Has an editor or critique partner said, “Your character is flat” when offering feedback on your story? Or perhaps they worded it another way: “Your protagonist didn’t grab me,” or “This character needs more depth.”

However it’s phrased, being told we’ve missed the mark on a character is a bit of a gut punch. But it’s okay. Flat characters, like anything else, can be fixed.  

A flat character is one-dimensional, lacking the depth and human complexity required to feel true to life. Not only do they seem unrealistic, they also fail to capture a reader’s curiosity or interest.

Flat characters can be written as such on purpose: a surly shopkeeper unwilling to bargain on price or the nosy neighbor trying to unearth your protagonist’s secrets. These types of characters have a small role or specific function (comic relief, mentorship, etc.) and don’t need a lot of depth.

But if an important character is seen as
shallow or boring…we have a big problem.

Characters are the heart of a story. For readers to care about them, they must feel like real people. Distinct personalities, belief systems, emotions, and histories shape them and their behavior. Personal needs, desires, struggles, and worldviews give them depth. All this, and a capacity for growth, is the magic recipe that will draw a reader in. 

What Causes a Flat Character?

Characters can feel underdeveloped for many reasons, but it often comes down to one thing: something essential about them has been overlooked. Some common offenders:

Shallow Backstory

A character’s past influences who they become, how they behave, and how they view the world around them. If a character’s backstory is missing, weak, or generic, their behavior may lack credibility or be inconsistent.

The Cure: Go deeper. Explore their past, including their emotional wounds, experiences, life lessons, fears, and insecurities.

Tools to Fix Backstory Issues: The Emotional Wound Thesaurus and One Stop for Writers’ Character Builder Tool.

A Too-Basic Personality

A character’s personality should contain specific traits that emerge because of their history/upbringing, the people who influenced them, and formative their life experiences, both good and bad. When writers gloss over the building out of a unique personality, they tend to give character ‘typical’ traits and so they come across as generic and unrealistic.

The Cure: People are complex, and characters will be, too. Spend time thinking about who your character is and why, and the traits most likely to appear in their personality. Be sure to also understand how negative experiences lead to personality flaws (and the behaviors and tendencies that go with them). Each character should have a mix of traits as no one is ever all good or bad.  

Tools to Fix Personality Issues: The Positive Trait Thesaurus, The Negative Trait Thesaurus, and One Stop for Writers’ Character Builder Tool.

Over-Reliance on Character Tropes or Stereotypes

Due to their familiarity, using character tropes (e.g., the villain, reluctant hero, or absent-minded friend) can fast-track the reader’s understanding of a character’s role. But leaning on one too hard turns them into a stereotype or cliché, which is a huge turnoff.

The Cure: Use any trope generalizations as a starting point only. Do the work and make each character someone fresh. Readers loved to be surprised by interesting and meaningful qualities that elevate the character in ways they didn’t expect.

Tools to Help Fix Overused Character Types: The Character Trope and Type Thesaurus or One Stop for Writers’ Character Builder Tool.

Tunnel Vision

Characters who are only about one thing—the mission or goal, proving loyalty, success, etc.—come across as one-dimensional and unrealistic. For readers to connect with characters, they need to have relatable life layers. Relationships and social interactions. Dreams and desires. Responsibilities. Quirks, interests, problems.

The Cure: Real people can get obsessive about certain things, but they have other things going on. To give your character a better balance, imagine their entire life, not just the plot of your story. Explore how your character’s professional life or obsessions may collide with their personal life.

Tools to Help You Create Dynamic Characters: One Stop for Writers’ Character Builder Tool and The Occupation Thesaurus.

A Lack of Drive

In the real world, it can take time for us to know what we want, but in fiction, characters must be motivated and act. If your protagonist is wishy-washy about what they want or can’t settle on a goal, they’ll come off as weak.

The Cure: Characters who lack urgency when it comes to choosing or achieving a goal need to be put in the hot seat. Raise the stakes. Add conflict and tension. Make it clear that doing nothing leads only to pain and consequences. Additionally, know your character inside and out (#1) because past trauma, fears, and negative interactions will point you to their soft spots and unmet needs.

Tools to Fix Unmotivated Characters: The Emotional Wound Thesaurus, The Conflict Thesaurus Volume 1, Volume 2, and The Emotion Amplifier Thesaurus.

Distanced Emotions

Showing a character’s emotion, even when they’re trying to hide what they feel, is one of the most important tasks a writer has. Emotions are central to the human experience, and readers expect a front-row seat to whatever the character is feeling. When someone is closed off or seems imperviable to vulnerability, readers find it unrealistic.

The Cure: Become an expert at showing your character’s emotions, even when they try to hide what they feel from others. Readers must always be in the loop to empathize and feel invested. Understand how each individual will express emotion in their own way based on their personality, comfort zone, and backstory.

Tools to Help You Show Authentic Character Emotion: The Emotion Thesaurus, The Emotion Amplifier Thesaurus, and The Emotional Wound Thesaurus.

Inadequate Internal Conflict

A well-developed character should have inner struggles, doubts, conflicting needs, fears, and insecurities, all of which make certain actions and decisions agonizing for them. If a writer doesn’t know a character well enough, their struggles will seem generic and readers will feel disconnected from their struggles.

The Cure: Understand your character inside and out, especially backstory and unresolved wounds that haunt them (#1). Know their life, their stresses, their pain, and how loyalty, expectations, or beliefs may tear at them so you can show powerful, meaningful inner conflict. Use psychology in fiction to show inner turmoil in ways readers recognize as they’ve experienced the same tendencies themselves.  

