Writing 101: Point of View Basics
Understanding point of view basics is essential for writing strong, emotionally resonant fiction, so this is a good topic to explore as part of our 101 series. The viewpoint you choose determines who tells the story, how much the reader knows, and how deeply they connect with the characters. From first-person to…
https://writershelpingwriters.net/2025/05/writing-101-point-of-view-basics/
Write a 5-Star Book 2
When I set out to write Book 2 in my Fountain series, I made the common mistake of thinking it would be easier than the first one, which took me more than four years to write. After all, I’d already created the world and gotten to know my characters inside and out. I knew what […]…
https://writershelpingwriters.net/2025/05/write-a-5-star-book-2/
#Backstory #ResidentWritingCoach #Series #Worldbuilding #WritingCraft
@indieauthors
The Art of Ambiguous Endings
When done right, an ambiguous ending becomes the part of your story that readers talk about long after the final page. When done wrong, it can be maddening, risking not only reader frustration but also the kind of backlash that leads people to abandon your work or even warn others away. So why do these kinds of…
https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/art-of-ambiguous-endings/
#ForAuthors #WritingCraft #ambiguity #bookendings #endingyourbook
@indieauthors
These gargoyles aren’t worried about explaining themselves to a human reader; they’re just trying to survive.
I wrote about Tara Campbell's fantastic CITY OF DANCING GARGOYLES and an opening that unsettles.
https://loft.org/writers-block-blog/city-dancing-gargoyles-and-decentering-humanity
#WritingCommunity #WritingConversations #ReadingLikeAWriter #Beginnings #DystopianSciFi #Fiction #Bookstodon #WritingCraft
My weekly roundup of #publishing news #writingcraft tips and #bookmarketing links is up. Is It Good Literature?
https://buff.ly/nnJbFYc
#writingcommunity
This month's blog, Never Stop Learning, is up on my website. In it, I discuss the value of learning beyond formal education and how I've used learning in my writing career.
#WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #WritingLife #NeverStopLearning #AuthorsOfMastodon #AuthorCommunity #WritingCraft #Blog
Build These Seven Growth Milestones into Your Character’s Arc
While there are many kinds of stories, most of them today are about a protagonist navigating a change or growth arc. In this model, the character undergoes a personal journey of evolution; they realize that their hurts, habits, or…
https://writershelpingwriters.net/2025/04/build-growth-milestones-into-your-characters-arc/
#CharacterArc #Characters #EmotionAmplifierThesaurus #WritingCraft #WritingLessons
@indieauthors
Mastering the Cliffhanger
More than just a plot device, cliffhangers are a strategic storytelling tool that can turn casual readers into devoted fans. Whether used at the end of a chapter or in the final lines of a book, a well-placed cliffhanger fuels momentum, builds anticipation, and drives series read-through. When used…
https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/mastering-the-cliffhanger/
#ForAuthors #WritingCraft #cliffhangers #craftingcliffhangers #hookingreaders
@indieauthors
Writing 101: Effective Dialogue Techniques
Welcome to the next post in our Writing 101 series. The first installment covered common mistakes with dialogue mechanics, which are important to master if you want to write clear conversations readers (and editors and agents) can easily follow. But well-written conversations require more than proper…
https://writershelpingwriters.net/2025/04/writing-101-effective-dialogue-techniques/
New newsletter is on its way! Sign up for Process & Product if you like writing-related joy, tips based in values of inclusion and self-kindness, and/or corgis. https://process-and-product.beehiiv.com/subscribe
@edibuddies, @writers, #Writing, #Editing, #WritingAdvice, #WritingCraft, #QueerWriters, #Romancelandia, #FictionWriting, #SelfPublishing, #InclusiveLanguage, #ConsciousLanguage
My weekly roundup of #publishing news #writingcraft tips and #bookmarketing links is up now on Substack.
https://open.substack.com/pub/maureencrisp/p/it-used-to-be-so-simple?r=8opd8&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
#writingcommunity
What Wicked Can Teach Authors About Adaptation
Many authors dream of seeing their books transformed into Broadway sensations or blockbuster films—but the journey from novel to script isn’t always smooth, or even successful. Even with industry interest, the adaptation process can be full of creative compromises, unexpected…
https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/what-wicked-teaches-about-adaptation/
#ForAuthors #WritingCraft #adaptation #adaptinganovel #adaptingforfilm
@indieauthors
Five Ways to Get Your Protagonist to Realize They’re the Problem
We’ve all heard the writing advice that we need to throw rocks at our protagonists. More obstacles, more tough choices, and more loss test them and force them to grow and change. This is all true and necessary. But one…
https://writershelpingwriters.net/2025/04/five-ways-to-get-your-protagonist-to-realize-theyre-the-problem/
#CharacterFlaws #Characters #ResidentWritingCoach #WritingCraft #WritingLessons
@indieauthors
Should Your Redeemed Villain Live or Die?
There’s something irresistible about watching a character we once hated fight their way back to redemption. But not all former villains get to ride off into the sunset. Often, they’re still sacrificed for the good of the story. But whether they live or die is not determined by flipping a coin. As an author, it’s your job to weigh…
https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/should-redeemed-villain-live-or-die/
How to Use Writing Prompts to “Unstick” Writer’s Block
By Savannah Cordova Stop me if you’ve heard this one: you’re at your desk, laptop or notebook open, hours stretching out before you… but you can’t seem to get the words down. You feel stuck, hopeless, and incapable of moving forward; in other words, you’ve got writer’s…
https://writershelpingwriters.net/2025/04/use-writing-prompts-to-unstick-writers-block/
#GuestPost #WritersAttitude #WritersBlock #WritingCraft
@indieauthors
Author Jules Horne on How Writers Can Use Deliberate Practice to Build Skills and Confidence https://selfpublishingadvice.org/deliberate-practice/ #deliberatepractice #writingtechniques #creativewriting #writingcraft #HowardLovy #JulesHorne #Mindset
Coincidentally, along these lines, from today's Rattle Poem of the Day.
Which -- well-versed in the folly of literary beef over 12-year-old hot takes? It struck me: It's not even just that I'm never *pretending* that a lot of my writing process is oblique or enigmatic.
It's that I *actively wouldn't be bothered to do it* if it wasn't. Why show up to the page without a healthy chance for surprises? That's the fun bit; I want to know what the surprises are.
We professionalize this shit to pretend to ourselves and others that we are the slightest bit in charge.
What the best first lines do via @PaulaSMunier @careerauthors.com
https://careerauthors.com/what-the-best-first-lines-do/
#AmWriting #WritingCraft #AmWritingFiction
Looking to expand your writing skills? Wanting to explore fantasy genre fiction? Check out our budget-friendly workshop ($35) and learn storytelling craft! #workshop #writers #writing #storytelling #writingcraft
March 29 at 6:30 pm CST
https://shorturl.at/SaXRi
ALT TEXT: MockingOwl Roost Writer's Workshop - Fantasy Storytelling Craft - image of dragon on meadow-like shoreline inside of massive ice cavern
