Writers Helping Writers^®

Writing Craft

Start Your Writing Year Right!

January 1, 2019

Start Your Writing Year Right!

January 1, 2019

The start of a new year is special. It’s a reboot opportunity, a moment when we can hit refresh, adopt a new mindset if needed, and build new habits that…

Goal-Oriented Storytelling: Attachment

December 18, 2018

Goal-Oriented Storytelling: Attachment

December 18, 2018

Imagine you’re playing your first game of Scrabble with a friend. You haven’t been taught the rules of the game, but you know the general idea is to make words…

Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Fundraiser

December 15, 2018

Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Fundraiser

December 15, 2018

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…

How Writers Are Part of a Humanitarian Chain

December 13, 2018

How Writers Are Part of a Humanitarian Chain

December 13, 2018

Beyond the words and flow of the story lies something meaningful: the ability to be a humanitarian voice that reaches through the page to influence readers to think deeper about…

Rules? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Rules

December 11, 2018

Rules? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Rules

December 11, 2018

After we’ve been writing for a while, we’ve heard our share of writing rules. Sometimes we’re taught to avoid certain techniques, like prologues. Or we might be told that some…

Beginnings and Backstory

December 4, 2018

Beginnings and Backstory

December 4, 2018

You will find writers who argue that there should be no backstory at all in your first chapters. Why not? Because, by definition, backstory is what has happened before your…

Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Police Officer

November 24, 2018

Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Police Officer

November 24, 2018

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…

Character Arc and Narrative Arc

November 20, 2018

Character Arc and Narrative Arc

November 20, 2018

Character arc: someone living their life Narrative arc: the things that happen when someone lives their life When I worked with children, I’d always teach them the simple, zen fact: every…

Context, Text, and Subtext: What They Are and How They Help Storytelling

November 13, 2018

Context, Text, and Subtext: What They Are and How They Help Storytelling

November 13, 2018

In writing tips, we talk about text a lot. But I feel like we don’t talk enough about context and subtext in this industry. Both are vital to good storytelling…

Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Ghostwriter

November 10, 2018

Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Ghostwriter

November 10, 2018

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…