Writers Helping Writers^®

Writing Help

Character Motivation Entry: Escaping Confinement

December 10, 2016

Character Motivation Entry: Escaping Confinement

December 10, 2016

What does your character want? This is an important question to answer because it determines what your protagonist hopes to achieve by the story’s end. If the goal, or outer motivation, is…

Your Never Ending Writing Improvement Program

December 6, 2016

Your Never Ending Writing Improvement Program

December 6, 2016

In Japan, after World War II, the concept of kaizen was introduced into their industrial culture. It resulted in a huge boom in technology and manufacturing that rebuilt Japan and…

Character Motivation Thesaurus: Restoring a Name or Reputation

November 26, 2016

Character Motivation Thesaurus: Restoring a Name or Reputation

November 26, 2016

What does your character want? This is an important question to answer because it determines what your protagonist hopes to achieve by the story’s end. If the goal, or outer motivation, is…

How Character Attributes and Flaws Work Within Character Arc

November 24, 2016

How Character Attributes and Flaws Work Within Character Arc

November 24, 2016

Like real people, characters have mixed personalities that contain both positive traits (attributes) and negative traits (flaws). Flaws are especially interesting as they develop when a person has experienced a…

Character Motivation Entry: Obtaining Shelter From The Elements

November 19, 2016

Character Motivation Entry: Obtaining Shelter From The Elements

November 19, 2016

What does your character want? This is an important question to answer because it determines what your protagonist hopes to achieve by the story’s end. If the goal, or outer motivation, is…

When to Listen to Your Inner Editor

November 15, 2016

When to Listen to Your Inner Editor

November 15, 2016

We’ve all wrangled with our inner editor at some point in our writing process. This voice in our head critiques our craft in mid-stream, from the big picture (“This plot…

Character Motivation Thesaurus: Beating an Illness or Diagnosis

November 12, 2016

Character Motivation Thesaurus: Beating an Illness or Diagnosis

November 12, 2016

What does your character want? This is an important question to answer because it determines what your protagonist hopes to achieve by the story’s end. If the goal, or outer motivation, is…

Mastering Stylistic Tension

November 8, 2016

Mastering Stylistic Tension

November 8, 2016

One of the first things writers learn is to start a story with conflict. Some writers have bombs go off. Others start with a death. Or a break-up. But over…

Character Motivation Entry: Righting A Deep Wrong

November 5, 2016

Character Motivation Entry: Righting A Deep Wrong

November 5, 2016

What does your character want? This is an important question to answer because it determines what your protagonist hopes to achieve by the story’s end. If the goal, or outer motivation, is…

Understanding Inner Conflict with Story Expert Michael Hauge

November 1, 2016

Understanding Inner Conflict with Story Expert Michael Hauge

November 1, 2016

All stories are built on a foundation of three basic components: character, desire, and conflict. A hero or protagonist desperately wants something, and must overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles to achieve…