Writers Helping Writers^®

Writing Craft

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…

Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Nurse (RN)

June 8, 2019

Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Nurse (RN)

June 8, 2019

Jobs are as important for our characters as they are for real people. A character’s career might be their dream job or one they’ve chosen due to necessity. In your…

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…

Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Treasure Hunter

June 1, 2019

Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Treasure Hunter

June 1, 2019

Jobs are as important for our characters as they are for real people. A character’s career might be their dream job or one they’ve chosen due to necessity. In your…

Tips for a Successful Writing Collaboration

May 28, 2019

Tips for a Successful Writing Collaboration

May 28, 2019

It’s hard to believe that Angela and I have been writing together for over a decade. It started in 2008 with this blog, where we pooled ideas and shared writing…

Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Bounty Hunter

May 25, 2019

Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Bounty Hunter

May 25, 2019

Jobs are as important for our characters as they are for real people. A character’s career might be their dream job or one they’ve chosen due to necessity. In your…

Gameify Your Writing Life

May 23, 2019

Gameify Your Writing Life

May 23, 2019

As creatives, we all have a million ideas. But if we’re going to turn any of tthem into reality, we have to have a plan, and that’s where the wheels…

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…

Occupation Thesaurus: Paralegal

May 18, 2019

Occupation Thesaurus: Paralegal

May 18, 2019

Jobs are as important for our characters as they are for real people. A character’s career might be their dream job or one they’ve chosen due to necessity. In your…