Writers Helping Writers^®

Writing Lessons

The Art of Story: When Telling Trumps Showing

February 3, 2015

The Art of Story: When Telling Trumps Showing

February 3, 2015

Show, don’t tell advice helps us craft immersive fiction because showing involves readers, but this doesn’t mean there’s no place for telling. Telling is necessary sometimes, and a story will…

Writing 101: Building a Balanced Character

January 7, 2015

Writing 101: Building a Balanced Character

January 7, 2015

Here’s the truth about compelling characters: they’re neither good nor bad, perfect nor fundamentally flawed. Instead, they’re all of these things. Each character has a set of good, admirable qualities…

Writing Patterns Into Fiction: Scene and Sequel

January 5, 2015

Writing Patterns Into Fiction: Scene and Sequel

January 5, 2015

Raven Oak joins us to talk about the successful pattern of Scene and Sequel. When I began writing seriously—not the scribbles in a notebook of plots I’d write someday or…

10 Reasons Why Your Protagonist Needs Flaws

December 14, 2014

10 Reasons Why Your Protagonist Needs Flaws

December 14, 2014

When we see the word Hero or Heroine, we think heroic, which is ironic as they are often jaded, lost, and brimming with flaws and false beliefs about the world…

Overcome Your Book Doubts By Asking WHY

December 10, 2014

Overcome Your Book Doubts By Asking WHY

December 10, 2014

Doubt – soul-crushing worry that we are not capturing our story well enough – can snuff out a novel and the writer’s spirit. Jennie Nash has some excellent insight for…

5 Top Tips for Strong Pacing

November 19, 2014

5 Top Tips for Strong Pacing

November 19, 2014

Pacing is an interesting story element because when you get it right, no one notices, but when it’s off, it’s obvious. Diagnosing problems with pacing isn’t always straightforward, either. One…

How Morals and Basic Needs Influence a Character’s Strengths

October 28, 2014

How Morals and Basic Needs Influence a Character’s Strengths

October 28, 2014

Since writing The Positive Trait Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Attributes, I’ve been thinking about how personality traits are formed. Flaws are important for a character to have—and, let’s be…

Emotional Description: 3 Common Problems with Show & Tell

September 23, 2014

Emotional Description: 3 Common Problems with Show & Tell

September 23, 2014

Writing compelling emotional moments is the lifeblood of any story and the key to building a relationship between characters and readers. Yet steering clear of the show-don’t-tell pitfalls requires practice…

Using the Dark Side of Your Protagonist’s Best Qualities

August 19, 2014

Using the Dark Side of Your Protagonist’s Best Qualities

August 19, 2014

Every hero or heroine needs attributes and strengths to see them through the tough times ahead in the story, yet like all things, positive traits have a dark side. Anything,…

How to Keep your Story Moving and Your Character Believable

August 5, 2014

How to Keep your Story Moving and Your Character Believable

August 5, 2014

One of the most common characterization mistakes writers make is granting their characters too much self-awareness. That sly pitfall puts tension at risk, limits believability (I’ll tell you how), and…