Writers Helping Writers^®

Writing Lessons

Writing 101: Character Arc In A Nutshell

October 15, 2015

Writing 101: Character Arc In A Nutshell

October 15, 2015

Confused about character arc? Let’s look at all the pieces and how they fit together: inner and outer conflict, inner and outer motivation, fear, flaws—the whole shebang. So, you’re ready…

One Stop For Writers’ Unique Templates & Worksheets

October 11, 2015

One Stop For Writers’ Unique Templates & Worksheets

October 11, 2015

A Look Inside One Stop’s Templates & Worksheets As you can imagine with an online library, there are many nooks and crannies to explore. One of my favorite places is…

One Stop For Writers’ Descriptive Thesaurus Database

October 9, 2015

One Stop For Writers’ Descriptive Thesaurus Database

October 9, 2015

A Closer Look at Our Show-Don’t-Tell Database As some of you know, the heart of One Stop For Writers is our signature Descriptive Thesaurus Database. Visitors to this blog (and…

Why Is Your Character’s Emotional Wound So Important?

July 28, 2015

Why Is Your Character’s Emotional Wound So Important?

July 28, 2015

Emotional wounds hold incredible power, steering a hero’s motives, actions, and beliefs. They damage their sense of self worth, filter how they view the world, and dictate how they interact…

Will Readers Find Your Protagonist Worthy?

June 23, 2015

Will Readers Find Your Protagonist Worthy?

June 23, 2015

As we juggle the different pieces of characterization with the goal of building someone truly exceptional, one of the biggest jobs is to make sure readers connect to the protagonist,…

3 Quick Tips To Help Readers Connect To Your Protagonist

June 11, 2015

3 Quick Tips To Help Readers Connect To Your Protagonist

June 11, 2015

There has always been a debate on what is more important–plot or characters. For a long time, I stood on the PLOT side of things, because I thought it was…

The Connection Between Emotional Wounds and Basic Needs

May 27, 2015

The Connection Between Emotional Wounds and Basic Needs

May 27, 2015

As many of you may know, we have a new thesaurus, one that looks into a problematic (yet SO important) area: Emotional Wounds. It’s somewhat intuitive to see how a traumatic…

How To Uncover Your Character’s Emotional Wound

May 14, 2015

How To Uncover Your Character’s Emotional Wound

May 14, 2015

To build a compelling character (and write them convincingly) we want to make them real as possible, and that means developing a backstory that lets us understand them on a…

Mastering Words: How to Grow as a Writer

April 23, 2015

Mastering Words: How to Grow as a Writer

April 23, 2015

It’s human nature to hide our weaknesses from others, but the hard truth is that if we try to cover up our flaws in writing, it will keep us from…

Showing Character Emotion: Why Moving Beyond the Face

April 15, 2015

Showing Character Emotion: Why Moving Beyond the Face

April 15, 2015

The face is the first thing we notice in real life, and the focal point during any conversation. We connect to a person’s gaze, paying attention to how their eyes widen,…