Writers Helping Writers^®

Writing Lessons

Creating Mood in a Scene Using Light and Shadow

August 22, 2016

Creating Mood in a Scene Using Light and Shadow

August 22, 2016

What’s one of the first things a person does to set the mood at home for a romantic evening? She turns down the lights. This simple adjustment is a big…

Making your Character Shine from Page One

June 27, 2016

Making your Character Shine from Page One

June 27, 2016

Welcome Kate Foster, who is here to offer valuable tips on how to get readers to fall in love with your characters right from the first page. Plot and characters…

Level Up Your Setting (and Story) by Thinking Outside the Box

May 31, 2016

Level Up Your Setting (and Story) by Thinking Outside the Box

May 31, 2016

Want to level up your setting and instantly pull readers deeper into your scenes? Start by thinking outside the box about where each moment takes place. The right setting does…

Show Character Depth by Challenging Their Moral Beliefs

May 28, 2016

Show Character Depth by Challenging Their Moral Beliefs

May 28, 2016

When we start brainstorming a character, we usually focus on their traits—qualities, flaws, quirks, habits, likes, and dislikes. Then we dig deeper, building out their backstory: who influenced them, what…

How To Turn Your Setting Into a Conflict-Rich Obstacle Course

May 18, 2016

How To Turn Your Setting Into a Conflict-Rich Obstacle Course

May 18, 2016

Every story element should pull its weight—including the setting, which is a built-in source of conflict just waiting to be used. A simple first-date picnic in the park? Cue the…

How To Share Your Protagonist’s Deepest Feelings With Readers

April 26, 2016

How To Share Your Protagonist’s Deepest Feelings With Readers

April 26, 2016

Our job as writers is to make the reader FEEL, empathizing with our characters, feeling invested in the outcome of events, and immersed in the story’s world. When a reader’s…

How a Protagonist’s Friends Can Cause Problems in the Story

April 19, 2016

How a Protagonist’s Friends Can Cause Problems in the Story

April 19, 2016

One thing Angela and I discovered time and again as we put the Rural and Urban Setting Thesaurus books together is just how influential setting is on a story. Setting…

The Emotional Roller Coaster: Why Characters Resist Change

April 11, 2016

The Emotional Roller Coaster: Why Characters Resist Change

April 11, 2016

I’m reading this fascinating book about the human brain and how we can evolve through concentrated intention and awareness. One of the terrific nuggets is the belief that every emotion,…

35+ Posts To Help Writers Elevate Their Craft & Marketing Skills

March 22, 2016

35+ Posts To Help Writers Elevate Their Craft & Marketing Skills

March 22, 2016

A friend of mine asked me for a list of posts that I would like shared online (how nice, right?) and it prompted me to visit my website stats to…

How Your Character’s Failures Can Map A Route To Self-Growth

March 2, 2016

How Your Character’s Failures Can Map A Route To Self-Growth

March 2, 2016

Failure is one thing no one looks forward to nor wants to experience. It doesn’t feel good to work at something only to fail. When we fail, a knot of…