Writers Helping Writers^®

Posts by James Scott Bell

Want Success? Get Back to Joyous Writing

September 7, 2021

Want Success? Get Back to Joyous Writing

September 7, 2021

By James Scott Bell “Things were tough at the moment. I hadn’t worked in a studio for a long time. So I sat there, grinding out original stories, two a…

Act Like A Professional

June 29, 2021

Act Like A Professional

June 29, 2021

Now that in-person conferences are back, it’s a good time to review proper etiquette for these gatherings. I’ve been teaching at writers conferences for over twenty years, and I’ve seen…

Turn Envy into Energy

March 2, 2021

Turn Envy into Energy

March 2, 2021

Years ago there was a commercial for Pepto-Bismol where a nerdy guy in glasses looked straight into the camera and says, “Can we talk about diarrhea?” It was an effective…

The Importance of Practice as a Writer

December 3, 2020

The Importance of Practice as a Writer

December 3, 2020

I’ve been playing basketball most of my life. When I was a kid, falling in love with the game, I happened across a book called A Sense of Where You Are by…

Ways to Defeat Self-Doubt: Hang Upside Down (and Other Creative Moves)

September 1, 2020

Ways to Defeat Self-Doubt: Hang Upside Down (and Other Creative Moves)

September 1, 2020

September, 2009, was Dan Brown week in the world of publishing. That was when The Lost Symbol—Brown’s much-awaited follow-up to The Da Vinci Code (2003)—hit the bookstores. The Lost…

Reflections on Some Favorite Writing Quotes

June 2, 2020

Reflections on Some Favorite Writing Quotes

June 2, 2020

Do you collect writer quotes? You should. They can be inspirational and instructive. It’s great to turn to them in times when you feel in the writing doldrums. Here are…

Synopsis Writing Made Easy

March 3, 2020

Synopsis Writing Made Easy

March 3, 2020

Every author I know hates writing a synopsis. They hate having to try to boil down their beloved story into 2 – 3 double spaced pages. They agonize over it,…

Is It Necessary to Write EVERY day?

December 3, 2019

Is It Necessary to Write EVERY day?

December 3, 2019

Some time ago I was asked by Writers Digest to participate in a feature with nine other writing teachers. We’d each take a position on a well-known writing “rule.” Then another expert…

How Realistic Should Your Action Scenes Be?

September 3, 2019

How Realistic Should Your Action Scenes Be?

September 3, 2019

At a conference some time ago I was on a panel with some fellow thriller writers. During the Q & A we got this question from the floor: “How can…

What Do a Good Novel & a Good Commercial Have in Common?

June 4, 2019

What Do a Good Novel & a Good Commercial Have in Common?

June 4, 2019

I love a good ad campaign. When I started running a small publishing business years ago, I had to teach myself advertising and marketing. I read some classics on the…