Angela Ackerman's Blog: Writers Helping Writers, page 41

Writers, Have You Watched This Free Webinar on Reader Engagement?

Hi lovely folks! We know that the clock is ticking down to the holidays, and it’s easy to lose track of everything, so Becca and I wanted to remind you about our gift to you: a free recorded webinar on how to leverage psychology & the show-don’t-tell mindset to hook readers & keep them engaged.

This 40-minute recording is packed with great takeaways, and gives you a window into how Becca and I think when it comes to characters, psychology, and making sure only the strongest details make it to the page. It will be available until January 8th, so we hope you get a moment before then to watch it!

Need a Last Minute Gift?

We hope you’ll consider one of our bestselling thesaurus guides, or a One Stop for Writers gift certificate. We love helping writers, and your support allows us to keep doing that, so thank you!

Strengthen Your Description for Stronger Characters & Scenes

Each guide focuses on a specific topic, educates you on how to best use it in your story, and provides you with brainstorming lists to help you describe it with authority. (To see a sample from each book, download our free Show-Don’t-Tell Pro Pack.)

Available in Print, Ebook, and PDF.

VISIT OUR BOOKSTORE Everything You Need to Create In One Place

Become a powerful storyteller with One Stop for Writers! Angela & Becca have built you the largest show-don’t-tell Thesaurus Database anywhere, intuitive tools to make story planning easier, a Storyteller’s Roadmap that guides you step-by-step as you plan, write, and revise, & much more.

Visit One Stop for Writers

The post Writers, Have You Watched This Free Webinar on Reader Engagement? appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS��.

Phenomenal First Pages Contest: Holiday Edition 2022

Hey, wonderful writerly people! It���s time for our monthly first-page critique contest..with a holiday twist!

We appreciate every one of you so much. We love seeing you win prizes and hope critiques like these help take your writing to the next level. But some people read our blog regularly, leave tons of contest comments, and haven’t won. That’s not fair! So our holiday gift is to choose three people who have participated the most, but haven’t won this past year.

Pssst…we plan to do this again in the future, so every contest comment counts (including this post).

We’re grateful for all of you and would love to give everyone a present. In case you missed it, here’s a gift from Angela and me: a webinar called Secrets to Engaging Readers. Enjoy!

The first page critique winners are…Becky
Kendra
Wendy

Congrats! Mindy will send you an e-mail with instructions to receive your first page critique from me.

We run this contest on a monthly basis and will be back to randomly selecting winners next month. If you���d like to be notified when the next opportunity comes around, consider subscribing to our blog (see the right-hand sidebar).��

You don’t want to miss the January contest! It has three HUGE prizes from a guest editor…including a peek at a synopsis (a rough synopsis is fine if you don’t have a polished one). This is great motivation to work on one.

Happy holidays! One of the best gifts we can give ourselves is celebrating our accomplishments. We often cheer for big milestones like selling a book, signing with an agent and winning awards–but we also need to celebrate items that are often overlooked. Finishing a manuscript. Having an ‘aha’ moment. Trying a new genre. Gaining new writing tools. They’re incredibly important, too.

We’d love to cheer on your 2022 successes in the comments.

PS: If you want to amp up your first page, grab our helpful First Pages checklist from One Stop for Writers. And for more instruction on these important opening elements, see this Mother Lode of First Page Resources.

The post Phenomenal First Pages Contest: Holiday Edition 2022 appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS��.

Fear Thesaurus Entry: Being Physically Touched

Debilitating fears are a problem for everyone, an unfortunate part of the human experience. Whether they’re a result of learned behavior as a child, are related to a mental health condition, or stem from a past wounding event, these fears influence a character’s behaviors, habits, beliefs, and personality traits. The compulsion to avoid what they fear will drive characters away from certain people, events, and situations and hold them back in life. 

In your story, this primary fear (or group of fears) will constantly challenge the goal the character is pursuing, tempting them to retreat, settle, and give up on what they want most. Because this fear must be addressed for them to achieve success, balance, and fulfillment, it plays a pivotal part in both character arc and the overall story.

