Writers Helping Writers^®

Resident Writing Coach

What Is Emotional Context And Why Does Your Story Need It?

April 21, 2020

What Is Emotional Context And Why Does Your Story Need It?

April 21, 2020

Have you ever had an editor or critique partner say “go deeper”? And you throw up your hands and glare at the screen because you DID go deeper. Deep point…

Breathe Life into Your Prose with the Sense of Touch

April 14, 2020

Breathe Life into Your Prose with the Sense of Touch

April 14, 2020

Humans are social beasts: we live together, we yearn for the comfort of quality time, of family memories, and of physical closeness. But right now, touch has a bad rep.…

Writing During Tough Times: What You Need to Know to Keep the Words Flowing

April 7, 2020

Writing During Tough Times: What You Need to Know to Keep the Words Flowing

April 7, 2020

Writing can be a challenge, and that’s when life’s going well. Getting those words to flow, for our characters to show up and play nice, drumming up the motivation to…

Why All Writers Need A Structural Toolbox

March 17, 2020

Why All Writers Need A Structural Toolbox

March 17, 2020

What Is A Structural Toolbox? Put simply, a structural toolbox is the foundation work all writers need to put in to ensure they … understand how structure works can apply…

Storytelling Decisions: What’s the Right Pace for Your Story?

March 10, 2020

Storytelling Decisions: What’s the Right Pace for Your Story?

March 10, 2020

As we learn to write, we often hear about the need to create a strong pace in our story. Many seem to think that a strong pace requires a fast…

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,…

5 Mistakes to Avoid if You Want to Finish Your Book

February 25, 2020

5 Mistakes to Avoid if You Want to Finish Your Book

February 25, 2020

When you start writing a book, you intend on finishing it. You begin with a wave of excitement. A new book holds so much promise. Then somewhere along the way,…

Fall in Love with Your Second Act

February 18, 2020

Fall in Love with Your Second Act

February 18, 2020

I love me some Billy Joel. I especially love this song. Granted, it’s a song that deals with a serious issue in a gentle way, but I do think that, on…

How Premise Plays into Theme

February 11, 2020

How Premise Plays into Theme

February 11, 2020

For many writers, theme is an afterthought–something they may try to figure out once the book is mostly written. But in reality, for a lot of stories, the premise actually…

How to Find Critique Partners & Beta Readers

February 6, 2020

How to Find Critique Partners & Beta Readers

February 6, 2020

Outside feedback is vital to the success of your manuscript. As I’ve quoted many times before on my YouTube channel, according to Terry Pratchett, “The first draft is just you…