Tools to Help You Show Internal Conflict and Psychological Processes: The Emotional Wound Thesaurus, The Conflict Thesaurus, Volume 1, and The Emotion Amplifier Thesaurus.

Little to No Growth or Change  

In any story, characters will face challenges—often life-changing ones. Even in a flat arc, where the protagonist remains steadfast in their beliefs, they should still learn, adapt, and navigate obstacles in a way that feels authentic. Primary characters who respond to every problem the same way, repeat mistakes without growth, or remain rigid in their viewpoints can feel unrealistic and unconvincing to readers.

The Cure: All roads lead back to characterization. Go deeper. Get to know your character, and why they think, act, and behave as they do. Choose specific conflict scenarios that force them to confront misconceptions and fears that lead to change and growth.

Tools to Help You Write About Change and Growth: For growth journeys and the path of change, try The Emotional Wound Thesaurus. The Conflict Thesaurus Volumes 1 and Volume 2 are packed with help to craft powerful conflict that will strengthen and support character arc. The Character Builder Tool will take all your character-building information and create a character arc blueprint for you.

You can fix a flat character. It’s worth the effort because once readers bind themselves emotionally to a character, they’re hooked. If you’re lucky, they’ll enjoy your characters so much they’ll seek out your next book, too!

READ NEXT: How to Write a Protagonist with True Depth

ANGELA ACKERMAN

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

The post How to Avoid Flat Characters in Your Story appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

Conflict is a powerful tool for storytellers, allowing us to place roadblocks, challenges, adversaries and more in a character’s way so the road to their goal is much more difficult. Deployed well, conflict creates tension and intensity for reader, capturing their attention for the length of the book.

So what does deployed well mean?

For conflict to have a strong foundation, we need to focus on three things. First, readers need to feel connected to a character for them to care when something bad happens to them. For example, if a car hits a dog-kicking, old-lady-scamming protagonist and breaks both his legs, will your audience be upset? Not at all…in fact they may actually cheer. But if the protagonist is a single mother of three who scraped and saved to go to night school and create a better life for her family, seeing such a terrible event happen to them will really rip your readers up. So, building flesh-and-blood characters readers will connect to is crucial for scoring a strong conflict hit.

The second thing conflict must do is present a character with a problem that’s not easy to resolve. A danger or threat that can be avoided if the character simply does one thing will feel like a cop-out to readers (unless you’re purposefully luring the character into a trap so it leads to spectacular, unexpected fallout).

The third component of well-written conflict is that it will be original in some way, giving readers something they’ve not seen before. And this is where some writers trip, especially if they’re working with a conflict scenario found in many stories, or it’s common within a genre. Romance readers will have experienced plenty of stories where a romantic competitor enters the scene, Fantasy readers know that at some point, an adventurer will get injured, and anyone who reads superhero stories has seen more than a few characters discovering they have unwanted powers.

The thing is, readers expect to see these conflicts, so we need to include them. But we shouldn’t copy what others have done. Instead, we should find a way to make the situations fresh…and hopefully more difficult. Here are some ideas:

Make the Outcome Uncertain

To keep readers from easily predicting the result of a conflict scenario, sow some doubt—a.k.a., don’t go easy on your protagonist. Put them at a disadvantage—or, if you’re feeling evil, give them an easy win that isn’t a true victory. Maybe a character with friends in high places gets a big promotion, only she doesn’t realize her “friends” are setting her up as a scapegoat for their criminal behavior. Winning can also trigger unforeseen consequences. If your character doesn’t pay now, make her pay later.

Withhold Something the Character Needs

When a character has everything—information, financial backing, a mentor, the support of others—it’s an easier skate to the finish line, and what’s the fun in that? Think about what your character needs most to succeed, and take it from her. If she needs medicine, put it in a glass vial that, at a critical point, will shatter. When she needs a map to navigate, let it be ruined by a dunk in the river. Knowledge, a way to communicate, a weapon…characters who are forced to act when they don’t have what they need often screw up, leading to more conflict.

Make the Stakes Personal

Every story should have high stakes, where something is at risk if the character fails. But when the stakes are personal, winning becomes more crucial because of what they could lose. Get to know your character and the people, places, and things they hold dear. Then endanger them: a child’s life, the character’s job, their reputation, or their marriage. Most characters will walk through fire to protect the people and things they cherish.

Consider a No-Win Situation

The most heart-wrenching times for your character are when they have to make a decision in which someone will pay regardless of their choice. These story moments take courage because the character must decide between two equally bad outcomes. Do they save their daughter if doing so means abandoning their son? Do they stay and risk capture, or run and risk death by exposure? No-win scenarios create obvious tension for characters but also for readers, who recognize an impossible situation when they see it and wonder what choice will be made.

Keep Your Character Moving

Did you know that if sharks stop swimming, they’ll die? This is a lesson we can apply to storytelling because when a character settles down for too long, the tension flatlines. So, keep them moving. If they find a haven, fill it with hidden dangers that compel them to leave. If a romantic relationship is becoming routine, introduce a disruptor—a secret being exposed, a hopeful ex-lover showing up, or a complication that forces a physical separation.

This goes for inner movement, too. If the character isn’t moving forward and resolving their internal conflict, create a crisis that jeopardizes everything they’ve worked for. Remind them that they need to keep evolving to get what they want, even if this means facing hard truths or examining old wounds.

