Writing Tips

When I tell writers how much I love using Scrivener to write my novels, I often get some version of “I bought it, but I’ve never used it because it’s so complicated/confusing/frustrating.” If that sounds familiar, this is the post for you. Scrivener is a word-processing tool designed specifically for writers of book-length projects. It… The post How to Use Scrivener (Without Anxiety) appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

By Janice Hardy A first-person narrator has a unique set of challenges, and describing emotions is one of them.  For many readers, emotion is a big reason why they picked up a particular novel. They want to feel connected to the characters, experience life through their eyes, escape into their worlds. Bringing those emotions to the surface is critical to bringing the story to life. Except sometimes, we go overboard and shift from emotion to melodrama. Our protagonists are too whiny, too stuck in their heads, too self-aware of what they’re feeling all the time and that draws attention away from the story. This is particularly easy to do with a first person narrator, because everything is so deep in that character’s point of view. If we go emotionally overboard, our characters don’t feel like real people, because no one […]

Have you ever gone to a new restaurant, ordered a burger, and discovered it has some sort of luscious, zippy sauce that elevates the entire meal into the ecstasy zone? Amazing, right? Well, Becca and I call conflict a story’s “secret sauce” because it does the same thing – elevates the situation in a way… The post How to Twist Office Romance Into Fresh Conflict appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

Great characters aren’t built from a single element. They’re shaped by emotions, personality traits, fears, past wounds, goals, and the roles they play in their world. That’s why our character-focused thesaurus guides are designed to work together. Each guide helps you understand your character’s layers from a different angle, helping you craft someone who authentic,… The post The Emotion Thesaurus is Amazon’s Daily Kindle Deal (1.49) + a Discount on Character Thesaurus eBooks appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

As authors, we give a lot of attention to our openings—where to start the story, polishing the first pages—because they’re important for pulling readers in. But what about endings, particularly chapter endings? Chapters are necessary because they break the text into chunks and make it more manageable for readers. The problem is that chapter endings… The post 11 Chapter Endings to Keep Readers Turning Pages (Part 1) appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

By Janice HardyTo be a great writer, it helps to be a terrible parent (but only to your characters).I have this philosophy for my characters—what doesn’t kill them makes them more interesting. It allows me to be as ruthless and mean to them as I want, because I know that in the end, all their suffering will make readers love them even more.My characters aren’t happy about this, of course, but they understand the necessity.One of my favorite “evil things” to do to them is force them to face horrible, if not impossible, choices. Choices that will tear them in two, make them question themselves and the path they took, and often leave them in dire situations with no hope in sight. <cackles gleefully> Why do I heap such hardships on my poor characters? Because…Difficult challenges and impossible choices make […]

I learned something fascinating about holly this week (besides that it can be a bush or a tree). What I learned is specific to the leaves. Apparently, holly leaves don’t start out prickly because they’re naturally cranky. They’re prickly because life happened to them. Let me explain… Scientists discovered that every holly leaf contains the… The post How Are Writers like Holly Bushes? appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

Return to the mushroom metropolis of Neo Kinoko, immerse yourself in a sinister world of gangsters, blackmail, and fungal cuisine, and prepare for a Michelin-star tragedy in six courses. The knives are out in this fast-paced, standalone Fungalverse novel. Set several months after the events of the award-winning Mushroom Blues, this side story combines the

You’re Not Alone Most writers feel overwhelmed with writing at some point. It’s part of the process! However, knowing this and dealing with it are two separate things. It’s all very well someone like me telling you it’s normal. What are the steps to getting out of this headspace? Let’s break it down. Ready? Let’s… The post What To Do If You Feel Overwhelmed With Writing appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

Psst. Psst. New book alert. Middle grade. My weird take on portal fantasy. Out February 2027. Preorder here, or here. (Cover by the amazing James Firnhaber!)

