Writers Helping Writers^®

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Suspense in Stories: the Big Tease

July 11, 2017

Suspense in Stories: the Big Tease

July 11, 2017

Suspense is one of the storyteller’s biggest teases. It’s a state of waiting, of growing unease in the reader. Most stories consist of raising questions and delaying the answers. Suspense…

How to Add Meaningful Subplots to Your Novel

July 5, 2017

How to Add Meaningful Subplots to Your Novel

July 5, 2017

Many people are familiar with subplots. They are those side stories that give a novel’s plot depth. A subplot may involve the main character or minor characters, but they enrich…

How to Boost Your Self-Editing Superpowers

June 20, 2017

How to Boost Your Self-Editing Superpowers

June 20, 2017

A vast number of writers are afraid of their own power. They fall prey to listening to what other people think their story should be—writing friends, Twitter pals, critique partners,…

A Question of When: Indicating Time Passage in Our Stories

June 13, 2017

A Question of When: Indicating Time Passage in Our Stories

June 13, 2017

Today, we’re looking at how to show the passing of time between scenes. First, let’s recap why it’s important for our readers to be at least vaguely aware of the…

Giving Your Characters Free Rein in the Story

June 6, 2017

Giving Your Characters Free Rein in the Story

June 6, 2017

In my collection of writing books is a 1919 title, A Manual of the Art of Fiction, by one Clayton Meeker Hamilton, a professor at Columbia University. It’s a bit…

Using Real-World Locations to Ground Your Story’s Setting

May 16, 2017

Using Real-World Locations to Ground Your Story’s Setting

May 16, 2017

Last month I went on a writing retreat in Iceland. (Yes, Iceland! In fact, you can learn more about the annual Iceland Writers Retreat here.) It sounds like a remote…

Complex Characters and the Power of Contradiction

May 9, 2017

Complex Characters and the Power of Contradiction

May 9, 2017

You’ve likely seen countless posts and resources related to creating great characters, but almost all of them seem to be lacking in one aspect I’ve found to be perhaps the…

Want to Grow as a Writer? Transform Your Critique Group

May 2, 2017

Want to Grow as a Writer? Transform Your Critique Group

May 2, 2017

My mentor Art Arthur, a successful Hollywood screenwriter for five decades, once told me, “There are four kinds of Hollywood producers: the ones that say, ‘Here’s what I don’t like…

Want to Write Romance? Layer Your Scenes for Success

April 4, 2017

Want to Write Romance? Layer Your Scenes for Success

April 4, 2017

When I began considering writing a romance novel, I asked some of my romance author friends about the layer of structure. I had no idea that romance novels, across the…