Shake Up the Team

If your character is relying on others, find a way to introduce dysfunction and friction. Disagreements, misunderstandings, egos, rivalries, or a sense of entitlement can shake the foundation of a relationship, create a power struggle, and leave your character without their much-needed backup.

Tighten the Timeline

There’s nothing like a ticking clock to pile on the pressure, so think about how you can shorten a window of opportunity, move up a deadline, force the character to wait, or give them an ultimatum. Characters who rush can get sloppy and make mistakes, compounding the conflict.

Pull the Trigger

All characters carry some baggage from the past. If they’re navigating a change arc, they’ll have an unresolved wound, and chances are, they’ve buried it deep. The problem is, for them to move forward, they need to deal with whatever is holding them back. A well-placed trigger can cause that wound to resurface.

Maybe your character Tamara has been avoiding her cousin who captained the boat the day her sister drowned. But now she must work side by side with him to save their family’s business. Or your character must perform a wellness check on someone who lives in the building where her abusive parents raised her. Exposing your character to fears and painful memories can awaken them to the realization that the past is holding them prisoner.

Include a Sacrifice

A character facing a challenge that’s beyond her must make some hard choices if she wants to avoid losing everything. Maybe she must abandon one goal to put more energy into another, or give up on a passion to stand by a friend. Sacrifices are meaningful and will cause readers to care, so don’t be afraid to use them.

Turn to Your Genre

Every genre will have specific opportunities to ramp up conflict. Does your character live in a historical time when certain illnesses were prevalent, or their rights were restricted because of their race, gender, or religion? Is there a specific technology that is hampering your character’s ability to move undetected in a future world? Pull organic conflict from the very bedrock of your genre by considering the character’s reality and the challenges they might face.

Don’t Make Violence Your Go-To

As you seek ways to power up conflict, it can be tempting to use violence to hammer home a threat. Sometimes this is warranted and fits the scenario, but other times it’s used as an easy way out. Before going to this extreme, pause to see what’s best for the story. If you decide to use it, don’t make it the only tool in your bag of tricks. Writers should also think twice about using gratuitous violence to characterize, especially in situations that directly target women or children.

Need more ideas for story conflict? Check out the 225 scenarios covered in the GOLD and SILVER editions of The Conflict Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Obstacles, Adversaries, and Inner Conflict.

ANGELA ACKERMAN

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

The post How to Generate Powerful Story Conflict appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

As you may know, Angela and I have recently reached the unbelievable milestone of having sold a million books.

I say “unbelievable” because this was never in our sights. We started out as two writers with no formal education in the field. We had no publishing experience. What did a couple of stay-at-home moms really know about succeeding as authors?

Needless to say, when we sold our thousandth book in 2012, we were over-the-moon excited. And then we hit the 10,000 mark. Then 100k… With every milestone, people asked us how we had done it—because I think a lot of writers can relate to our feelings of uncertainty, of having a goal but not knowing how to get there, and not wanting to dream too big.

But here’s the truth: if we can succeed, you can succeed. Full stop.

Granted, it would have been easier with a little more information when we started. So we’d like to share some of the things that have worked for us, because we believe they can work for you—no matter what you’re writing or what goals you’ve set for yourself.

Give the Readers What They Want

Some of you may not know that the very first thing we blogged about in 2007 was The Emotion Thesaurus. As critique partners, we had both struggled with how to show emotions in new and realistic ways, and we knew it was also a problem for the other members of our group. So we thought: maybe this is something other writers need help with, too.

That suspicion was confirmed almost immediately. We started putting up a new emotion post each Saturday, and our readership just blew up. Before long, people were asking for the content in book form. And that’s when we knew we had something people wanted to read.

Takeaway: Whether you’re writing nonfiction, cozy mysteries, thrillers, steamy romances, or a memoir, you have stories that people want to read. Write what excites you. Hone your craft so you can write those stories well. And start building connections with the people who want to read what you’re writing.

Take Risks

Angela and I had always dreamed of being traditionally published, so when it came time to turn The Emotion Thesaurus into a book, we assumed we’d go that route. Then we started seeing our thesaurus content popping up on other people’s sites, and being distributed as a PDF. Suddenly, we couldn’t afford to wait two years or more for our book to be available; we had to get it out quickly before someone else did, and that meant publishing it ourselves.

But this was 2011. Self-publishing was openly poo-poohed in the industry, with many people bemoaning the substandard quality of self-pubbed books (and some asserting that authors only went this route if they couldn’t get a traditional contract). Oh, and we had zero idea how to publish a book. Going down this path was a huge risk for us, but Ange and I knew we needed to do it, so we got to work figuring out file formats, and distributors, and cover designers, and the logistics of co-authoring a book. And we made it work, and in 2012, we launched The Emotion Thesaurus.

Takeaway: Don’t be afraid to take risks with your writing. Try new things. Dive into uncharted waters and educate yourself. Sometimes, the scariest opportunities have the biggest payoffs, but you won’t reap the rewards if you don’t try.

Put Your Own Spin on Your Work

Another thing that made us nervous was the unconventional format of our books. Instead of the typical narrative structure, our thesauruses consisted mostly of two-page entries full of lists and phrases. It was a risk to deviate from the norm, but we went for it because our blog readers liked it.

Not only did readers love the “user-friendly” structure, other writing books with lists soon began popping up all over Amazon.

Unfortunately, it’s also led to copycat covers and many books that have similar titles to those in our series. We feel bad every time someone tells us they bought a book they thought was one of ours only to discover it wasn’t. So if you are trying to find our thesaurus guides, just look for the Writers Helping Writers® logo.

