Writers Helping Writers^®

Posts by Angela Ackerman

Emotional Wound: Finding Out One Is Adopted

January 9, 2016

Emotional Wound: Finding Out One Is Adopted

January 9, 2016

When you’re writing a character, it’s important to know why she is the way she is. Knowing her backstory is important to achieving this end, and one of the most impactful pieces of…

Emotional Wound Entry: Being Unfairly Blamed For the Death of Another

December 12, 2015

Emotional Wound Entry: Being Unfairly Blamed For the Death of Another

December 12, 2015

When you’re writing a character, it’s important to know why she is the way she is. Knowing her backstory is important to achieving this end, and one of the most impactful pieces of…

Emotional Wound: Having to Kill Another Person to Survive

November 29, 2015

Emotional Wound: Having to Kill Another Person to Survive

November 29, 2015

When you’re writing a character, it’s important to know why she is the way she is. Knowing her backstory is important to achieving this end, and one of the most impactful pieces of…

How to Write Characters Readers Trust But Shouldn’t

November 25, 2015

How to Write Characters Readers Trust But Shouldn’t

November 25, 2015

I don’t know about you, but I love reading books where the author encourages me to draw conclusions that are wrong. Case in point–untrustworthy characters who I trust anyway. Like…

How to Decide How Many POV Characters Our Book Needs

November 18, 2015

How to Decide How Many POV Characters Our Book Needs

November 18, 2015

Marcy Kennedy is here with some excellent metrics to consider when planning a novel and choosing how many POV characters to include. One of the most common challenges for us…

The Fatal Flaw of Underwriting

November 16, 2015

The Fatal Flaw of Underwriting

November 16, 2015

Hi everyone–I hope you had a terrific weekend and are in the mood to learn. Today I’m handing over the blog keys to Rachel Starr Thomson, one of the editors…

The Novelist’s Triage Center: Get Unstuck and Finish Your Book

November 9, 2015

The Novelist’s Triage Center: Get Unstuck and Finish Your Book

November 9, 2015

There you are, happily pounding out words, the click and rattle of the keyboard creating a musical symphony in your writing space. And then…it happens. Your mind goes blank. At…

Emotional Wound Entry: A Home Invasion

November 7, 2015

Emotional Wound Entry: A Home Invasion

November 7, 2015

When you’re writing a character, it’s important to know why she is the way she is. Knowing her backstory is important to achieving this end, and one of the most impactful pieces of…

Building a Great First Chapter with NYT Bestselling Author Beth Revis

November 2, 2015

Building a Great First Chapter with NYT Bestselling Author Beth Revis

November 2, 2015

Hi everyone! Today we’re handing the blog over to NYT bestselling author Beth Revis to lead us through what makes for a strong first chapter, so please read on. The…