Writers Helping Writers^®

Point of View

How Do You Find Your Narrator’s Voice?

August 15, 2023

How Do You Find Your Narrator’s Voice?

August 15, 2023

Voice is one of those elements that can make or break a manuscript. If you get it right, the novel will live in the reader’s mind long after they put…

Improve Your Storytelling in 5 Minutes

July 25, 2023

Improve Your Storytelling in 5 Minutes

July 25, 2023

What are writers chronically short on? Time. There never seems to be enough of it as we try to get the next book written, research our publishing options, keep up…

Writing About Emotional Trauma Without Triggering Readers

June 15, 2023

Writing About Emotional Trauma Without Triggering Readers

June 15, 2023

Trigger warnings are often debated in the writing world. Some opine that readers should be warned if something potentially harmful is included in a book, and others feel the audience…

Point of View: Is Deeper Always Better?

September 13, 2022

Point of View: Is Deeper Always Better?

September 13, 2022

Until relatively recently, most stories were written with an omniscient point of view (POV), which follows the story and characters from an all-knowing distance. But over the past several decades,…

What’s Your Story’s Focus? Plot vs. Character Arcs

November 18, 2021

What’s Your Story’s Focus? Plot vs. Character Arcs

November 18, 2021

There are as many ways to tell a story as there are stories in existence. That means not all writing advice will be a good fit with the story we’re…

How to Show Emotion for Non-Viewpoint Characters

November 16, 2021

How to Show Emotion for Non-Viewpoint Characters

November 16, 2021

Those of you who are familiar with me know that Angela Ackerman and I talk a lot about emotion. A LOT. That’s because we believe that clearly conveying emotion—particularly that of…

3 Simple Tricks to Immerse Your Reader In Your Story

November 9, 2021

3 Simple Tricks to Immerse Your Reader In Your Story

November 9, 2021

As writers, fusing our protagonist with the reader creates the ultimate reading experience. Teacher and writer John Gardener referred to this as “the fictional dream.” It’s a state the reader…

How to Showcase Your Character’s Unique Voice

November 4, 2021

How to Showcase Your Character’s Unique Voice

November 4, 2021

Almost every character should have their own voice—their distinctive way of communicating their worldview. To illustrate, here are three lines from Harry Potter that reveal Hermione’s, Ron’s, and Harry’s individual…

Describing a Character’s Emotions: Problems and Solutions

August 14, 2021

Describing a Character’s Emotions: Problems and Solutions

August 14, 2021

Characters are the heart of a story, but what really draws readers in is their emotions. Only…showing them isn’t always easy, is it? Like us in the real world, characters…

7 Ways Deep POV Creates Emotional Connections With Readers

January 19, 2021

7 Ways Deep POV Creates Emotional Connections With Readers

January 19, 2021

Deep POV (point of view) is a popular (and lately, divisive) writing style to employ. Many blogs about deep pov will list out the same four or six foundational tools…