Takeaway: Always put your own spin on your writing. Infuse it with your unique voice. Explore the themes that interest you and the subjects you’re passionate about. Write as your authentic, one-of-a-kind self and you’ll end up creating books that will stand apart from the others in your genre.

Make Your Books Available to as Many Readers as Possible

Because readers have their own preferred storefronts and formats, we wanted to reach as many of them as possible by going wide and making our books available in lots of places. We also offered PDF versions, since people like having their book files open on their computer while working. We even created a Character Traits Boxed Set to sell directly from our website.

The bulk of our sales do come from Amazon, but by distributing through many digital storefronts and independent bookstores, and making our books available in PDF, we ensured that readers could get our books where they liked to show and in the format that worked best for them.

Takeaway: Make it easy for people to buy your books. Sell through multiple distributors, in different formats. Listen to what your followers are saying about how they like to read and make those options available to them.

Explore Every Opportunity

As you grow, opportunities are going to come along that you never considered. Ange and I had published three books and were working on the fourth when we got an email from a publisher asking if the Korean rights to The Emotion Thesaurus were available. Foreign translations weren’t on our radar at all. We didn’t have an agent, couldn’t negotiate an international contract ourselves, and couldn’t market a book overseas if we wanted to. So it would’ve been easy for us to dismiss the request as being too far outside our wheelhouse and something we just didn’t have time for.

Instead, we looked into it. We found an agent who specialized in negotiating rights deals with foreign publishers. We talked to her about the email we’d received, and we realized this was a gift that had fallen into our laps. So we sold those rights. And, boy, was that the right decision. We now have books in 9 languages that have sold almost 400,000 copies to date in markets we never would have reached on our own.

Takeaway: No matter how busy you are, explore every opportunity that comes your way. You don’t have to invest a ton of time. Just do some basic research, keep an open mind, and see if it’s something you should pursue. When in doubt, see Point #2.

Run Experiments

It can be hard to know if an opportunity is a good one or not. In those cases, it doesn’t hurt to experiment.

In 2018, KDP started contacting us with requests to highlight our Kindle books in their daily and monthly deals. We were skeptical about how this would affect our sales. Sure, more people might buy our Kindle book if it was priced at $1.99. But wouldn’t we end up making less money that way? Would those discounted sales cannibalize our paperback sales?

So we ran an experiment and started participating in those deals. It became clear that while we made less per book, our revenue still increased. Why? Because it lowered the barrier to test out one of our thesauruses, and if the person found it helpful, they would often collect more volumes in the series. Also, because we have observed our readers prefer print to digital, some kindle deal buyers would go on to pick up a print copy also. So this experiment has really paid off for us.

Takeaway: New opportunities don’t have to be permanent. If you’re not sure about something, set aside a prescribed period of time to test it out. Setting a timeline and recognizing that the experiment is temporary can ease your mind about trying new things.

Know When to Cut Bait

But remember that not every experiment is a success. Prior to 2019, we hadn’t utilized ads on any platforms. Sales were flagging a bit at Amazon and a lot of people were finding success with ads there, so we decided to give it a shot. After eight months, we realized that the investment just wasn’t paying off, and we stopped.

Takeaway: Accept that some experiments won’t pan out. Keep a close eye on those trial runs and the risks you’ve decided to take. And do the same with your day-to-day tasks—you know, the processes and systems you’re using because that’s the way you’ve always done them. Be deliberate about monitoring what you’re doing and assessing if it’s worth the ROI. If it’s not working, stop doing it or find a new way.

Seek Out Multiple Revenue Streams

Let’s face it: it’s hard to make a living from book sales. But Ange and I learned early on that our skills as writers lent themselves to other ways of bringing in money. So we branched out as speakers, running workshops for local writing groups and at larger conferences. Then we explored another collaboration that resulted in One Stop for Writers, a subscription-based website that contains all our thesauruses (not just our books) and writing tools and resources designed by us that help writers in a new way.

Workshops and One Stop for Writers have provided additional revenue for us in and of themselves, but they also generated more sales by introducing us to new people who had never heard of our books.

Takeaway: What additional career opportunities could you pursue that utilize your writing skills? What else could you be doing “on the side” while you’re writing books? Here are some options you may not have considered.

Partner with the Right People

If there’s any one secret to Angela’s and my success, it’s that we found each other. It’s really, really hard to do this job alone. I can’t imagine having to handle everything by myself. At some point, most writers will need to partner with other people, be that a business partner, editor, agent, cover designer, copy editor, bookkeeper, etc. Those partnerships can save you—as long as you choose wisely.

Takeaway: Research potential partnerships carefully. Look for people who complement you, people who are strong where you’re weak. Find people who share your values and work ethic and are pulling in the same direction.

There’s more we could share, but this post is long enough already, and we’d rather hear what has worked for you. Let us know in the comments!

More quick facts about the books
Enter our celebratory giveaway

BECCA PUGLISI

Becca Puglisi is an international speaker, writing coach, and bestselling author of The Emotion Thesaurus and its sequels. Her books are available in five languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world. She is passionate about learning and sharing her knowledge with others through her Writers Helping Writers blog and via One Stop For Writers—a powerhouse online library created to help writers elevate their storytelling.

The post Selling a Million Books: What Worked for Us (and Can Work for You, Too) appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

Two novice writers met in an online critique group called the Critique Circle and became fast friends. Angela (a Canadian) wrote about zombies and pirates and a magical bookstore that kidnapped customers. Becca (an American) wrote everything from a coming of age YA during California’s Gold Rush to a dark tale of a doughy gingerbread boy being baked alive (and here you thought Angela was the weird one).

