Writers Helping Writers^®

Posts by Jami Gold

Ooo La La: 5 Steps to Write Uncomfortable Scenes

March 10, 2026

Ooo La La: 5 Steps to Write Uncomfortable Scenes

March 10, 2026

For many authors, the most difficult type of scene to write (and write well) are sex scenes. However, any type of uncomfortable scene can feel awkward to write, as we…

What’s More Important: Storytelling or Writing Craft?

December 11, 2025

What’s More Important: Storytelling or Writing Craft?

December 11, 2025

When first learning how to write, we often focus on the skills of writing craft—grammar rules, point of view, etc.—but storytelling skills are just as important. Some might even say…

How to Differentiate Stories from AI Slop

September 9, 2025

How to Differentiate Stories from AI Slop

September 9, 2025

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…

Continuing a Series: Enticing Readers to Return

June 10, 2025

Continuing a Series: Enticing Readers to Return

June 10, 2025

When writing a series, we need to adjust our writing techniques. Last year, we talked about the tricky balance of repeating information in a series from one book to another.…

How to Deepen a Story with Thematic Echoes

January 7, 2025

How to Deepen a Story with Thematic Echoes

January 7, 2025

While shallow stories can be enjoyable, we often strive to add depth to our storytelling. Deeper stories can “say” more to readers, evoking more emotions and leaving a bigger impression.…

How to Strengthen Our Story with Tropes

September 10, 2024

How to Strengthen Our Story with Tropes

September 10, 2024

Every genre and medium of storytelling uses tropes—common themes or story devices. However, the frequency of certain storytelling ideas, such as “the chosen one,” makes them so common that readers get…

Flashbacks vs. Dual Timeline: What’s the Difference?

June 11, 2024

Flashbacks vs. Dual Timeline: What’s the Difference?

June 11, 2024

For strong storytelling, we need to focus on what’s important and relevant to current story events. That means we shouldn’t info-dump a bunch of irrelevant backstory just because it’s interesting…

Continuing a Series: Is This Info Too Repetitive?

March 12, 2024

Continuing a Series: Is This Info Too Repetitive?

March 12, 2024

We’ve probably seen advice warning that any time our story revisits information, we risk the idea feeling repetitive or redundant to readers if we’re not careful. Not surprisingly, the same…

Strong Character Relationships: From Friendships to Romance

December 12, 2023

Strong Character Relationships: From Friendships to Romance

December 12, 2023

As a romance author, I’ve learned how to portray deep romantic relationships between my characters, focusing on techniques to make the relationship believable, healthy, and something readers will root for.…

Writing Techniques: Use and Abuse of “Lampshading”

September 12, 2023

Writing Techniques: Use and Abuse of “Lampshading”

September 12, 2023

As storytellers, we usually want to keep readers immersed in our story. However, we’ve probably all written lines that we worry will break readers’ suspension of disbelief, such as with…