This thesaurus explores the various fears that might be plaguing your character. Use it to understand and utilize fears to fully develop your characters and steer them through their story arc. Please note that this isn’t a self-diagnosis tool. Fears are common in the real world, and while we may at times share similar tendencies as characters, the entry below is for fiction writing purposes only.

Fear of Being Touched

Notes
While many people are sensitive to physical contact, an actual fear of being touched can lead to a host of difficulties. It can come about from a past trauma, learned experiences (through growing up in a family where touch was discouraged or punished), a physical sensitivity, or a mental health condition, to name just a few possible causes.

What It Looks Like
Backing away from handshakes, kisses, or other cultural greetings
Sticking to the fringes of crowds
Avoiding romantic relationships
Not eating certain foods due to their texture��
Not participating in contact sports, dancing, and other activities that require touch
Difficulty making new friends
Only being able to wear certain kinds of clothing that don’t chafe or irritate the skin
The character keeping their hands in their pockets
Flinching away from physical contact
Stiffening when hugged or patted
Being comfortable with touch from a select few people
Becoming irritated when they’re hugged or touched without consent
The character wearing a badge or sticker that tells people they’re not comfortable being hugged
Sticking close to people who know the character and respect their boundaries
Avoiding doctors and dentists

Common Internal Struggles
The character feeling uncomfortable when their personal space is invaded
Desiring sex or other forms of intimacy but being unable to endure the physical contact
Distrusting men or women (if this was part of a traumatizing event that spawned the fear)
Wishing they could be “normal” like other people
Wanting to attend a crowded event but being unable to do so
Feeling uncomfortable in their own skin
Struggling with shame or self-loathing because of their affliction

Flaws That May Emerge
Abrasive, Antisocial, Compulsive, Disrespectful, Fussy, Hostile, Obsessive, Tactless, Temperamental, Timid, Withdrawn

Hindrances and Disruptions to the Character’s Life
Having just a small circle of friends or loved ones
Having panic attacks at the thought of being touched sexually
Constantly feeling “othered” because people think the character is weird
Not being able to hug their children, parents, or other loved ones
Suffering through medical difficulties because the character won’t see a doctor
Being constantly misunderstood because others assume the character is standoffish or unfriendly
Enduring daily physical discomfort

Scenarios That Might Awaken This Fear
Getting into a relationship with someone whose love language is physical touch
Having to visit a doctor
Getting caught in a crowd
An unwanted sexual advance
Being attacked or assaulted
Another character becoming offended when their attempts at affection are rebuffed
Family members expecting a hug or kiss
Being given an opportunity that requires the character to step out of their physical comfort zone

Other Fear Thesaurus entries can be found here.

Need More Descriptive Help?

While this thesaurus is still being developed, the rest of our descriptive collection (16 unique thesauri and growing) is accessible through the One Stop for Writers THESAURUS database.

If you like, swing by and check out the video walkthrough for this site, and then give our Free Trial a spin.

The post Fear Thesaurus Entry: Being Physically Touched appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS��.

How to Use Real Life to Inspire Your Fiction

The memoir section in any book shop is made of writers who have done outlandish, shocking or terrible things (or had them done to them). These books are popular because those writers are the exception, rather than the standard.

Whilst it���s said real life is ���stranger than fiction���, the reality is most of us have pretty straightforward lives. Some may even declare their own lives ���boring���.

So how can we use real life to inspire our fiction? It turns out there���s plenty of ways ��� Check these out for size.

Think: Location

All of us have lived somewhere in our lives (perhaps many places!). This means we can utilize these locations to their best advantage in our fiction.

My latest novel, Kill for It, is set in Bristol, a city in the Southwest of England, UK. There were several reasons I chose Bristol ���

I know it very well. I���ve been visiting Bristol since I was a teen; my town is approximately forty-five minutes by train away. My adult son also lives there now. That means I know Bristol ���like the back of my hand��� (as people in the UK say!).Bristol is known for its culture. As the fourteenth biggest city in the UK, Bristol is very busy and cosmopolitan. It is known for its universities and colleges as well as its vibrant music scene, art and media. It is also the home of Banksy, the reclusive and renowned street artist, film director and activist.Bristol was in the news when I was starting my book. As I started outlining Kill For It, Bristol hit the worldwide headlines. The statue of the infamous slave trader Edward Colston was finally toppled by BLM protestors. (The statue had been subject to condemnation and multiple petitions for decades before Bristol residents took matters into their own hands. The statue is now in a museum).