The two also shared something else: a passion for learning and helping others. So they turned to studying the craft of writing and how they could help others work through common writing struggles.

One of the bigger hurdles writers faced was showing and not telling character emotion, so the two collaborated on a list of ways to show fear. This brainstorming list was well-received, and led to the next, and the next. Then in January 2008, they decided to start a blog so they could share these lists more widely. At The Bookshelf Muse, this collection of lists was given an official name: the “Emotion Thesaurus.”

This thesaurus became the first of many on different aspects of description, and finally, on May 9, 2012, they self-published their first writing guide: The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression.

Truth be told, it was terrifying. The industry wasn’t so keen on self-publishing back then, and some experts were vocal about how they believed writers were throwing their careers away if they self-published. To know about this bias and then put a book on the same industry-dominated shelf anyway took a lot of inner convincing, especially as this was their first publication, meaning they had no bestselling-this or editor-that to give them credibility.

But they did have something special. You.

Right from that first list, first blog, and first book, YOU were in their corner. You supported, cheered, and encouraged. You helped spread the word, told other writers about the helpful nature of this book, and then did the same for all the ones that followed.

Thank you for being in our corner!

Becca and I are stunned that a million of our books are in the world. Never could we have dreamt of being able to help so many writers, but we’ve been able to because of all of you. Your kindness, generosity, and support is unmatched. We are so grateful–thank you so, so much!

(Find Out More: Press Release & Quick Facts)

Giveaway Alert

A milestone like this calls for a special giveaway, so we reached out to our Resident Writing Coaches for help.

And boy, did they ever deliver!

Look at this incredible load of writerly things you can win…

The Prizes

A Story Audit from RWC & Editor, Lisa Poisso

This small but powerful diagnostic examines your one-page synopsis, a comprehensive assessment of the story’s narrative elements (story structure, plot, character arcs, conflict, and more), and an overview of the writing in your full manuscript. It will help you determine if your book is ready for editing, saving you time, energy, and money by diagnosing any big-picture issues before you pay someone for editing. A winner can redeem this Story Audit anytime after July 2023. (Psst. Lisa is great to work with!)

First 5000 Critique from RWC & Editor Michelle Barker

Your query letter and synopsis are important parts of the submission package, but your writing sample is the true test. In fact, many agents read the sample first. This service includes a developmental edit of your first 5000 words & complimentary access to Query Quest. Find out more.

Online Confidential Platform & Networking On Demand Course from RWC, Script Editor & Author, Lucy V. Hay

Marketing and platform building can be a challenge, but this step-by-step guide will help you utilize the online space to your best advantage as a writer or screenwriter. If you feel you aren’t getting traction online now, or you just don’t know where to start, this course will help you! Find out more.

A Wicked Good Bootcamp Seat from RWC, Editor, & Author Suzy Vadori
The 8-week virtual book coaching experience will teach you to write a book that readers will love. Get clear on the story you’re dying to tell (and WHY you want to tell it), so you can turn it into a book readers actually want to read without compromising your creative vision. Skip the writers’ learning curve and get over a decade’s worth of Suzy’s insider writing industry tips in just 8 weeks to make your writing as strong as possible. Come away with a detailed action plan to get your ideal book written and into the world this year.

A Crime Scene or Climax Critique, (Winner’s Choice) from RWC & Thriller Author Sue Coletta

Attention, mystery, thriller & crime writers! This unique prize has been designed just for you from an expert in crime scenes, serial killers, tension, and suspense! (Did I mention she has her own Murder Blog?) Sue will assess your scene and offer feedback to help you ramp up the intensity. Note: the winner will need to provide a short synopsis of the story so Sue has context for the scene.

A $150 credit toward a Cruising Writers Writing Retreat with RWC & Author Christina Delay

Have you ever dreamed of joining a bunch of writers on a writing retreat in some beautiful location? Then imagine a situation where you get to visit several stunning locations, be pampered as you relax, and have a chance to learn and network with industry pros! Cruising Writers is a fantastic option for retreaters – rest, relax, and fill your creative well aboard a stunning cruise ship. The winner will get a hefty $150 discount on your package when you book! (Stating the obvious, but you must be a writer to win.)

A 20-Page Critique of Your Middle Grade or YA Novel by RWC & Editor, Marissa Graff

Wouldn’t it be great to have help with the opening of your story, especially from someone who was a freelance editor and reader for former literary agent Sarah Davies (ranked #2 in middle-grade fiction sales) for over seven years? Someone who has had clients go on to nab agents, sell their books, and even win the Newbery Award? Heck yes it would! Marissa Graff will help you bring out the best elements of your MG or YA opening by critiquing your first 20 pages.

A Full Picture Book Critique from Our WHW Blog Wizard & “PB Fairy Godmother” Mindy Alyse Weiss

Mindy is the mastermind behind PBParty, an annual contest that connects talented picture book writers and author/illustrators with agents and editors. This has led to many success stories. Mindy has a ton of experience in what agents and editors are looking for in a picture book. The winner of this prize can send up to three PB manuscripts. Mindy will give light comments on two and in-depth feedback on the PB with the most potential.

A 1-Year Subscription to One Stop for Writers from your biggest fans… Becca and me!

