Writers Helping Writers^®

Writing Craft

How To Research Mental Health and Trauma For Your Characters

August 4, 2020

How To Research Mental Health and Trauma For Your Characters

August 4, 2020

Giving a character a trauma or mental health backstory seems like an easy way to add internal conflict to our characters – and it is. But where do you start…

Conflict Thesaurus Entry: Public Humiliation

August 1, 2020

Conflict Thesaurus Entry: Public Humiliation

August 1, 2020

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…

A Mother Lode of Resources on Character Occupations

July 30, 2020

A Mother Lode of Resources on Character Occupations

July 30, 2020

With every new book release, Angela and I write a bunch of posts that cover various aspects of that topic. We’ve found it useful to collect all of those resources…

What “Read More to Improve Your Writing” Really Means

July 28, 2020

What “Read More to Improve Your Writing” Really Means

July 28, 2020

Everyone says you should read a lot if you want to improve your writing. A blanket statement if ever I heard one. Anyone can read. There are readers out there…

Conflict Thesaurus Entry: Losing a Job

July 25, 2020

Conflict Thesaurus Entry: Losing a Job

July 25, 2020

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…

Conflict Thesaurus Entry: Peer Pressure

July 18, 2020

Conflict Thesaurus Entry: Peer Pressure

July 18, 2020

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…

Improve Your Fiction by Studying the Brothers Grimm

July 9, 2020

Improve Your Fiction by Studying the Brothers Grimm

July 9, 2020

We all know how important it is to read within our genre. Doing so shows us what elements make those books successful (and also what overdone tropes to avoid). But…

Joining Forces: Harnessing the Power of Coauthoring

July 7, 2020

Joining Forces: Harnessing the Power of Coauthoring

July 7, 2020

I always knew coauthoring had benefits – half the workload, and twice the platform to launch from are the obvious bonuses. Sure, you have to split your royalties, but you…

Conflict Thesaurus Entry: Failing at Something

July 4, 2020

Conflict Thesaurus Entry: Failing at Something

July 4, 2020

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…

The Character-Building Detail Writers Shouldn’t Overlook

July 2, 2020

The Character-Building Detail Writers Shouldn’t Overlook

July 2, 2020

The farther I get into this writing and coaching career, the more I find myself talking about details and how important it is to get them right. Whether we’re figuring…