Writers Helping Writers^®

Pacing

Pacing Potholes: Common Hazards that Slow Forward Motion

September 9, 2008

Pacing Potholes: Common Hazards that Slow Forward Motion

September 9, 2008

Pacing is a difficult thing to master. Like driving a car, there are many things we need to be on top of to keep our story on the road. Are…

Seven Deadly Novel Writing Sins: Plot Problems

January 11, 2010

Seven Deadly Novel Writing Sins: Plot Problems

January 11, 2010

Sin# 4: Plot Problems Your plot is the meat and direction of the novel. Even the most compelling characters lie flat on the page without something to do. For some,…

The Seven Deadly Novel Writing Sins: Dialogue Disasters

January 25, 2010

The Seven Deadly Novel Writing Sins: Dialogue Disasters

January 25, 2010

Pick up any work of fiction and flip through it. In fact, flip through several. How much of the novel is dialogue? With the exception of a few genres or…

Seven Deadly Novel Writing Sins: Sharing Too Much Information

February 1, 2010

Seven Deadly Novel Writing Sins: Sharing Too Much Information

February 1, 2010

TMI (Too Much Information) We’re all guilty of this sin at some point during the writing process. The trick is finding the correct balance by the time we reach the…

Setting Description…Writing More Than What You See

March 22, 2010

Setting Description…Writing More Than What You See

March 22, 2010

Today’s Question: What is the best way to describe a place in a really special way, without sounding too visual? I like this question, because it’s what the Setting Thesaurus…

The Writer’s Bane: Describing a Character’s Physical Appearance

April 26, 2010

The Writer’s Bane: Describing a Character’s Physical Appearance

April 26, 2010

I’m going to be totally honest here. There is little I detest more than trying to describe how my character looks. The reasons are numerous. I think it sounds boring.…

Description 911: Over Expressed Emotions

February 28, 2011

Description 911: Over Expressed Emotions

February 28, 2011

Because this blog is all about flexing our descriptive skills, I wanted to touch on something I see from time to time when I critique: too much emotional showing. Emotions…

KM Weiland on Reverse Outlining

January 30, 2012

KM Weiland on Reverse Outlining

January 30, 2012

Katie’s book, Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success guides writers with a step-by-step approach to developing and writing a novel. One of the story mapping techniques is Reverse…

How to Build Suspense By Meeting Readers in the Middle

September 12, 2012

How to Build Suspense By Meeting Readers in the Middle

September 12, 2012

Thriller author Donna Galanti has 7 great tips on how to build suspense and keep the reader’s attention, so read on. I’ve learned so much about suspense since writing my…

How to Increase Your Book’s Momentum

November 20, 2012

How to Increase Your Book’s Momentum

November 20, 2012

By Editor Laura Carlson Momentum: Getting Your Story up and Running Because many of you are currently writing or editing manuscripts, I wanted to discuss an aspect of your book…