We have created many thesauruses over the years, but not all of them become books…some go straight to a THESAURUS Database at One Stop for Writers. This web app is how we help writers beyond our books and where we’ve built powerful tools that make it much easier to plan, write, and revise your way to a publish-ready book. Take the tour, start a free trial, and make sure to enter below for a chance to win a 1-year membership! We’d love to help you bring your best story to the page.

To Enter:

Want a chance to win one of these amazing prizes? Click the link below.

WHW’s 1 Million Book Milestone Giveaway

(Final day to enter is May 9th, 2023, EST).
Winners are being notified! Watch your inbox!

Note, one entry per person. Prizes have no cash value and cannot be transferred. For full legal rules and conditions, please go here.)

Thank you again for all your kind support. We are honored to be part of your storytelling journey!

If you’d like to help us celebrate this milestone, feel free to share this post. And good luck in the draw!

ANGELA ACKERMAN

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

The post We’ve Reached the One Million Books Milestone! appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

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 subscription. 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

ANGELA ACKERMAN

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

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

It’s that time of year when we’re thinking about upcoming holidays and the people in our lives who love writing as much as we do. Critique partners, accountability chums, fellow scribblers in the trenches…this is a great time to give them a little something to show them how special they are to us, and to show support of their author goals.

This year we wanted to share a few of our favorite things because we think they’ll make great gifts. (A few are affiliate links, but we only suggest things we like and think you will too.) Enjoy!

Motivational Stickers

Imagine opening your laptop and seeing an inspiring quote that gets you all pumped up – that’s what these great little stickers do.

Check out the huge variety of stickers you can get from BiblioficDesigns!

A Portable Desk

Want to write on the couch, in bed, in the car or on the lounger in the backyard? Get this portable laptop desk.

I have one and use it all the time. I love being able to move around and find the best spot to inspire me as I work!

Yankee Candles

Becca loves certain things – her kids, cats, peanut butter protein shakes, and yes, Yankee Candles.

Candles are a big part of her writing routine, and she always has one burning when it’s time to work because it triggers her brain to get down to business. This is a great addition to any writer’s desk, and heck, they smell so good!

An Owl Mug

Look I’m not saying I have an owl addiction, but well, yeah, I have an owl addiction.

Owls are wise and make a great writerly mascot, so I think we both know you and every other writer need at least one mug…maybe two. And my goodness, look at this pair. I’m in love!

A Bestselling Writing Guide from Us!

By now, you likely know we’re the authors behind The Emotion Thesaurus and its many sibling guides. These books have helped writers all over the world brainstorm stronger description and master show-don’t tell, and we love creating them.

If you are new to these books, you pick your topic, and then dive in. You’ll learn how to write that subject better, be it emotions, setting, personality, conflict, etc., and brainstorming lists (the ‘thesaurus’ part) to give you endless ideas for fresh ways to describe that element in your story through show, not tell.

Not sure which book to get? Try the Emotion Thesaurus (Blue), which is the most popular volume, and helps you describe what your characters are feeling through body language, thoughts, visceral sensations, cues, & more. Or, choose the Conflict Thesaurus (Gold & Silver), which were our last two releases. You’ll love having so many possible conflict scenarios on tap to help you write fresh, intense fiction.

Literary Insults Poster

This poster was a birthday gift from my daughter-in-law, and I love it. It’s filled with great literary insults (that you can use, muahaha), so that’s fun, right?

It’s a neat collectable and conversation piece all in one, so frame this poster and then display it in your office with epic nerdy pride. I did!

A Weighted Blanket

Okay, this is a super thoughtful gift, because we all know writers keep odd hours and never get enough sleep. So, make sure your sleep is quality by wrapping yourself in a heavy, fuzzy blanket that applies just enough pressure to make all your anxiety slip away. I bought one a few years ago and have never slept better.

A Powerful Story Toolkit

There’s no better story support than One Stop for Writers. With its massive show-don’t-tell database, innovative story tools, and the Storyteller’s Roadmap, planning, writing, and revising becomes so much easier.

This is a game-changer for anyone who needs help writing stronger stories, and the subscriptions are very affordable.

We hope you enjoyed this list of our favorite writerly things! Hopefully this inspires some gift ideas. And remember, it’s okay to buy yourself a little something, too, or add these to your personal wish list!

ANGELA ACKERMAN

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

The post Our Favorite Gifts for Writers appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

A new writing guide is joining the family today, so please say hello to the SILVER Edition of The Conflict Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Obstacles, Adversaries, and Inner Struggles.

In this second volume of The Conflict Thesaurus, we continue our in-depth exploration of challenges, roadblocks, adversaries, and hindrances in all forms. Conflict has many superpowers, and is the golden thread that binds plot to arc, providing the complications, setbacks, and derailments that make the character’s inner and outer journeys dynamic.

This book will help you build a story that has conflict at different levels so characters have multiple problems to grapple with. It will also show you how to leverage friction and tension, force characters to make hard choices, and use adversity to provide key life lessons that will lead to growth, so they can become the person they must to achieve meaningful goals.

Here’s a more detailed look at this book.
Find the full list of conflict scenarios (& sample entries) here.
Here’s what people are saying about The Conflict Thesaurus.
And here’s where you can buy it, print and digital.

Conflict can be explosive, or subtle. It may inconvenience your characters, or devastate them. And whether it’s internal or external, readers can’t get enough of it, and neither can we.

So for the first time ever, Writers Helping Writers is sponsoring a writing contest!

Introducing…

Conflict comes in all shapes and sizes – a physical altercation, personal struggle, relationship friction, a danger or threat…the possibilities are endless. As storytellers, we need to write conflict well. This story contest is a chance to show us what you can do!

