Writers Helping Writers^®

Posts by Michelle Barker

Hierarchy of a Submission Package & Giveaway!

February 17, 2026

Hierarchy of a Submission Package & Giveaway!

February 17, 2026

I’ve been thinking a lot about submissions lately, not only because my co-author and I are launching a new book about the querying process, but also because I will be…

Qualities of a Successful Writer

November 18, 2025

Qualities of a Successful Writer

November 18, 2025

What makes a successful writer? Is there a recipe somewhere for the secret sauce that will guarantee success? Well, that depends at least partly on how you define success. Society…

Colonel Mustard in the Ballroom: How Setting Shapes Mystery

August 19, 2025

Colonel Mustard in the Ballroom: How Setting Shapes Mystery

August 19, 2025

Setting is a story element that must do double duty in any genre: it’s your backdrop, so it shouldn’t take over and become the story, but it should be chosen…

Reading Like a Writer

May 20, 2025

Reading Like a Writer

May 20, 2025

We all know that as writers we should be reading a lot. It’s one of the best ways to learn the craft, and Stephen King’s quote on the topic is…

How to Improve Your Chances of Getting Published

February 18, 2025

How to Improve Your Chances of Getting Published

February 18, 2025

If only there was a magic formula, a secret trick that would improve your chances of getting published. Well, there is—but it isn’t magic or secret, and in the end,…

Five Fears of Writers (and How to Defeat Them)

November 19, 2024

Five Fears of Writers (and How to Defeat Them)

November 19, 2024

When I first started working on this post, I thought, only five? But as I compiled my worst writer nightmares, I realized they do fall under five general headings. Fear…

Creating Suspense in any Genre

August 20, 2024

Creating Suspense in any Genre

August 20, 2024

When we think about suspense in writing, we naturally leap to thrillers and mysteries, genres that are known for suspense and rely on it. But that doesn’t mean the rest…

Behind the Scenes: How to Craft Compelling Backstory

May 21, 2024

Behind the Scenes: How to Craft Compelling Backstory

May 21, 2024

A character’s backstory is where all the gold is buried in terms of their motivations and misbeliefs. Who we are in the present depends to a large extent on what…

The Pirate’s Guide to Writing Fantasy

February 20, 2024

The Pirate’s Guide to Writing Fantasy

February 20, 2024

Remember the scene in Pirates of the Caribbean when Captain Barbossa explains the pirate’s code? “The code is more what you’d call guidelines than actual rules.” Writing fantasy is a…

Finding Your Voice as a Writer

November 21, 2023

Finding Your Voice as a Writer

November 21, 2023

When I first started writing fiction, I desperately wanted to be Margaret Atwood. I read several of her novels and, consciously or not (probably consciously), my writing voice started…