Writers Helping Writers^®

Resident Writing Coach

Goal-Oriented Storytelling: Tension

June 18, 2019

Goal-Oriented Storytelling: Tension

June 18, 2019

This is the third post in my four-part series on ANTS, my framework for understanding what a story needs to keep readers engaged. Previously, I’ve covered attachment and novelty. Now…

Story Goals: Are They Slowing Your Story’s Pace?

June 11, 2019

Write what is in your heart, not to trends

Story Goals: Are They Slowing Your Story’s Pace?

June 11, 2019

If we’ve spent any time learning about story craft, we know the importance of goals in our story. They affect every aspect of our story: Stories are about a problem…

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…

Contrasting and Condensing Characters: Two Sides to One Coin

May 21, 2019

Contrasting and Condensing Characters: Two Sides to One Coin

May 21, 2019

Good characterization is an enigma: it happens in the minutia, with the details we choose for our cast members, but it also happens on the macro level, with how we…

Saggy Middle? Use Conflict to Nip and Tuck It

May 16, 2019

Saggy Middle? Use Conflict to Nip and Tuck It

May 16, 2019

When I get a new story idea, I fly into the start of it with as much gusto as a kid in a candy store. I’m filled with the buzz…

Story Structure in a Flash

May 14, 2019

Story structure can sometimes be difficult to wrap our minds around; there are so many different structures, all with different terminology and slightly different meanings. But today I’m going to…

How Should I Publish My Book?

May 9, 2019

Do you aspire to write a book and be a published author one day? If so, you are not alone. According to Joseph Epstein, author, essayist, short-story writer, and editor,…

Plot, Inner Change, Evocative Writing—What Really Rivets Readers?

April 16, 2019

Plot, Inner Change, Evocative Writing—What Really Rivets Readers?

April 16, 2019

Here’s a counterintuitive fact: Writers spend way too much time obsessing about “the writing.” They sweat over the words, the technique, the language, the flow, the use of metaphor, and…

The Emotionally Intelligent Writer

April 2, 2019

The Emotionally Intelligent Writer

April 2, 2019

I’m a psychologist, so I like to believe there are a set of characteristics that can predict author success. Sure, like any subset of the population—and I’m going to define…

Goal-Oriented Storytelling: Novelty

March 19, 2019

Goal-Oriented Storytelling: Novelty

March 19, 2019

In the first post of my four-part series, I introduced ANTS, my framework for helping storytellers make strategic choices that increase reader engagement. ANTS stands for the effects a storyteller should seek…