Writer's Secret Weapon: Reference Guide

by Cheyenne McCray, H. D. Thomson

At some point all of us find ourselves staring at a page, needing some idea sparker to help us move forward. Maybe it’s an unusual pet’s name, or a career in a particular field, or the right type of weapon for a scene. Maybe you’re struggling with finding the right character goal or motivation, ideas for adding in the five senses, or your character’s physical description. Along with useful tips for all fiction writers, you’ll find lists of quick ideas for story components to keep you going throughout the process—whether you’re just starting your outline, putting together the character biographies, in the middle of your novel, trying to meet a deadline, or stuck with writer’s block. Writer’s Secret Weapon presents quick ideas to get you going in a number of areas. While we all know how to Google, it’s harder to come by fast and easy rules. This guide saves you hours of searching, especially when you don’t know where to start. Discover the kind of information new and veteran authors need at every stage of their career!

370 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2020

About the author

Cheyenne McCray fell in love with reading and writing early, deciding in kindergarten that one day she would become an author. Today, she is an award-winning New York Times and USA Today bestselling fiction author who’s sold millions of books worldwide. Having published more than 100 novels and novellas in contemporary and paranormal romance, urban fantasy and romantic suspense, she is now also writing cozy mysteries as Deb Ries.

Chey grew up on a ranch in southeastern Arizona and delights in creating stories of suspense, love, and redemption with characters and worlds her readers can get lost in. Chey and her equally geeky husband live with their two dogs, six ducks (the neighborhood celebrities), and a small flock of chickens in a small Arizona town where she enjoys gardening, crazy quilting and, of course, writing.

Find out more about Chey, how to contact her, and her books at https://cheyennemccray.com.

Reviews

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an aspiring writer myself, I understand what it is like when no matter how hard you try, the words necessary to create that masterpiece fail to materialize on the page. I’ve tried magic, praying to the gods, and even dabbling a little in Scientology (Damn you, Tom Cruise), but to no avail!

That was until I encountered The Writers Secret Weapon. No longer will I sit staring at the blank page with my tear stained face and my pint of Ben and Jerry’s. I am now the master of Scrivener, and the words bend to my will.

In all seriousness, this book has been especially helpful. It is obviously well researched and informative. I love descriptive imagery, and I try hard to incorporate beauty into my writing and the examples provided in this book will greatly aid my development in this area. One thing in regards to imagery, Organic Imagery, i was unaware of. This book not only taught me about organic imagery, but provided me numerous examples of it. Organic imagery really helps with bringing your characters alive, to make them seem like real people, and this was something I had never stopped to think about. This was just within the first section of the book!

This book will be a great addition to my toolbox, and I look forward to the stories I will come up with because of it.

[Joanna E.Lopez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I confess the main reason I selected this book to review is I was suffering from terrible writer’s block. I was empty. I couldn't find inspiration to write. It is when I read this reference book when I learned how to get through it and be inspired by organizing your writer’s life. This book provides ideas for all types of fiction, Non-fiction, sensory descriptions; even how to name your characters. It also provides an editing checklist which helped me tremendously. It is also a super Thesaurus. Lol. This book is very thorough. This is a great book for seasoned and new writers. I leave it on my desk as a reference every time I write. I am so glad I found these writers and would recommend this book to anyone. I received a complimentary copy of this book from HIDDEN GEMS. I leave this review voluntarily, and my thoughts are all my own.

[Cathy McDavid · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been writing a while now. More than twenty years now. There are times I think I know everything and times, like when I read Writer's Secret Weapon: Reference Guide, that I realize just how much I don't know and how much more I can learn. Co-authors McCray and Thomson present hands-on writing tools in a fresh way that kept my attention (no skimming like with a lot of reference books I've read) and, most importantly, gave me something to think about. I will return to this reference guide again and again to pluck another gem.

Note: I was given a copy of Writer's Secret Weapon: Reference Guide for solely review purposes with no expectations in return. All opinions are strictly my own.

[Peggy Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an invaluable tools for writers. It put great ideas at your fingertips to help you add flu and favor to your prose. Keep it handy to help you. There a vast list of different topics to fire you up and be an inspiration as write your best seller.

[Jamie Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writing Inspiration at Your Fingertips

I have dabbled with writing fiction for over 30 years, though I have never felt confident enough to publish it. I absolutely adored this book. Digitally skimming through it certainly got my creative juices going. You can even use certain sections for brief writing prompts as well as in a longer work. This book is chock-full of lists that brim with ideas that could be added to many types of fiction writing. The authors also include a brief intro section before the lists that details what it means, why it is important, and what you should consider; they have other tip sections as well. As a part-time freelance editor and proofreader, I appreciated the section on editing your own work. I always have my clients do that before I'll work with a manuscript. If you are a fiction writer, you will find much of value here, whether it's the writing expertise shown by the authors or their ideas that will spark your own creativity.

I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.

My book blog: https://www.readingfanaticreviews.com

[Amber Christiansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great writing resource. It has loads of information and lists that will come in handy. Ideas range across every subject I can think of that deals with what is written in fiction: names, jobs, motivations, sensory description, and way more. There is even a checklist for editing. Some of the lists were a little short, which is why I wish this was available in an editable format like a Scrivener file or a Google sheet so I could add in my own ideas in the categories as I think of them

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review, but my opinions are my own.

[Carol Shaughnessy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for new and seasoned writers. There are hints and tips, lists and a large assortment of categories to help a writer wherever they may have gotten stuck in a manuscript. The authors are writers and offer advice from their own desk chairs and I like that. We have all gotten to the what next stage and sat staring at the blinking cursor, waiting for a sign. I'll get this resource in physical form because I can see me using it, loaning it, pointing out things from it until my writer friends buy their own. This is a nice addition to the writers reference section. Thank you!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[K.T. Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great reference guide!! This book is something every writer needs in their collection of work tools for those times when the words just won't come to you. THIS is that book. It's like none other in that it gives you more than what you'd expect. Broken into categories, it's chockful of information from descriptive sentences to lists of ethnic foods to names of animals, etc, you name it, this book has it. Having a reference guide, like this makes our work that much easier. I highly recommend this book to every writer no matter where you are in your writing career. It's that good!

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

looking to write and not sure where to go. this is a very useful book to have by the side to help you when you hit a road block.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.