Writing Tips

By Janice Hardy Your novel’s conflict—and the antagonist—can come from any number of places.  Conflict is vital to any story, but it isn’t always between people, which can be a bit confusing for writers looking for their antagonist. Some stories pit the protagonist against society, or a natural disaster. Others have the traditional hero vs. villain setup. No matter the genre though, there will be conflict in the story, and understanding what’s at the heart of yours will make it easier to write. For example, if you have a person vs. self conflict, you’ll know your protagonist will act in ways that are personally harmful, and the plot will show how he or she overcomes that trait or flaw causing trouble in his or her life. Let’s look at the four classic story conflict types and how they define the basic conflict […]

Popping in here to letchyall know there’s a couple sales going on if you’re so inclined to save some ducats — both The Staircase in the Woods and The Book of Accidents are on sale in their respective electronic formats for a buck ninety-nine a pop. And this is true at all the e-book sites,

Inner conflict is one of the most powerful sources of character tension because it forces a protagonist to wrestle with competing wants, fears, beliefs, duties, and values. But what happens when the character simply refuses to act? Writers need an effective way escalate the situation until that unresolved inner conflict can no longer be ignored…. The post Use Amplifiers to Force Your Character to Face Inner Conflict appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

What Are Redundancies? These nuisances are superfluous words or phrases also known as pleonasms. Rather than augment writing, they slow action scenes and increase word count — without adding constructive details. Remember as you attempt this quiz, that one of … Continue reading →

Readers LOVE morally gray characters. Go on Instagram or TikTok and it’s all everyone is talking about. Antiheroes who screw with our perception of the ‘greater good’ … Villains with traumatic backstories … Antagonists doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. This is catnip for your target reader! But there’s a problem. Writers often get… The post Antihero vs. Antagonist vs. Villain: What’s The Difference? appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

By Janice Hardy Finding ways to describe your first-person point of view narrator isn’t easy—and a few things not to do. First person point of view has its own share of challenges, but one of the trickier ones is describing your narrator. You’re always looking out, never in, and it can be awkward to have your character talk about their own attributes. If done poorly, you wind up with a character who sounds incredible self-absorbed. Before I suggest things to try, let’s start with some common clichés you don’t want to do. Avoid the Mirror Trick It seems like an easy answer to simply have the character look in a mirror and describe what they see, but it’s been done so many times (and done badly) that agents and readers cringe when they see it. If the novel happens to start this way, it’s likely a kiss of […]

Home again, home again, jiggity jig! Two-and-a-half weeks out there on the road sharing the gospel good word of demons, demons everywhere with readers, and I gotta tell you, it was both a very exciting and also incredibly wearying tour. The exciting: I mean, every event was legit great, with tons of cool readers coming

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 Plus a 20 Minute Zoom appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

At some point in our writing journey (or life in general), we’ll all struggle with procrastination and distractions. At the same time, we all probably have way too much on our to-do list and not nearly enough time, so losing time (time that we don’t have) can be stressful. Much has been written about how… The post Procrastinating? Identify Your Cognitive Mode appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

By Janice Hardy Tension is a valuable tool for getting readers to turn the page—no matter what genre you write in.  Conflict and tension are two things writers want in every scene, but it can be rough getting them both in there without a fight. Characters can’t always be at odds or butting heads, and “conflict as a fight” gets old pretty fast. Even a solid difference of opinion can only happen so many times before it starts to feel repetitious. It’s also tough to find new ways to build tension when the characters in the scene are friends working toward the same goal. How do you create conflict and not have friends turn on each other? Secrets. People don’t tell each other everything, and even friends and family hold information back. Sometimes that information is important, but often it’s just embarrassing or […]

Backstory is often maligned despite being vital to storytelling. For example, how many times have you heard someone say, “Backstory is bad, strip it from the scene!” or, “Backstory slows the pace, bogs down the action, and will only bore the reader.” Blanket statements can do a lot of damage, leaving writers believing they mustn’t… The post How to Deliver Important Backstory Using the Setting appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

What Are Redundancies? These nuisances are superfluous words or phrases also known as pleonasms. Rather than augment writing, they slow action scenes and increase word count — without adding constructive details. Remember as you attempt this quiz, that one of … Continue reading →

Knowing what a character stands to lose is supposed to get readers invested in their struggle. Stakes you can see coming get readers rooting for a character. They keep readers turning pages to see how the character will edge out the odds and clear the next hurdle. But stakes in isolation aren’t enough to get… The post Your Stakes Are Clear. So Why Doesn’t Anyone Care? appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

By Janice Hardy Theme is an often overlooked tool in a writer’s toolbox. Here’s another look at finding the greater meaning in your story.   Several years ago, I attended a workshop on theme at RWA. It was a fascinating session, because the presenters were romance author Suzanne Brockmann and English professor and literary critic, Sarah Frantz, who studies romance in general, and Brockmann in particular. To see what the reader took away from the book versus what the author intended was quite interesting. They were similar, but not always exact. And that’s okay, because everyone takes away something different from a book. Some of the things they said made me look at theme in a new light, and made me think about ways to discuss theme that can be directly applied to a writer’s work. Looking back on this, I can see how theme […]

Last week, I had one of those days when my creative brain needed one of those intersection traffic cops. (You’ve seen those cool cops, right? They’ve got the cool whistle, and they look like they’re conducting a symphony.) Nothing was actually wrong. In fact, I had too many GOOD things happening…and it was short-circuiting my… The post Your Creative Brain Has Two Jobs – Stop Making It Do Both at Once appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

Fear is one of the most powerful emotions in a story so avoiding common mistakes is paramount. When readers sense a character is experiencing fear they practically lean in, waiting to see what will happen next…but only if the writer uses strong, descriptive choices that layer on discomfort and dread. So how do we do… The post 5 Mistakes Writers Make When Describing a Character’s Fear appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

I know! I know. I’m being very annoying with all this “book promo” stuff, but hey, I got a book out, and if I don’t promo it, they pull a lever and I fall into a glass tube full of coked-up piranha. In fact, real quick: a wonderful review to behold over at Bloody Disgusting:

By Janice Hardy A mental shift in how we think about our writing and process can change our perspective, and thus, help us see the things we’ve been missing. A long time ago, when I was still fairly new to writing, I had my mind blown by a simple “change of perspective” in how I looked at writing. It was a light-bulb moment that finally made me understand something I’d been struggling with at that time—point of view. In the years that followed, I’ve had plenty of moments where changing how I thought about something writing-related helped me understand it, or use it better. As I’ve spoken with other writers, I’ve seen the same lights go on in their eyes as they looked at something they’d struggled with and finally saw things click into place. There’s a reason there is so much writing advice out there, from […]

Writing is hard, and unfortunately, getting stuck can be part of the process. Figuring a way forward is important to keep that momentum going. That’s why we created the Storyteller’s Roadmap at One Stop for Writers–there’s a lot of things to plan, track, and refine and knowing how to navigate it all can be a… The post Write Your Way to the Finish Line: Save 20% at One Stop for Writers appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

The Push to Live With Less Artificial Intelligence More and more people are becoming nervous about artificial intelligence and its effect on the environment. Many experts predict that in just a few years, the global consumption of water by AI … Continue reading →