The combination of these three things made me realize I could use Bristol in my novel. Early reviewers like the fact the novel is not set in London too for a change!

Think: Jobs

Most of us will have lots of work experience. This real-life experience may include (but is not limited to): full-time or part-time employment; white collar versus blue collar work; Saturday jobs as teenagers; volunteering at charitable organizations; internships or unpaid caring.

Having real life experience of a particular job can be a great way of adding authenticity to our fiction.

Kill For It is set in the world of investigative journalism. The story pits young and upcoming journalist Cat against veteran reporter Erin. Cat is tired of not getting ahead at work, so comes up with a sickening plan to (literally!) grab the headlines. The only one who can stop her is Erin, but in doing so she must put her own life at risk.

The book draws on my own experience as a junior reporter in the late 90s/00s. I wrote for a variety of publications and sites (though I didn���t kill anyone ��� promise!).

The 90s and early 00s was a weird time for journalism. It was the age of the ���dot com bubble��� as well as ���The Millennium Bug���. I was also one of the last people to train before the internet changed the face of news and content forever!

I���d always wanted to write a story set against such a backdrop, so it was a real pleasure to write.

There���s one note of caution, however: DON���T imagine everything in a job stays the same decade to decade, or even year to year! If you have not done the job for a long time, you will still need to do some research to ensure your information is up-to-date.

Think: Favorites

Thinking about what you enjoy reading or watching yourself in real life can really help you ���zero in��� on what you want to write in your own fiction.

Kill For It was inspired in part by Killing Eve, which I really enjoyed. I was lucky enough to interview Luke Jennings, author of the Killing Eve novellas, for LondonSWF365 in 2020.

He told me and the LSFers all about his work on the books and helping Phoebe Waller-Bridge with s1 of the acclaimed BBC TV series.

As an admirer of the psychopathic Villanelle, this lit the touchpaper in my imagination ��� so I was delighted when a beta reader proclaimed my antagonist Cat was ���Villanelle���s twisted little sister���!

In addition, one of my favorite movies is Dan Gilroy���s Nightcrawler (2014). In the film, Jake Gyllenhaal plays another psychopath: Louis Bloom, a con man desperate for work. He manages to muscle his way into the world of LA crime journalism where he blurs the line between reality on the stories he is reporting on.

Whilst Cat���s journey is different, the seed of the story is similar. In attempting to smash the glass ceiling, Cat will plumb depths no decent human should ever go to.

Think: Personal

As writers, we all have personal experiences and opinions. We may even have started writing BECAUSE we feel the need to talk about such things.

One reason I write crime fiction is because Agatha Christie ��� the bestselling author of all time! – is a real ���shero��� of mine. Even better, she even comes from Devon, where I live too.

When I was growing up in the 80s and 90s however, movies, TV shows and books most often featured male protagonists. This annoyed me as a young girl and I remember thinking I would write female protagonists if I became a professional writer.

In addition, I was a teenage mother. Because of this, I discovered very quickly that the notion ���women can have it all��� ��� motherhood AND a career ��� was a lie. Even though I had great grades and a university degree, because I had a baby first it was extremely difficult to even get a job.

So, as a mother for over half my life now, I know how hard it is for women to juggle work and their responsibilities ��� Even when we manage it, it���s frequently held against us. After all, men STILL don���t get asked about their families or caring commitments like we do! I wanted to draw on this personal experience in KILL FOR IT.

That said, men are not the enemy in the book. KILL FOR IT takes aim at the system, not men. Whilst there���s at least one male character who is THE ABSOLUTE WORST, the point is not that men *as a whole* suck. Even female characters who don���t try and smash the system will lose their conscience and their humanity.

Of course, you may not have very strong feelings and opinions about a specific issue like I have. Other personal things you could mine for inspiration could include (but are not limited to):

Fears

Most of us have fears, or even outright phobias. They may relate to specific childhood traumas or anxieties, or they may be difficult to understand. These fears may be universal, or they may be very niche.

