way to get to the writer’s conference coming up in Calgary in […]
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Looking forward to following
Great website! Lots of interesting and useful articles.
Thanks James–welcome to Writers Helping Writers 🙂
[…] mentors can inspire us do get outside of our own comfort zones. When I had lunch a month ago with Angela Ackerman, she inspired me to: 1) find a way to get to the writer’s conference coming up in Calgary in […]
Hello,
I bought your entire series and LOVE each book! They have been tremendously helpful. I’m writing because when I bought the Emotion Thesaurus, I was supposed to receive a free copy of the companion book. I clicked the link but it only took me to the preview. Please help.
Hi Nancy! I saw your email before this comment and so responded there, but if you go to the Emotion Amplifiers page and follow the link it takes you back to the main page where the companion book is listed, and all the links to the free download are right there–just scroll down a bit. 🙂 https://writershelpingwriters.net/bookstore/
Great information. Thank you.
[…] to welcome Angela Ackerman of Writers Helping Writers & One Stop For Writers, writing coach, […]
[…] week, returning to more writerly topics, elated to welcome storytelling aficionado Angela Ackerman, creator of One Stop For Writers, a powerhouse online library like no other, […]
[…] the word pictures we paint in our descriptions and dialogue. In today’s interview with Becca Puglisi, she gives writers tips on how they can use the Emotion Thesaurus and Setting Thesaurus to draw […]
[…] Writers Helping Writers […]
Angela and Becca, as I was browsing the Barnes & Noble mini-bookstore at Willamette Writers Conference this past weekend I overheard a fellow shopper ask about The Emotional Thesaurus. Immediately, the clerk advised they could not bring everything but with the request at the conference, they would happily ship a copy waiving shipping charges. Thought you’d like to know you’re everywhere!
Well how awesome is that? Hurray for accommodating booksellers! Thanks so much for letting us know 🙂
[…] has a wonderful post today, 3 Quick Tips to Help Readers Connect to Your Hero. In addition, Angela and Becca Puglisi have written two books specifically designed to help you define your characters. Check out their […]
[…] to throw up. I’m not exaggerating. Social media platforms? OMG, where can I hide? Then I met Angela Ackerman of Writers Helping Writers at When Words Collide […]
Thank you for this interesting and very helpful website.
I was wondering, can there exist someday a Country Thesaurus? You know, different countries and their climates, their languages – if they talk in dialect or plain English, for example :). Was just thinking and thought to ask. Have a nice day.
Thanks for the idea, Anya! We have a list of possible thesaurus collections to explore, and I’ll add this to the list. 🙂
I have recently started a web site, the info you provide on this site has helped me greatly. Thank you for all of your time & work. There can be no real freedom without the freedom to fail. by Erich Fromm. ebfekckkagfa
[…] The Bookshelf Muse […]
[…] a happier note, join me in congratulating Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi of Writers Helping Writers on reaching the milestone of 100,000 books sold! Their Emotion Thesaurus is a handy friend sitting […]
sorry… posted twice:)