Writers Helping Writers^®

Tension

Character Secret Thesaurus Entry: Is Safeguarding Someone’s Secret

November 30, 2024

Character Secret Thesaurus Entry: Is Safeguarding Someone’s Secret

November 30, 2024

What secret is your character keeping? Why are they safeguarding it? What’s at stake if it’s discovered? Does it need to come out at some point, or should it remain…

Character Secret Thesaurus Entry: Hiding a Sexual Relationship

November 23, 2024

Character Secret Thesaurus Entry: Hiding a Sexual Relationship

November 23, 2024

What secret is your character keeping? Why are they safeguarding it? What’s at stake if it’s discovered? Does it need to come out at some point, or should it remain…

Character Secret Thesaurus Entry: Coveting Someone Else’s Life

November 2, 2024

Character Secret Thesaurus Entry: Coveting Someone Else’s Life

November 2, 2024

What secret is your character keeping? Why are they safeguarding it? What’s at stake if it’s discovered? Does it need to come out at some point, or should it remain…

Why Every Writer Should Try Their Hand at a Horror Story

October 31, 2024

Why Every Writer Should Try Their Hand at a Horror Story

October 31, 2024

By Savannah Cordova Affiliate links below It’s that time of year again: the leaves are changing color, the wind is getting chillier, and pumpkins are decorating doorsteps. And given that…

A Description Database for Character Relationships

October 10, 2024

A Description Database for Character Relationships

October 10, 2024

No matter what genre you write, your characters–and their relationships–are the heart of a story. In fact, relationships help us explore our characters’ most meaningful layers while providing readers with…

Creating Suspense in any Genre

August 20, 2024

Creating Suspense in any Genre

August 20, 2024

When we think about suspense in writing, we naturally leap to thrillers and mysteries, genres that are known for suspense and rely on it. But that doesn’t mean the rest…

The Secret to Page-Turning Scene Endings

June 13, 2024

The Secret to Page-Turning Scene Endings

June 13, 2024

It’s easy to surmise that propelling readers from one scene to the next relies upon a dramatic closing hook, the evocative or provocative impression at the very end of the…

How to Fix Big Story Problems

June 13, 2024

How to Fix Big Story Problems

June 13, 2024

Is there anything more frustrating than knowing there’s a problem with our story, but not being sure how to fix it? We wish for an easy button in these moments,…

10 Reasons Why Emotion Amplifiers Are Good for Your Story

May 9, 2024

10 Reasons Why Emotion Amplifiers Are Good for Your Story

May 9, 2024

As you may have heard, we recently released The Emotion Amplifier Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Stress and Volatility, a companion to The Emotion Thesaurus. If you aren’t familiar…

Does Your Scene Need More Tension? Add an Emotion Amplifier!

April 25, 2024

Does Your Scene Need More Tension? Add an Emotion Amplifier!

April 25, 2024

Emotion and tension often go hand in hand. If character emotion is low, story tension is also probably waning. On the flip side, tension is likely on the rise when…