Secrets��

Secrets can be potent in storytelling. Most of us have them, so thinking about them can help us inform characters��� motivations in particular.

Moments you wish you could change

Regrets are common, especially if we did not act like our best self. However, even just wishing something unavoidable hadn���t happened can be good inspiration for our stories.

Favorite memories��

And to the other end of the scale ��� just as we might wish things could have been different, there will be perfect moments in our lives that can act as story fuel, too.

Summing Up

So, don���t worry if your own real-life experiences are straightforward or even ���boring���. Chances are, you have plenty of lived experience you can use in your fiction to give it added authenticity and bite. Good luck!

The post How to Use Real Life to Inspire Your Fiction appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS��.

���No, Don���t Tell Me���: How & When Should We Use Foreshadowing?

Foreshadowing is a literary technique we can use in our stories that gives a preview or hint of events that will happen later. While many might think of foreshadowing for mysteries, this literary device can be used in any genre.

In fact,��most��stories��need��foreshadowing of some type to keep readers interested��in what���s going to happen. That said, foreshadowing requires a��balance. When used poorly, foreshadowing can make our story feel boring or predictable, but when foreshadowing is used well, readers will find our story��more��satisfying.

How Can Foreshadowing Make Stories More Satisfying?

While most aspects of writing contribute to readers��� sense of whether our writing is ���strong,��� foreshadowing helps create readers��� sense of whether we and/or our story have a plan, whether we���re going to take them on a worthwhile journey. In other words, foreshadowing can help create the sense that every element of the story has a purpose, that it���s all leading to a purposeful destination.

Hints of future story elements���even ones that just register with readers subconsciously���make story events fit into a sense of a bigger picture. While unexpected twists can make a story fun and avoid the feeling of being too predictable, foreshadowing can help a story hit the sweet spot of feeling inevitable-yet-surprising.

For example, imagine a final dilemma where a character faces a choice between two options illustrating the tug-of-war between aspects of their personality. If the story concludes with an unexpected twist as the character lands on a third option, the ending could feel like a cheat or an out-of-character decision ��� or it could feel like a brilliant way to resolve the story.

The difference between those reactions often comes down to whether the third option was foreshadowed at all, even in the most subtle, subconscious-registering way. A subtle foreshadowing can ensure that twist doesn���t feel like a cheat or out of character, and instead make it feel like the resolution was the point of the journey, adding to the sense of strong���and satisfying���storytelling.

Types of Foreshadowing

That said, before we can use foreshadowing effectively and find the right balance between leading readers along the storytelling journey and ���spoiling��� events, we need to understand more about foreshadowing as a writing technique. Different types of foreshadowing will fit our story at different times.

Some foreshadowing is direct and tells readers where the story is going. Other foreshadowing is more about subtle hints that are so indirect as to often be recognized only in hindsight.

Examples of Direct Foreshadowingmention of a future eventshow characters worrying about what might happena character declares that something won���t be a problem, which often hints to readers that the character will be proven wrong latershow or allude to tension that readers figure will eventually have to snapa prophecy of what the future will bringIf we���re writing in normal past tense rather than the default literary past tense, we can directly say what���s to come, such as: He didn���t know it yet, but that would be his last night at home.a flash-forward (often in a prologue or preface) showing events to comemention of emotions or thoughts of what a character longs for (even subconsciously), clueing readers into what their internal arc or internal goal will be

Direct foreshadowing tells readers the what, but readers still read to learn the how.

Examples of Indirect Foreshadowingshow a lower-stakes version of the final conflict early, hinting at how the situation will play out latershow a prop or character skill in action earlier that will be important for the success of the final conflict (depending on how obvious the earlier incidence is, this type of pre-scene might be more direct than indirect)show a threatening object, hinting that it will eventually be used (i.e., Chekhov���s Gun) (depending on how obvious the appearance is���background vs. close up, etc.���we might consider this a direct technique rather than an indirect example)allude to something in a throwaway phrase, often burying the detail in the middle of a sentence and/or paragraph, letting readers skim over and forget about the hinttoss out a seemingly normal statement that will resonate with more meaning in future events lateruse similes or metaphors to hint at hidden traits or situationsshow a suspicious event, but have the viewpoint character believably decide there���s an innocuous reason, so readers don���t know the character assumed incorrectly until lateruse symbolism, such as how crows and ravens around a character often foreshadow their death or how weather often symbolizes a coming changeuse imagery and settings to create a certain mood appropriate to the later story, such as dread or creepiness

Indirect foreshadowing uses subtlety, subtext, and/or misdirection to hide the story���s future, with the truth becoming clear only in hindsight.