Ready to go pen to pen against other creatives and submit a story to our WRITERS’ FIGHT CLUB?

Step into the ring with your original story, any genre, that shows your character navigating one or more of these conflicts from our Conflict Thesaurus Vol 2:

Being Injured
Experiencing Discrimination
Losing a Vital Item
Telling the Truth but Not Being Believed
Being Trapped
Having Unwanted Powers

Or, one of these conflicts from our expanded Conflict Database at One Stop for Writers:

A Romantic Competitor Entering the Scene
Getting Caught in a Lie
Needing to Sacrifice One for the Good of the Many

Stories must be 750 – 2000 words in length. Our official contest rules, deadline, and how to submit can be found here:

Contest is now closed. We will be in touch after judging is complete!

Now let’s talk prizes!

First Place:

A $100 US cash prize
Two 1-year subscriptions to One Stop for Writers
(One for you, one for a friend, a $210 value)
A $100 US donation to your choice of charity that helps those impacted by conflict (domestic violence, war, human trafficking, etc.)
A professional edit of your submission by our amazing Resident Writing Coach, Lisa Poisso
+ Bragging rights!

Second Place:

A $50 US cash prize
Two 6-month subscriptions to One Stop for Writers
(One for you, one for a friend, a $120 value)
A $50 US donation to your choice of charity that helps those impacted by conflict (domestic violence, war, human trafficking, etc.)
A professional edit of your submission by our amazing Resident Writing Coach, Colleen M. Story
+ Bragging rights!

Honorable Mention:

A professional edit of your submission by our amazing Resident Writing Coach, Lisa Poisso
+ Bragging rights!

SUBMISSIONS WILL BE CAPPED AT 100 ENTRIES & THE DEADLINE TO ENTER IS SEPTEMBER 16TH. FIND OUT MORE.

Giveaway Alert!

We also want to give away some of our favorite writing books, so two lucky winners can choose a 5-pack of digital volumes from these below:

Giveaway closed – congrats to HiDee Ekstrom & Dina Mousa!

This giveaway is subject to our legal policy, and runs until September 10th, midnight (EST). Good luck, and watch your inbox!

Thanks for celebrating this new book with us!

Feeling generous? Give this post a share! And good luck in the giveaway & writing contest!

ANGELA ACKERMAN

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

The post Release Day: The Conflict Thesaurus (Volume 2) Is Here! appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

The Conflict Thesaurus GOLD edition (Volume 1) served up a smorgasbord of conflict scenarios that would challenge, strain, and reshape a character into who they must become to win.

This SILVER edition (Volume 2) offers yet more problems, challenges, and points of friction, so we thought you might like to read through some of them and how they create minor inconveniences or disastrous fallout depending on what your story needs:

Being Injured
Experiencing Discrimination
Losing a Vital Item 
Telling the Truth but Not Being Believed
Being Trapped 
Having Unwanted Powers 

(To see the entire list of 115 conflict scenarios, go here.)

This SILVER guide also delves into more ways conflict can be used to power your story, so get ready to level up your plotting skills so every event in your story pushes the story forward and deepens tension.

What writers are saying about this guide…

“Angela and Becca did such an amazing job of laying these two books out, they are literal compliments to each other. If you read one, I guarantee you will become obsessed with reading the other. It is like finally resolving the cliffhanger that left you craving more.” ~ Vincent Jobson

“Volume 2 of The Conflict Thesaurus series is a gold mine. A wealth of information you absolutely have to have in your writing craft library.” ~ Tara Baisden

“Volume 2 of The Conflict Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Obstacles, Adversaries, and Inner Struggles is a tool that I have no hesitation in calling indispensable. It’s a book that you can crack the cover and immediately start using in either creating a new story or working on a current one.” ~ Nichole Squire

“Not only is the new material insightful, but when going through the book, I found my mind jumping to my current WIP (work-in-progress) as well as roughly plotting future books with ideas brimming to the surface, all saying, Write me. No, write me first.” ~ Kathy

Add the book to your Goodreads list and see the reviews
See the master list of entries
Buy the book in print and ebook or PDF formats
Check out The Conflict Thesaurus Volume 1

Do you enjoy writing conflict and consider it an area of strength for you? Let us know in the comments!

ANGELA ACKERMAN

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

The post A Look Inside The Conflict Thesaurus SILVER Edition appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

Conflict is a key story ingredient, one we need a lot of, but this doesn’t mean quantity is better than quality. Fiction isn’t a video game; waves of bad guys with guns won’t keep readers tuned in for long. They expect to see a variety of conflict, including meaningful problems that deepen the story, raise the stakes, advance the plot, and provide opportunities for character development.

This last one is especially important, as it’s how a beloved character responds to adversity that really draws readers in.

The best way to reveal characterization and development is to use conflict to target our character’s soft spots. When we take aim at the things our character cares most about, trigger their fears or insecurities, or smack them right in the ego, they’ll react in a way that reveals their true selves, and that’s the person readers will connect to.

So, how do we find the right problems and challenges that will produce the response we’re looking for?

It’s true, there is no end to the ways you can challenge your character. And I don’t know about you, but sometimes having too much choice can be paralyzing.

Something Becca and I did to help with this was to create categories for conflict by looking at the theme that a clash would produce.

