Writers Helping Writers^®

Writing Craft

Phenomenal First Pages Contest

May 27, 2021

Phenomenal First Pages Contest

May 27, 2021

This contest is closed—please try again next month. If you’d like to be notified when the next one goes live, consider subscribing to our newsletter. Hey, wonderful writerly people! It’s…

Does Your Character Have a Secret?

May 25, 2021

Does Your Character Have a Secret?

May 25, 2021

We all have secrets – you do and I do. And let’s face it, we work hard to not let them get out. But at the same time, when we…

Relationship Thesaurus Entry: Estranged Parent and Child

May 22, 2021

Relationship Thesaurus Entry: Estranged Parent and Child

May 22, 2021

Successful stories are driven by authentic and interesting characters, so it’s important to craft them carefully. But characters don’t usually exist in a vacuum; throughout the course of your story,…

Relationship Thesaurus Entry: Professional and Client

May 15, 2021

Relationship Thesaurus Entry: Professional and Client

May 15, 2021

Power Up Individual Scenes with a Scene Tracker

May 11, 2021

Power Up Individual Scenes with a Scene Tracker

May 11, 2021

One of the most powerful tools in a writer’s toolkit is a scene tracker, also known as a scene map. Whether you’re drafting or you’re looking to revise a finished draft,…

Relationship Thesaurus Entry: Best Friends

May 8, 2021

Relationship Thesaurus Entry: Best Friends

May 8, 2021

Setting Yourself up for Success Before You Write a Single Word

May 6, 2021

Setting Yourself up for Success Before You Write a Single Word

May 6, 2021

As a lifelong student of storytelling, most of my posts are about how to best develop our story vision and put it on the page. But there’s an important step…

Balancing Your Cast of Characters

May 4, 2021

Balancing Your Cast of Characters

May 4, 2021

It’s no secret that side characters can be amazing in their own right. Great side characters feel like real people–even if the focus isn’t on them. They have lives that…

Relationship Thesaurus Entry: In-laws

May 1, 2021

Relationship Thesaurus Entry: In-laws

May 1, 2021

How to Write Emotion Well: Know Your Character

April 29, 2021

How to Write Emotion Well: Know Your Character

April 29, 2021

We’ve all read stories where our breath slows, the world falls away, and the page disappears. We’re somewhere else, a place that isn’t real, yet is. We’re with people who…