3 Tips for How & When to Use ForeshadowingTip #1: Usually, Foreshadowing Should Be Avoided When���we���ve already foreshadowed the event, as we don���t want elements to feel repetitivethe event is unimportant, as the payoff won���t be worth the setup (exception: using it for non-anticipatory reasons, such as the setup and payoff of humorous details)we���ve already foreshadowed related events, as readers don���t want to know how everything will play outTip #2: Direct Foreshadowing Can Be Beneficial When It���establishes reader expectations, as meeting reader expectations makes our story more satisfyingmakes events seem credible, as by establishing the possibility, readers will be prepared to accept the eventsuses foreshadowed motivations to make characters seem more logical, as they���ll seem less like puppets to the plotincreases a story���s sense of foreboding, tension, or suspense, as readers might not know what exactly is going to happen, but they know it���s going to be badincreases a story���s sense of anticipation, as readers will want to know what happensmakes readers more invested, as they try to guess how the story will play outhelps us delay events until best for the story and reader anticipation, while still letting readers know that more interesting stuff is coming in the story soonmakes readers feel like they have a relationship with author-us, as readers interact with our writing to guess outcomesTip #3: Indirect Foreshadowing Can Be Beneficial When It���gives readers a sense of closure or gives our story the feeling of tying up loose endscreates a sense of the story being deliberately woven together with a surprising-yet-inevitable endingmakes readers feel more satisfied, like seeing the final piece of a puzzle fit and finally glimpsing the bigger pictureprovides a richer experience for readers by creating layers and parallelsavoids making the ending feel contrived or solved by waving a Deus Ex Machina wand, and instead makes events feel natural to the storygives readers the satisfying feeling of ���Wow! I can���t believe I didn���t see that coming��� rather than the angry or betrayed feeling of ���WTF? That came out of nowhere���increases emotions, such as making a tragedy more tragic by having the character (and reader) realize the tragedy could have been prevented if only they���d known earlier how X was significantprevents readers��� frustration when they���re purposely kept in the dark with lies, instead making them think they could have guessed with truths that are simply hidden.gives repeat readers something new to enjoy, as they put together new connections on a rereadUse Foreshadowing, but With Purpose

Whether we���re using direct or indirect foreshadowing, the idea is to set up details, events, and concepts in our story that we later pay off with consequences, growth, change, etc.

Foreshadowing���setups and payoffs���creates echoes in our story that make our story feel more crafted, more purposeful, more deliberate, and more confident. All of that makes our story feel more meaningful to readers���and thus more satisfying. *smile*

Have you read stories with foreshadowing? Did the technique work for you (and why or why not)? Have you written stories with foreshadowing, or have you struggled to know how to use it (or find the right balance)? Can you think of other situations when foreshadowing would be beneficial or harmful? Do you have any questions about foreshadowing?

The post ���No, Don���t Tell Me���: How & When Should We Use Foreshadowing? appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS��.

Fear Thesaurus Entry: Being Returned to an Abusive Environment

Debilitating fears are a problem for everyone, an unfortunate part of the human experience. Whether they’re a result of learned behavior as a child, are related to a mental health condition, or stem from a past wounding event, these fears influence a character’s behaviors, habits, beliefs, and personality traits. The compulsion to avoid what they fear will drive characters away from certain people, events, and situations and hold them back in life. 

In your story, this primary fear (or group of fears) will constantly challenge the goal the character is pursuing, tempting them to retreat, settle, and give up on what they want most. Because this fear must be addressed for them to achieve success, balance, and fulfillment, it plays a pivotal part in both character arc and the overall story.

