Writers Helping Writers^®

Posts by Angela Ackerman

Coping Mechanism Thesaurus Entry: Altruism

November 1, 2025

Coping Mechanism Thesaurus Entry: Altruism

November 1, 2025

When a character suffers emotional pain, the brain’s response is to stop the discomfort, and often this results in a coping mechanism being deployed. Whether it’s an automatic response or…

Save 25% on Writers Helping Writers Thesaurus Books

October 30, 2025

Save 25% on Writers Helping Writers Thesaurus Books

October 30, 2025

Earlier this year, we launched the Writers Helping Writers® bookstore so writers could find our books in the formats they need, all in one place. We started by adding eBook…

Coping Mechanism Thesaurus Entry: Asking for Help

October 18, 2025

Coping Mechanism Thesaurus Entry: Asking for Help

October 18, 2025

When a character suffers emotional pain, the brain’s response is to stop the discomfort, and often this results in a coping mechanism being deployed. Whether it’s an automatic response or…

Celebrating 10 Years at One Stop for Writers!

October 7, 2025

Celebrating 10 Years at One Stop for Writers!

October 7, 2025

Happy Birthday, One Stop for Writers! It’s hard to believe, but One Stop for Writers® is officially TEN years old! When Becca and I built One Stop for Writers with…

How to Use Weather to Create Mood, Not Clichés

September 23, 2025

How to Use Weather to Create Mood, Not Clichés

September 23, 2025

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,…

How to Show Your Character’s Repressed Emotions

September 11, 2025

How to Show Your Character’s Repressed Emotions

September 11, 2025

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…

Show, Don’t Tell: Write Authentic Character Reactions with The Emotion Thesaurus

September 7, 2025

Show, Don’t Tell: Write Authentic Character Reactions with The Emotion Thesaurus

September 7, 2025

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…

How to Use the Four Levels of Conflict to Strengthen Your Story

August 14, 2025

How to Use the Four Levels of Conflict to Strengthen Your Story

August 14, 2025

A cardinal sin of storytelling is to skimp on conflict, and no wonder. Those problems, challenges, obstacles, and inner struggles help keep readers engaged, casting doubt on the character’s ability…

How to Show Your Character Is Healing from an Emotional Wound

August 7, 2025

How to Show Your Character Is Healing from an Emotional Wound

August 7, 2025

When it comes to writing a story where a character is going to work through a difficult past wound, there are two behavioral states to convey: one showing their brokenness…

How to Amp up Your Story Setting

July 31, 2025

How to Amp up Your Story Setting

July 31, 2025

Taking the time to choose the right setting for each scene is one of the best ways to ensure our writing has impact. Why? Because the setting touches everything. It…