Writers Helping Writers^®

Tension

Setting Description Mistakes that Weaken a Story

March 29, 2022

Setting Description Mistakes that Weaken a Story

March 29, 2022

When you think about the key elements of storytelling, characters and plot immediately come to mind, but what about the setting? Do you view it as 1) a vital story…

9 Tension-Building Elements For Character Dialogue

March 24, 2022

9 Tension-Building Elements For Character Dialogue

March 24, 2022

By Becca Puglisi I’ve been thinking a lot about dialogue lately, because when it’s done poorly, it pulls me right out of the story. There are a lot of issues…

When to Kill a Character

February 22, 2022

Well, Valentine’s Day is in the rearview, so it’s time to move on to a less lovey-dovey topic: killing people. Fictional people, of course! Let’s face it, some of our…

How to Draw Readers in Through a Character’s Choices

November 23, 2021

How to Draw Readers in Through a Character’s Choices

November 23, 2021

Quick, what’s one thing you need in every scene? This question can have a lot of answers – tension, conflict, stakes, emotion, action…on and on it goes. But I would…

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…

What Are Pinch Points and Where Do They Go?

October 26, 2021

What Are Pinch Points and Where Do They Go?

October 26, 2021

Once I learned structure and could visualize the pattern beneath my favorite novels, movies, and streaming series, I felt like I’d been handed the keys to a magical kingdom. Employing structure elevated…

A Mother Lode of Resources on Writing Conflict

October 21, 2021

A Mother Lode of Resources on Writing Conflict

October 21, 2021

With the recent release of the 2nd Volume of The Conflict Thesaurus, Angela and I have been here, there, and everywhere, sharing everything we’ve learned about what conflict can do…

Release Day: The Conflict Thesaurus Is Here!

October 12, 2021

Release Day: The Conflict Thesaurus Is Here!

October 12, 2021

Well, guys – another book is out in the world! The Conflict Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Obstacles, Adversaries, and Inner Struggles (Volume 1) is a game-changer for writers, screenwriters,…

Need Compelling Conflict? Choose A Variety of Kinds

September 24, 2021

Need Compelling Conflict? Choose A Variety of Kinds

September 24, 2021

All right, hands up: What’s the one thing we can’t get enough of in fiction but we avoid like a screaming toddler in real life? Conflict. It’s ironic that something…

The Conflict Thesaurus Is at One Stop for Writers

September 9, 2021

The Conflict Thesaurus Is at One Stop for Writers

September 9, 2021

Hi everyone! Just a quick post today to let our One Stop for Writers users know that the Conflict Thesaurus is live at the site. This database is all about…