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 fears, yearns for, and needs most of all. Set...

Fantasy is my first love, full stop.

You need to know this, because otherwise you might think I sound a bit cranky.

Many elements are in play in a well-written fantasy novel, but I’m going to focus on some potent DO-NOTs (the potentially cranky-sounding part). But trust me—avoiding the following pitfalls will strengthen your

Last month, I shared my tips for How to Use Scrivener (Without Anxiety). But as I mentioned in that post, the industry standard for publishing is Microsoft Wo...

Want to win editorial feedback
and take your story
from good to great?

Your character’s voice is the reader’s guide through your story. Readers hear your character in their head before they see them in their mind’s eye.

A well-developed character voice stays with...