By Janice Hardy The primary goal of an opening scene is to make readers want to read the next scene.  You’d be surprised how often writers forget the whole point of an opening scene, because their focus is on establishing the setting, introducing the protagonist, and telling readers all about the cool story waiting for them. Don’t get me wrong, these are all important things, but on their own they’re not going to do what an opening scene needs to do—grab readers and keep them reading. And the best way to grab readers is to give them a puzzle they’ll want to know the answer to.  An intriguing first line that poses a question (literal or metaphorical), an unusual situation, a mystery, a contradiction that doesn’t quite make sense. A great voice and character they want to get to know better is another way to hook […]

Want to win editorial feedback and take your storyfrom good to great? Well, my writerly friend, you’re in luck! It’s time for our monthly Phenomenal First Pages contest. In this draw, you can win… Editorial feedback on the first 10 pages of your novel PLUS a 20-minute Zoom meeting to discuss the edits. This contest is… The post Win Feedback on 10 Pages! appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

From subgenres to tropes and beyond, there are many ways to categorize a romance story. We may not know exactly what type of story we’re writing while drafting (especially if we tend to write by the seat of our pants), but once we type “The End,” we do need to figure out what we’ve created…. The post Falling in Love: Types of Romance Stories appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

By Janice HardyThe premise is the core of the novel. Make sure it’s solid.When I first started The Shifter (the first book in my trilogy), I didn’t know it was going to be part of a series. But as the story developed, I saw the bigger picture and where the problem facing my protagonist, Nya, could lead to. As that story continued, I focused more and more on Nya’s journey, because stories are about characters in trouble. But by the time I got to book three, I’d forgotten something really important.I was ignoring the broader implications of my original premise.Nya was a “shifter,” someone who could heal by shifting pain from person to person. This included pain of her own, so anytime someone hurt her, she’d be able to shift it right back into them. Which made for some fun fight scenes. In the first draft of book […]

No matter what genre you write or who your audience is, one thing is certain: Everyone experiences fear. It shapes how people think, the choices they make, and influences how they live their lives. Tapping into a character’s fear is a powerful way to draw readers in because they can’t help but be reminded of… The post How Universal Fears Pull Readers into the Story appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

Fiends, demons, dark souls and freaks! You should come see me on tour for The Calamities, coming out in August. Why should you do this? Because you wish to pledge your undying loyalty to me uhh I mean because you want the book and you want me to talk good words at you and deface

Visceral, gritty, and unforgiving, GRIEF EATER is a zombie story like you’ve never read before.  When Kristina rises from her violent death, she’s not the same fragile woman her family once abandoned. She’s rageful, powerful, and hungry—for the blood of the ones who were supposed to love her. With a newfound craving to see vengeance

Generating ideas is the most underrated skill in a novelist’s toolkit—more essential than an appetite for cold-blooded revision, a head for structure, or a gift for dialogue. Generating more story possibilities within a single manuscript separates a competent draft from a novel with depth, complexity, and staying power. So how do you come up with… The post How to Generate Better Story Ideas Using the Ones That Don’t Work appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

By Janice HardyReaders don’t mind backstory—as long as it’s something they want to hear about.The first novel I ever wrote was fantasy, so naturally, it had a lot of backstory. Every character had huge histories and shady pasts, and I couldn’t wait to share every last detail with my readers. And it turned out about how you’d imagine.Boring pages, no action, flashbacks that nobody but me cared about. It was a mess.A person’s past is part of life, and everybody has one—especially fictional characters. But that past isn’t always relevant, even if it is interesting. Stopping to explain a character’s history tends to bog a novel down. Too much backstory is also high on the list of why an agent rejects a manuscript, and many advise cutting all backstory from the first 50 pages.A bit extreme, sure, but more times than […]

When a character suffers emotional pain, the brain’s response is to stop the discomfort, and often this results in a coping mechanism being deployed. Whether it’s an automatic response or a learned go-to strategy, a mechanism helps them cope with the stress of the moment or escape the hurt of it. But if the character… The post Coping Mechanism Thesaurus: Cultivating Trust appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.