Writing Tips

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 →

The Calamities (Book One of The Fiends) is now out, rampaging through the populace, gamboling about, claws at the ready, teeth sharp, and its countless eyes fixed upon you. So, I do hope you’ll check it out! Here’s how, and where: Order Now: Doylestown Bookshop | Bookshop.org | B&N | Amz | Kobo | Libro.fm | Apple Books | BAM | Powells Now, if you are enticed, you can stop

Fear is much more than an emotion—it is one of the biggest influencers of human behavior. Whenever we encounter a situation with unknowns, fear kicks in. Even if we do not yet know what is triggering our unease, our senses heighten, our blood pressure rises, and we go on high alert, searching for possible threats…. The post How to Show a Character’s Fear in Real Time appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

By Janice Hardy If your first pages don’t grab readers, your problem might not be the writing—it might be where you started. Openings are hard, especially if you’re not sure if you’re starting in the right place. The sheer amount of “is this opening working?” submissions I get in Real Life Diagnostics is testament to that. The old “start with the action” has frustrated many a writer due to its ambiguity, and even when we think we’ve done it all correctly, beta readers can still feel the opening isn’t grabbing them. I’ve talked about first lines and first pages before, so today, let’s focus on figuring out where to start your story, and how to diagnose it if you’re worried you’re starting in the wrong place. First, analyze your current opening, either the first scene or the first chapter if it’s only one scene: […]

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 your first page. This contest is closed. Please try again next month. If you’d like to be notified when… The post Win Feedback on Your First Page! appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

In one week, the demons are free! The Calamities hits shelves next Tuesday, 8/18, and let me just be the first to say: AHHHHH. And, in addition: AHHHHHH. It’s very exciting to have this story on the precipice of emerging from its long dark cosmic prison — this is the first of two parts, the

Developmental Editing is tackled on a completed draft of your book. It is the big picture assessment that will let you, the writer, know: You can find out how developmental editing differs from other levels of editing (copy editing/proofreading etc.) in this downloadable guide. Investing in a professional for this review is ideal, because it’s… The post How to Developmentally Edit Your Book, Yourself appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

By Janice Hardy It doesn’t matter how you hook your reader, as long as you hook them. “You need a strong hook” is advice you hear a lot in writing, and it’s good advice. A strong hook pulls readers into the story and makes them want to read on. A hook is something that captures reader attention and piques interest in the novel. It can also be the gotcha or twist that makes the novel compelling and fresh, intriguing readers even further. It’s the “ooooh” factor that probably got you excited about the idea in the first place. It might be a plot point, a character goal, or a conflict. It could even be the theme. In harsh terms, the hook is why a reader (or agent) should care about your book and not pick up someone else’s. Readers choose a novel because one book will stand out and sound more appealing than another—one […]

Did you know I cut my teeth writing picture books? Well, technically, my first attempt was a chapter book. I didn’t bother doing any research; as a first grade teacher, I’d read hundreds of them to my students, so how hard could it be? Hard enough that I soon switched to picture books, because I’d… The post 4 Tips for Successfully Writing Picture Books appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

[Editing here to note that the HWA has removed this board member as of this afternoon. I’ll post the full text of that in the comments below.] Today I, and every other HWA member, received the HWA newsletter in our inboxes. In that newsletter was an essay (“essay”) of pro-AI propaganda that made a number

(And by “the demons,” I mean, my excellent merch designer, Jordan Shiveley.) So! The Calamities tour — henceforth known as the BEST FIENDS FOREVER tour — is gonna start kicking into gear in a couple weeks, with me hitting: Philly, NYC, Doylestown (for Dark Ink, baby), Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago-area, Milwaukee, Madison, Minneapolis, Denver, St.

A surprising number of first novels land on my desk as an editor that are written in omniscient point of view. I say surprising because I find it by far the most complicated POV to get right—and it has largely fallen out of favor. Contemporary readers tend to crave a more direct and immersive experience… The post Omniscient POV: Pitfalls and Best Practices appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

I shan’t dally in giving the aforementioned good news: hey, The Staircase in the Woods earned out its advance! This is, as noted, good news. Very good news, honestly. The writers who are reading this right now probably understand this good news implicitly, somewhere deep in the marrow of their bones — but casual readers

By Janice Hardy Novels don’t always have a happy hero at the core—but that doesn’t make the character any less “likable.” It’s ironic that there are so many terms in writing that aren’t clear exactly what they mean, or have multiple definitions or uses. “Likable” is one such term. All the advice says we want a likable protagonist readers can root for, someone they’ll want to hang out with for four hundred pages, and someone readers will connect with. But likable isn’t really the issue, and the word can be problematic. Back in 2013, I received a question from a writer struggling to make her depressed character “likable.” She also suffered from depression, and was worried readers wouldn’t want to live in the head of a depressed character. It wasn’t something “emotionally healthy folks are going to want to spend time with.” […]