Writers Helping Writers^®

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How to Write Vivid Character Descriptions: Be Invisible!

February 17, 2015

How to Write Vivid Character Descriptions: Be Invisible!

February 17, 2015

One of the most difficult areas of description is when it comes to showing the appearance of a protagonist, especially when writing in first person POV. We need readers to…

Top Tips for Writing Multiple POV Novels

March 12, 2015

Top Tips for Writing Multiple POV Novels

March 12, 2015

Lisa Gail Green is here to offer some thoughts on writing multiple POVs. This is a route some authors go, but handling more than one protagonist is not easy. Lisa’s…

How to Decide How Many POV Characters Our Book Needs

November 18, 2015

How to Decide How Many POV Characters Our Book Needs

November 18, 2015

Marcy Kennedy is here with some excellent metrics to consider when planning a novel and choosing how many POV characters to include. One of the most common challenges for us…

Garlic Breath For Writers (aka, Bad First Pages)

March 6, 2018

Garlic Breath For Writers (aka, Bad First Pages)

March 6, 2018

“If you cannot write a compelling opening scene, from the opening sentence, I’m not going to finish your proposal.” – Agent, speaking at a recent writers conference The opening page…

Quieter Protagonists: 3 Ways to Help Them Steal the Stage

March 20, 2018

Quieter Protagonists: 3 Ways to Help Them Steal the Stage

March 20, 2018

While readers love to see larger-than-life characters with passion, take-charge attitudes, and heaps of boldness and daring, not every protagonist wears an extrovert skin. In fact, looking at real-life demographics…

Diving Deep into POV

June 14, 2018

Diving Deep into POV

June 14, 2018

Last time I was here, we spoke about how to Dive Deep With Emotion. One of the key takeaways was the necessity of vulnerability to write authentic emotion. What’s cool…

A Mother Lode of Resources on Strong First Pages

November 1, 2018

A Mother Lode of Resources on Strong First Pages

November 1, 2018

As many of you know, I run a monthly critique contest here at the blog, where I offer to read first pages and share my feedback. People are so grateful…

Rules? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Rules

December 11, 2018

Rules? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Rules

December 11, 2018

After we’ve been writing for a while, we’ve heard our share of writing rules. Sometimes we’re taught to avoid certain techniques, like prologues. Or we might be told that some…

Want Readers to Fall in Love With Your Hero? Create The Perfect Hero Lens

January 8, 2019

Want Readers to Fall in Love With Your Hero? Create The Perfect Hero Lens

January 8, 2019

We writers worry about all sorts of things: traits, arcs, themes, motives etc. But even when we’ve got all of those things sorted, bridging the gap between the black ink…

5 Innovative Strategies That Could Help You Win a Writing Contest

July 11, 2019

5 Innovative Strategies That Could Help You Win a Writing Contest

July 11, 2019

If you’ve ever participated in a writing contest, you’ll know that it’s one of the most exhilarating, motivating, and overall craft-stimulating experiences you can have as a writer. Indeed, what…