Category Archives: Uncategorized
The Advent Calendar for Writers Giveaway is BACK!
It’s the seasonal event to end ALL events: the Writers Helping Writers’ Advent Calendar Giveaway. Last year, a ton of lucky winner snapped up almost $2000 in prizes. This year, holy bananas, people. I can’t wait for you to see … Continue reading
Power Up Your Toolkit for Less: One Stop for Writers is 50% Off
Writing is HARD. We all know it. So Becca and I joined forces with Lee Powell, the creator of Scrivener for Windows to make writing easier. Together we built One Stop for Writers, a portal to powerful resources that can … Continue reading
Smokin’ Hot Black Friday Deals for Writers
Black Friday is coming, along with the crazy terrific deals and big box store mayhem. I don’t know about you, but I am all about sipping my coffee and enjoying online discounts rather than fighting insane crowds! I love to … Continue reading
Conflict Thesaurus Entry: Being Forced to Marry
Conflict is very often the magic sauce for generating tension and turning a ho-hum story into one that rivets readers. As such, every scene should contain a struggle of some kind. Maybe it’s an internal tug-of-war having to do with … Continue reading
Critiques 4 U, with Sara Letourneau!
It’s time for our monthly critique contest, and editor and writing coach Sara Letourneau is back to offer feedback on the winners’ first pages. Visit the Heart of the Story website to learn more about working with Sara or her writer website to read … Continue reading
Writing for Carrots
Are you writing for carrots? It’s a weird question that I’ve had bubbling around my brain lately, so I probably need to explain. You’ve seen the old cartoons where the horse was constantly chasing the carrot, right? It’s always there, … Continue reading
Conflict Thesaurus Entry: Being Ignored or Blown Off
Conflict is very often the magic sauce for generating tension and turning a ho-hum story into one that rivets readers. As such, every scene should contain a struggle of some kind. Maybe it’s an internal tug-of-war having to do with … Continue reading
Improve Your Novel Writing: 11 Tips For Newbies
Writing a novel is flipping difficult. It often takes years to complete your first novel (and even more years after that to write a good one). You heard that right — writers’ first books are usually a hot mess. That … Continue reading
Surprising Your Readers in Every Scene
Often we think of surprising audiences with large twists and turns, with thrilling midpoints or shocking losses, but bringing surprise into smaller story pieces, like interactions and beats, can sometimes be equally satisfying in their own way. They also hook … Continue reading
Conflict Thesaurus Entry: Family Secrets Being Revealed
Conflict is very often the magic sauce for generating tension and turning a ho-hum story into one that rivets readers. As such, every scene should contain a struggle of some kind. Maybe it’s an internal tug-of-war having to do with … Continue reading