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Good news, wonderfulwriterly people…it’s time for our monthly Phenomenal First Pages contest, where we help transform your story’sopening from good to great! This contest is closed. Please try again next month. If you’d like to be notified when the next one goes live, consider subscribing to the blog (in the sidebar). If you need a bit of help […] The post Win Feedback on Your First 10 Pages appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.| WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®
Setting is a story element that must do double duty in any genre: it’s your backdrop, so it shouldn’t take over and become the story, but it should be chosen deliberately and used to both enrich and amplify your scenes. It should blend in and be influential. But this is especially true in mystery novels […] The post Colonel Mustard in the Ballroom: How Setting Shapes Mystery appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.| WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®
A cardinal sin of storytelling is to skimp on conflict, and no wonder. Those problems, challenges, obstacles, and inner struggles help keep readers engaged, casting doubt on the character’s ability to achieve their goal. Because readers are focused on what’s happening from one scene to the next, it can appear that conflict is only occurring […] The post How to Use the Four Levels of Conflict to Strengthen Your Story appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.| WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®
Okay, fair warning—what you’re about to learn in this article might spoil movies, TV shows, and books for you forever. BUT—as a writer, you have to peel back the mechanics of story to understand how to make your book awesome, so even if you hate spoilers you’re going to love having the inside track on […] The post How to Pair Your Book’s Beginning and Ending to Satisfy Readers appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.| WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®
When it comes to showing our character’s path to healing in the aftermath of a destructive wound, we need to take it slow.| WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®
My last post highlighted Writing Tips for the Neurodivergent Brain, but what about writing resources and tools? What sorts of “helpers” are out there to help people with not-so-great executive functions get to the end? What the Heck Is “Executive Function”? This is the part of the brain that manages tasks, time, focus, and self-control. […] The post Amazing Resources for Neurodivergent Writers appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.| WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®
Taking the time to choose the right setting for each scene is one of the best ways to ensure our writing has impact. Why? Because the setting touches everything. It can characterize the story’s cast, evoke mood, generate conflict, shape the plot, and even use symbols and emotional triggers to show readers what the protagonist […] The post How to Amp up Your Story Setting appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.| WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®
Linda Ulleseit, an award-winning author of historical fiction, shares tips and tricks for fictionalizing your family. Everyone has a story! The themes that run through family stories can have universal appeal, but actual evidence of a person’s life can be hard to find. Sometimes fiction is the only way to tell their story. Fictionalizing family […] The post How to Fictionalize Your Family appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.| WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®
Life can be painful, especially for our characters. In fact, the fallout of an emotionally wounding event such as a car accident, failing to save someone’s life, infertility, or being sent away as a child can derail their life for years (or even decades!) if left unresolved. Not only that, it can change the character’s […] The post Tap into Your Character’s Unmet Need to Strengthen Your Story appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.| WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®
Tapping into our reader’s psyche to pull on their emotions is essential. The secret to achieving it is emotional common ground.| WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®
Hey, wonderfulwriterly people! It’s time for Phenomenal First Pages, our monthly critique contest. So, if you need a bit of help with your first five pages, today’s the day to enter for a chance to win professional feedback! (We’ve had past winners tell us they’ve found their dream editors through this contest, and even ended […] The post Phenomenal First Pages Contest – Guest Editor Edition appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.| WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®
Purple prose is one of those writing problems that’s easy to see in someone else’s work but hard to spot in our own. Simply put, this writing is overly elaborate or self-indulgent. It’s wordy, heavy on description, and often prioritizes the sound of the words over clarity and pacing. The result? Writing so ornate, flowery, […] The post Writing 101: Avoiding Purple Prose appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.| WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®
For anyone considering cowriting: always communicate more than you think you need to. And remember, it’s not a competition—it’s a duet.| WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®
Revision doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. It can be one of the most creative and clarifying stages of the process.| WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®
When you build a workshop around a strong theme, you’re offering insight into something that affects everyone in some way.| WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®
If you're feeling stuck and uninspired, perhaps it's not YOU ... perhaps you need to change your location!| WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®
5 winners will receive feedback on a page of their choice...PLUS a 30 minute live coaching/brainstorming session on Suzy Vadori's podcast.| WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®
Check out this post with tons of helpful pointers to tempt readers into experiencing the rest of a series.| WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®
Learn the difference between the first person, second person, and third person viewpoints so you can choose the right one for your story.| WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®
Released on February 19, 2019. The bestselling Emotion Thesaurus, often hailed as “the gold standard for writers” and credited with transforming how writers craft emotion, has now been expanded as a Second Edition that includes 55 new entries! One of the biggest struggles for writers is how to convey emotion to readers in a unique and […]| WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®
Write stronger fiction faster with the bestsellling Writers Helping Writers Thesaurus Guides, used by editors & writers all over the world.| WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®