This thesaurus explores the various fears that might be plaguing your character. Use it to understand and utilize fears to fully develop your characters and steer them through their story arc. Please note that this isn’t a self-diagnosis tool. Fears are common in the real world, and while we may at times share similar tendencies as characters, the entry below is for fiction writing purposes only.

Fear of Being Returned to an Abusive Environment

Notes
A character who has escaped an abusive environment, whether as a child or an adult, and is determined to remain free will do anything to avoid going back to it. A fear of returning���voluntarily or against their will���to this place will trigger a host of physical, mental, and emotional reactions for the character, even if the event is unlikely to happen.

What It Looks Like
Becoming physically ill (nausea, headaches, stomachaches, hair loss, rashes, etc.)��
The character pleading their case to anyone who will listen
Threatening to harm themselves if they’re forced to go back
The character becoming desperately eager to please their current caregivers (to stay in their good graces)
Suffering from PTSD
Taking drugs or using alcohol to manage the fear��
Having nightmares about the environment or the abusive people there��
Pulling away from everyone
Becoming hypervigilant (watching for the abuser, whoever would bring news that the character has to go back, etc.)
Carrying a weapon
Becoming obsessed with self-defense
Creating an escape plan in case they’re forced to return
Hoarding money, travel supplies, and food so they can leave quickly if needed
Running away��

Common Internal Struggles
Having mixed feelings toward the abuser (especially if that person is a family member)
Trying and failing to stop thinking about abusive episodes
Wanting to fight the system that would return them to the abuser but feeling powerless to do so
Fantasizing about neutralizing the abuser
Feeling paranoid that the abuser or someone in his employ is watching the character
Feeling as if they will never be truly free
Struggling with suicidal thoughts

Flaws That May Emerge
Abrasive, Addictive, Antisocial, Confrontational, Cruel, Cynical, Defensive, Devious, Dishonest, Evil, Hostile, Insecure, Irrational, Rebellious, Reckless, Resentful, Self-Destructive, Temperamental, Violent, Volatile, Withdrawn

Hindrances and Disruptions to the Character’s Life
Avoiding romance to keep from falling into another abusive relationship
Becoming addicted to alcohol or drugs��
Insomnia impacting the character’s work or school performance
Being unable to trust the social systems or people who should protect the character
The character becoming homebound to avoid their abuser��
Having to move frequently to avoid the abuser or the people who would return the character to them
Difficulty building deep relationships with others because of an ongoing threat of being returned to the abuser (why bother making friends if you’re going to have to leave them?)

Scenarios That Might Awaken This Fear
Being contacted by the abuser��
Suspecting that a friend is being abused
Watching a TV show or movie where someone is forced back into living with their abuser
Having to confront the abuser in court
Seeing the abuser in a social situation (at a family reunion, wedding, etc.)
Being told by loved ones or friends that the character is overreacting to the situation���that the abuse didn’t happen, they should give the abuser another chance, etc.

Other Fear Thesaurus entries can be found here.

Need More Descriptive Help?

While this thesaurus is still being developed, the rest of our descriptive collection (16 unique thesauri and growing) is accessible through the One Stop for Writers THESAURUS database.

If you like, swing by and check out the video walkthrough for this site, and then give our Free Trial a spin.

The post Fear Thesaurus Entry: Being Returned to an Abusive Environment appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS��.

A Gift for You: Secrets to Engaging Readers (Webinar Recording)

This time of year, we usually host a spectacular giveaway called Advent Calendar for Writers, and you may have noticed it’s missing this go-around.

I’ll be honest – life’s been hectic. Both my boys had weddings this October (so awesome!), but then a house move and my husband’s major surgery followed (he’s recovering well, thank goodness!). Needless to say, my mental tank is pretty low, so we made the call to skip Advent this year.

But are we skipping the gift-giving? Heck, no!

If you’re interested in how to hack a reader’s brain using psychology and would like to know how a show-don’t-tell mindset steers you to opportunities to do more with your description, then this free webinar is for you!

