Writers Helping Writers^®

Writing Help

Writing Emotion: Does Your Hero Shrug, Smile & Frown Too Much?

March 8, 2014

Writing Emotion: Does Your Hero Shrug, Smile & Frown Too Much?

March 8, 2014

Crutch gestures can sometimes get in the way of good writing. They come in all shapes and sizes–maybe an eye roll, a clenched stomach, curled fists or shrugs–cues we writers…

Books I Didn’t Finish, AKA, What Killed it For Me

March 5, 2014

Books I Didn’t Finish, AKA, What Killed it For Me

March 5, 2014

I like keeping lists: Books To Read, Books I’ve Finished, Books I Want to Buy, and possibly the most informative one: Books I Didn’t Finish. As a reader, it happens quite…

Talent and Skill Thesaurus: Sculpting

March 1, 2014

Talent and Skill Thesaurus: Sculpting

March 1, 2014

Choosing a talent or skill that fits with your character’s personality, lifestyle, and values can go a long way to helping them break free of the common stereotypes seen so…

Understanding Character Wounds: A List Of Common Themes

February 27, 2014

Understanding Character Wounds: A List Of Common Themes

February 27, 2014

Characters are the heart of a novel, and within that heart is the Hero’s Inner Journey. The protagonist’s path is much like yours or mine–one that will (hopefully) bring him…

Myth & Folklore: Finding Old Stories To Make New

February 25, 2014

Myth & Folklore: Finding Old Stories To Make New

February 25, 2014

Today author Bish Denham is with us, tackling Myth and Folklore and the growing popularity of retellings. What is it about myths and fairy tales that readers find so attractive?…

Using Videos to Sell More Books

February 24, 2014

Using Videos to Sell More Books

February 24, 2014

Tom Corson-Knowles provides expertise on how to use videos to connect with readers. To me, being an author is all about relationships. The better relationships you build, the more successful…

Ask Questions to Find Your Story

February 12, 2014

Ask Questions to Find Your Story

February 12, 2014

I ask a lot of questions in my line of work as a professional manuscript critiquer and copyeditor. Sure, I also give a lot of suggestions and fix badly constructed…

Writing Extreme Emotion Without The Melodrama

February 11, 2014

Writing Extreme Emotion Without The Melodrama

February 11, 2014

Finding the right balance of emotion can be difficult; too little and the reader will feel no empathy for the characters, but too much, and the scene becomes melodramatic. Melodrama…

Skills & Talents Entry: Gaming

February 8, 2014

Skills & Talents Entry: Gaming

February 8, 2014

Choosing a talent or skill that fits with your character’s personality, lifestyle, and values can go a long way to helping them break free of the common stereotypes seen so…

How to Soften a Hard Character to Make Them Likable

February 4, 2014

How to Soften a Hard Character to Make Them Likable

February 4, 2014

Author Julie Musil is here with some great tips on how to handle our hard characters. Have you ever done something you regretted? Spoke harshly when you wished you’d held…