Writers Helping Writers^®

Writing Help

How (and Why) to Write a Logline For Your Story

January 12, 2016

How (and Why) to Write a Logline For Your Story

January 12, 2016

I’ve been thinking recently about loglines and why every author should have one for his/her story. We haven’t talked much about this at the blog, so I wanted to briefly…

Mastering the Cliffhanger Chapter Ending

January 6, 2016

Mastering the Cliffhanger Chapter Ending

January 6, 2016

Rebecca Belliston is here to share how to end a chapter on a cliffhanger that will keep readers write the cliffhanger effectively., flipping pages! One of the best things an…

How to Write Characters Readers Trust But Shouldn’t

November 25, 2015

How to Write Characters Readers Trust But Shouldn’t

November 25, 2015

I don’t know about you, but I love reading books where the author encourages me to draw conclusions that are wrong. Case in point–untrustworthy characters who I trust anyway. Like…

How to Decide How Many POV Characters Our Book Needs

November 18, 2015

How to Decide How Many POV Characters Our Book Needs

November 18, 2015

Marcy Kennedy is here with some excellent metrics to consider when planning a novel and choosing how many POV characters to include. One of the most common challenges for us…

The Fatal Flaw of Underwriting

November 16, 2015

The Fatal Flaw of Underwriting

November 16, 2015

Hi everyone–I hope you had a terrific weekend and are in the mood to learn. Today I’m handing over the blog keys to Rachel Starr Thomson, one of the editors…

The Novelist’s Triage Center: Get Unstuck and Finish Your Book

November 9, 2015

The Novelist’s Triage Center: Get Unstuck and Finish Your Book

November 9, 2015

There you are, happily pounding out words, the click and rattle of the keyboard creating a musical symphony in your writing space. And then…it happens. Your mind goes blank. At…

Building a Great First Chapter with NYT Bestselling Author Beth Revis

November 2, 2015

Building a Great First Chapter with NYT Bestselling Author Beth Revis

November 2, 2015

Hi everyone! Today we’re handing the blog over to NYT bestselling author Beth Revis to lead us through what makes for a strong first chapter, so please read on. The…

How Your Hero’s Past Pain Will Determine His Character Flaws

October 27, 2015

How Your Hero’s Past Pain Will Determine His Character Flaws

October 27, 2015

Authentic characters are usually modeled after real people. I don’t mean pulling traits and quirks from those we know (say, taking Aunt Judy’s laughter and blending it with the overly-smiley…

Emotional Wounds Thesaurus: Physical Disfigurement

October 17, 2015

Emotional Wounds Thesaurus: Physical Disfigurement

October 17, 2015

When you’re writing a character, it’s important to know why she is the way she is. Knowing her backstory is important to achieving this end, and one of the most impactful pieces of…

Inside One Stop For Writers: The Idea Generator

October 14, 2015

Inside One Stop For Writers: The Idea Generator

October 14, 2015

Today I’d like to showcase another One Stop for Writers tool: the Idea Generator. Chances are you’ve seen generators before…some of which spit out a mish-mash story idea that sounds…