Writers Helping Writers^®

Emotion

How to Get Emotion Onto the Page

January 15, 2019

How to Get Emotion Onto the Page

January 15, 2019

It is a truth universally acknowledged: you have to hook the reader right out of the starting gate. From the very first sentence your story must incite that delicious sense…

A Mother Lode of Resources on Strong First Pages

November 1, 2018

A Mother Lode of Resources on Strong First Pages

November 1, 2018

As many of you know, I run a monthly critique contest here at the blog, where I offer to read first pages and share my feedback. People are so grateful…

Capturing Complex Emotion: A Writer’s Superpower

October 2, 2018

Capturing Complex Emotion: A Writer’s Superpower

October 2, 2018

Our brain is driven by emotion. We may like to think we’re rational beings, applying the rules of logic calmly and sensibly to those little and not-so-little decisions, but our…

And…Action! Applying TV Lessons to Chapter Hooks

September 11, 2018

And…Action! Applying TV Lessons to Chapter Hooks

September 11, 2018

We’ve probably all heard the advice to end our scenes and chapters on a hook. At the end of every scene or chapter, readers might put down our book and…

Powerful Scenes: Using One Stop for Writers’ Informal Scene Map

August 23, 2018

Powerful Scenes: Using One Stop for Writers’ Informal Scene Map

August 23, 2018

A while back, I profiled some of the custom brainstorming tools at our sister-site, One Stop for Writers, which help take the mystery (and misery) out of story structure. One…

Crafting a “Body Language Voice”

August 14, 2018

Crafting a “Body Language Voice”

August 14, 2018

You’ve probably heard about “voice”–that elusive quality that so many editors, agents, and readers are drawn to. Years ago, I did a couple of posts about character voice, arguing that…

Character Vulnerability: There Will Be Blood

July 17, 2018

Character Vulnerability: There Will Be Blood

July 17, 2018

This is something I say to almost every writer: Make no mistake, there WILL be blood! No, I’m not referring to the movie. Or even to literal blood. But to…

Dive Deep with Emotion

April 19, 2018

Dive Deep with Emotion

April 19, 2018

Don’t you just love feedback from beta-readers or your critique partners that goes something like this: “I think you feel the emotion here, but the reader? Not so much.” Or…

The Destructive Power of The Lie Your Character Believes

April 5, 2018

The Destructive Power of The Lie Your Character Believes

April 5, 2018

We are often our own biggest critics, aren’t we? Whenever something goes wrong, we feel disappointed, frustrated, upset, or hurt. The fallout might cause others around us to suffer too,…

Deepening Character Complexity with the Help of Psychology

April 3, 2018

Deepening Character Complexity with the Help of Psychology

April 3, 2018

Psychologists will often conduct a case formulation when a client presents in our office. If we want to be part of the change the client is seeking, then we have…