Writers Helping Writers^®

Endings

How to Pair Your Book’s Beginning and Ending to Satisfy Readers

August 12, 2025

How to Pair Your Book’s Beginning and Ending to Satisfy Readers

August 12, 2025

Okay, fair warning—what you’re about to learn in this article might spoil movies, TV shows, and books for you forever. BUT—as a writer, you have to peel back the mechanics…

The Secret to Page-Turning Scene Endings

June 13, 2024

The Secret to Page-Turning Scene Endings

June 13, 2024

It’s easy to surmise that propelling readers from one scene to the next relies upon a dramatic closing hook, the evocative or provocative impression at the very end of the…

When to Kill a Character

February 22, 2022

Well, Valentine’s Day is in the rearview, so it’s time to move on to a less lovey-dovey topic: killing people. Fictional people, of course! Let’s face it, some of our…

Story Not Behaving? Try Going Deeper into Structure

September 14, 2021

Story Not Behaving? Try Going Deeper into Structure

September 14, 2021

With all the writing advice out there, we know that some “writing rules” we hear are more like guidelines. However, story structure is important not just for our writing but…

Testing Fate: A Closer Look at Person vs. Fate Conflict

August 31, 2021

Testing Fate: A Closer Look at Person vs. Fate Conflict

August 31, 2021

Conflict is key to writing great stories. And while writers may categorize conflict differently, I categorize conflict into eight types: Person vs. SelfPerson vs. PersonPerson vs. NaturePerson vs. SocietyPerson vs.…

Story Resolutions: Mastering the Happy-Sad Ending

February 18, 2021

Story Resolutions: Mastering the Happy-Sad Ending

February 18, 2021

Gilbert Bassey is tackling a challenging yet rewarding type of ending: a happy-sad one that readers will think about long after the book closes. It was 10pm, and I was…

The Author’s Guide to Redeeming Villains

February 4, 2021

The Author’s Guide to Redeeming Villains

February 4, 2021

Have you ever fallen in love with a story villain? Or at least found yourself liking him or her somewhat against your will? Seems a little weird, experiencing all the…

The 8 Points of Progress

February 2, 2021

The 8 Points of Progress

February 2, 2021

In a lecture series on Youtube, #1 New York Times best-selling author Brandon Sanderson talks about the three P’s of plot structure: Promise. Progress. Payoff. Promises are particularly important in the beginning of the…

No Story Conflict? Explore Your Options

September 8, 2020

No Story Conflict? Explore Your Options

September 8, 2020

As a reader of Angela and Becca’s blog, chances are you’ve seen some of their many posts about the role of conflict in our story. In fact, as a Resident…

This Happened…and Then This Happened: The Dangers of Anecdotal Writing

June 4, 2020

This Happened…and Then This Happened: The Dangers of Anecdotal Writing

June 4, 2020

Does your story suffer from anecdotal writing? It’s an important question, because that’s what happens when we write this way: our stories suffer. Michelle Barker is here to explain what…