Unfortunately because of some technical difficulties, it’s just me yammering away, but Becca’s there in spirit. We hope you find this dip into our process helpful, and that you walk away with ideas on how our thesauruses can help you write stronger characters and scenes. So, have a watch, and enjoy:

Psst! This is a limited time webinar, so make sure to view the recording before January 8th. Happy holidays!

The post A Gift for You: Secrets to Engaging Readers (Webinar Recording) appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS��.

A Gift from Us: Secrets to Engaging Readers (Webinar Recording)

This time of year, we usually host a spectacular giveaway called Advent Calendar for Writers, and you may have noticed it’s missing this go-around.

I’ll be honest – life’s been hectic. Both my boys had weddings this October (so awesome!), but then a house move and my husband’s major surgery followed (he’s recovering well, thank goodness!). Needless to say, my mental tank is pretty low, so we made the call to skip Advent this year.

But are we skipping the gift-giving? Heck, no!

If you’re interested in how to hack a reader’s brain using psychology and would like to know how a show-don’t-tell mindset steers you to opportunities to do more with your description, then this free webinar is for you!

Unfortunately because of some technical difficulties, it’s just me yammering away, but Becca’s there in spirit. We hope you find this dip into our process helpful, and that you walk away with ideas on how our thesauruses can help you write stronger characters and scenes. So, have a watch, and enjoy:

Psst! This is a limited time webinar, so make sure to view the recording before January 8th. Happy holidays!

The post A Gift from Us: Secrets to Engaging Readers (Webinar Recording) appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS��.

A Gift from Us: Secrets to Engaging Readers (Webinar)

This time of year, we usually host a spectacular giveaway called Advent Calendar for Writers, and you may have noticed it’s missing this go-around.

I’ll be honest – life’s been hectic. Both my boys had weddings this October (so awesome!), but then a house move and my husband’s major surgery followed (he’s recovering well, thank goodness!). Needless to say, my mental tank is pretty low, so we made the call to skip Advent this year.

But are we skipping the gift-giving? Heck, no!

If you’re interested in how to hack a reader’s brain using psychology and would like to know how a show-don’t-tell mindset steers you to opportunities to do more with your description, then this free webinar is for you!

Unfortunately because of some technical difficulties, it’s just me yammering away, but Becca’s there in spirit. We hope you find this dip into our process helpful, and that you walk away with ideas on how our thesauruses can help you write stronger characters and scenes. So, have a watch, and enjoy:

Psst! This is a limited time webinar, so make sure to view it before January 8th, and happy holidays!

The post A Gift from Us: Secrets to Engaging Readers (Webinar) appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS��.

3 Action-Reaction Misfires That Flatten Your Writing

Cause and effect. Stimulus and response. Action and reaction. Everything in a story depends on what the characters do about whatever the story pushes them up against.

Stiff, disconnected, or missing character reactions snap the chain of cause and effect that constitutes your story. When readers can no longer see how and why the characters are doing what they���re doing, they lose the thread.

Let���s talk about the three most common action ���reaction misfires I see in manuscripts.

1. Missing or insufficient reactions
2. Jumbled responses
3. Purposely obscured stimuli

Missing or Insufficient Reactions

When characters fail to react to what���s happening around them, it’s as if nothing is happening at all. A snappy line of dialogue goes nowhere if it doesn���t get under someone���s skin. The first glimpse of a long-sought clue builds no excitement if nobody notices it. A punch in the nose might as well not have landed if it doesn���t start or end a disagreement.

When characters don���t react to the conversations and events around them, readers will assume they don���t care. If the characters don’t care, why should readers?

Keeping your characters engaged in the story keeps readers engaged with it too. When writing viewpoint characters, you have access to both internal and external responses. For other characters, you���re limited to whatever visible manifestations of those responses that the viewpoint character or narrator can perceive.

Internal Responses

All but the last type of internal response, thought, are involuntary reactions.

1. Involuntary sensations���These include physical sensations such as feeling a lump in the throat or a stomach full of butterflies.

2. Reflex reactions���These are the so-called knee-jerk reactions, such as jerking away from the source of pain.

3. Emotions���Before you can reveal emotions using any of these reaction modes, you as the writer must know what the emotion or blend of emotions actually is.

