Writers Helping Writers^®

Emotion

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

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…

Quieter Protagonists: 3 Ways to Help Them Steal the Stage

March 20, 2018

Quieter Protagonists: 3 Ways to Help Them Steal the Stage

March 20, 2018

While readers love to see larger-than-life characters with passion, take-charge attitudes, and heaps of boldness and daring, not every protagonist wears an extrovert skin. In fact, looking at real-life demographics…

Raise the Stakes By Making It Personal

March 8, 2018

Raising the stakes by making the consequences personal to the protagonist means they are motivated to fix the problem or act to achieve a certain story goal.

Raise the Stakes By Making It Personal

March 8, 2018

Compelling novels have many different ingredients that make them fascinating to read, but one standard components is a healthy, continual dose of ACTION. The protagonist is always doing something: weighing…

Want Memorable Characters? Focus on the Little Things

February 22, 2018

Want Memorable Characters? Focus on the Little Things

February 22, 2018

I love building characters. In fact, “building” is apt, because for me, they come a piece at a time. A brick or two might lock into place as I wrestle…

Overcoming an Emotional Wound (Character Arc Help)

February 1, 2018

Overcoming an Emotional Wound (Character Arc Help)

February 1, 2018

Of all the pieces of backstory we should understand as authors, none are more important than our protagonist’s Emotional Wound. A powerful statement, but here’s why. Think about your own…