4. Thoughts���What���s the uncensored commentary running in the privacy of the character���s mind?

External Responses

These responses are conscious, voluntary reactions.

1. Voluntary action���These range from small-scale gestures (fist-pumping with glee) to story-moving choices (drawing a sword and attacking the duke).

2. Dialogue������We���ve never done it that way before���I don���t think it works like that,��� or ���I think I���m falling in love with you.���

Pro tip: Calibrate the number and scope of the responses to the significance of the stimulus. Dropping your keys on the floor merits a much smaller reaction than dropping your phone overboard into the sea. The more significant the stimulus, the more responses you can layer in. Tune with care. Over- or undercalibration makes the writing seem either melodramatic or flat.

Jumbled Responses

Almost as confusing to readers as a character who fails to react is a jumbled reaction that pulls the logical order of stimulus���response out of whack.

He scrabbled away from the roiling heap in which he���d landed. ���Get them off, get them off!���

It was ants���enraged, mandible-clacking ants, streaming over every inch of exposed skin. His whole frame jerked spasmodically, and a lacy net of agony cinched around his legs.

In this example, the hapless adventurer reacts by leaping away and shouting before readers even know there���s a problem. The narrator must loop back to explain (It was ants) and fill in the details. That���s not a dramatization of what���s happening (showing); it���s an explanation after the fact (telling).

Stimulus and response follows a predictable physiological pattern of perception and reaction. As a general rule of thumb, involuntary reactions come first. Next comes thought, as the character processes what���s happening. Finally, the character voluntarily and consciously reacts through action and dialogue.

STIMULUS���Our ill-fated adventurer tumbles into an ant hill.

1. INTERNAL RESPONSE���Sensation (involuntary): A lacy net of agony cinched around his legs.

2. INTERNAL RESPONSE���Reflex (involuntary): His whole frame jerked spasmodically ���

3. INTERNAL RESPONSE���Thought (voluntary): It was ants���enraged, mandible-clacking ants, streaming over every inch of exposed skin.

4. INTERNAL RESPONSE���Emotion (involuntary): Panic. You have a small window of creative leeway here. You could position this involuntary emotion after the voluntary thought in which he concludes that he���s covered in ants, or you could show him panicked by the sheer onslaught of physical reactions.

5. EXTERNAL RESPONSE���Action (voluntary): He scrabbled away from the roiling heap in which he���d landed. The order of these last voluntary actions is your call; your hero might shout first, then scrabble.

6. EXTERNAL RESPONSE���Dialogue (voluntary): ���Get them off, get them off!���

Poor guy.

Here���s how the passage would read if the scene were written following a physiologically logical order of reactions. You may give him an extra voluntary action (He peered down) in reaction to the pain, which allows him to reach the conclusion that inspires his next move.

A lacy net of agony cinched around his leg, and his whole frame jerked spasmodically. He peered down: Ants. Enraged, mandible-clacking ants, streaming over every inch of exposed skin.

He scrabbled away from the roiling heap in which he���d landed. ���Get them off, get them off!���

Purposely Obscured Stimuli

When you���re straining to create suspense, it���s easy to fall into withholding information���what I call Mysterioso Syndrome, the refusal to show readers what the characters are already clearly reacting to. This heavy-handed technique attempts to build dramatic tension by hiding or failing to identify the stimulus.

Let���s go back to the original, jumbled account of our hero���s tumble into the ant hill.

He scrabbled away from the roiling heap in which he���d landed. ���Get them off, get them off!���

It was ants���enraged, mandible-clacking ants, streaming over every inch of exposed skin. His whole frame jerked spasmodically, and a lacy net of agony cinched around his legs.

If the first paragraph were the end of the chapter, this dash of confusion could add a zing of cliffhanger-ish suspense.

But in the middle of a scene, refusing to let readers see what���s making our adventurer scrabble and shout momentarily puts the story on hold. It forces readers to wait for you to finish your clever little wait-for-it moment and get out of the way so that they, too, can see whatever the character���s in such a twist about.

Take heed: Modern readers want to see the story for themselves, not be left idling in the margins while you parse out explanations one crumb at a time. Let readers into the story: Cause, then effect. Stimulus, then response. Action, then reaction.

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