We covered some of these categories (and the scenarios that go with each), in The Conflict Thesaurus, Volume 1:

Relationship Friction
Duty & Responsibility
Failures & Mistakes
Moral Dilemmas & Temptations
Increased Pressure & Ticking Clocks
No-Win Scenarios

And the remainder of these categories are in The Conflict Thesaurus Volume 2.

Let’s look at each category’s superpowers so you can better decide what type of conflict serves your story and will challenge characters in the way you need most.

Dangers and Threats

This is a versatile form of conflict: a hazard or menace that represents direct harm to the character or the people they care about (and may be responsible for). Introducing a danger or threat can mess with your character’s mental state, pulling up their deepest fears and even leading to panic if others they love are at risk.

Danger can originate from other people, the environment, a location, or even from within the character themselves. For someone struggling with an addiction, an inability to gauge risk or seek help could lead to a hospitalization or death. A person consumed with guilt over past mistakes might become self-destructive, taking on an adversary or challenge far beyond their abilities because they believe that only self-punishment or self-sacrifice can balance the scales.

Another terrific place to find danger is in the setting. Look at where your character is, and the natural dangers lurking in the area: will the rain-soaked ground where your adventurers are hiding give way, or will a poisonous centipede skitter into a character’s sleeping bag on a camping trip? Will that neighbor show up before your character has time to clean up a murder scene? Depending on what you need for the story, threats or dangers can inconvenience, create delays, ruin carefully laid plans, or worse.

Ego-Related Conflicts

In the real world, people tend to shy away from situations where they could be embarrassed because they worry about what others think and don’t like to be judged. Insecurities magnify mistakes in their minds, especially if their egos have been hurt by criticism or similar blunders in the past.  

Because well-built characters will have similar psychological drivers, they’ll struggle with some insecurities, too. Being excluded, discredited, blamed, or minimized will hurt them, even if they strive not to show it. 

Ego-related challenges stir up internal conflict and trigger sensitivities that are hard to hide, so the character may respond by pulling back and isolating themselves, exploding with anger, or replying with barbed honesty that only makes things worse.

Consider Fiona, our protagonist who has not visited her hometown in quite a while. Things are becoming serious with her boyfriend, however, so she books a flight. She’s nervous, because her parents have some odd ideas about the world, but she knows Drew is the one, and it’s time to introduce him to her family. 

Fiona and Drew arrive as her parents are having an after-dinner glass of port. At first, everything goes as expected. They’re overjoyed at the surprise visit and they fawn over Drew, asking about his job, family, interests—basically ticking all the boxes. But as one glass of port turns into several, Fiona’s dad begins to rant a bit about world events until, in a pin-drop moment, he floats a full-on, dark net alien conspiracy theory.  

Imagine Fiona’s embarrassment and how she might try to salvage the evening. Maybe she laughs it off, pretending it’s a joke. Or she tells Drew that her dad’s teasing him to see how he’ll react. But the more Fiona tries to minimize the damage, the louder and more verbal her father gets. Soon he’s targeting Fiona, criticizing her for being naive, living in a dream world, and not acknowledging the indisputable evidence that an alien force is pulling the puppet strings of the human race. As her father rages, humiliation washes over her. The love of her life is bearing witness to this lunacy. What must Drew think of her parents…and her?

Ego-related conflict–such as suffering a humiliation like Fiona–strikes deep. It will hurt and lead to internal struggles regarding self-esteem, so if your character is traversing a change arc, depending on how they handle the situation, it can help them move forward, or set them back.

A Loss of Control

In the real world, the need to control outcomes control steers decision-making. We may invest in a university degree to secure a higher-paying job, or buy a house in a school district that ensures our children get a quality education. We put fuel in the car so we don’t run out, clean scraped knees so they don’t get infected, and choose politeness over honesty to avoid drama. In other words, we live according to the rules of cause and effect. 

But does life give two crab apples about cause and effect? Nope. While we’re playing the odds, it stands up and says, “Hold my beer.” It’s indisputable and somewhat horrifying: control is only an illusion. At any moment, something unexpected can happen that undoes all our careful planning. 

A loss of control in the real world can be devastating because we think we should have seen what was coming—anticipated it and had an escape plan ready, so when we hit a character with a complication they can’t stop or prevent, it messes them up, too.

Conflicts that dispel the myth of control will reveal characterization in the protagonist’s lowest moment. Imagine a character whose spouse succumbs to a heart attack while camping. In the days that follow, does our grieving character angrily push people away, causing cracks to surface in those relationships? Does he sink into the quicksand of denial and refuse to acknowledge what happened? Or will he set aside his pain to help his children and other family members cope with their heartbreaking loss? 

A loss of control will also give your readers a queasy-familiar sensation because they too have experienced moments where they thought they had a handle on things but didn’t. So if you want pull readers in or create empathy for a character, this is a great way to do it.

Losing an Advantage

One of the worst things we can do to a character is cause them to lose hope. After all, conflict’s sharp sword has already jabbed them relentlessly throughout the story. They’ve fought, sacrificed, and clawed their way forward, and then finally, their hard work starts to pay off. They gain something they need, the world starts to support them, or they pull ahead of the competition. 

So naturally, because we’re evil, we take their hard-won advantage away. 

Losing an advantage is a versatile type of conflict that can be especially helpful at specific times, so it should be wielded strategically. For example, not every character rushes out the door when the trumpet of adventure sounds. Instead, they cling to their favorite saggy, cat-clawed chair, because even if the living room of life isn’t great right now, it’s what they know, and that makes it safe. It’s in their comfort zone.

But if we let our characters stay where they are, the story is as good as dead. Taking away something they deem vital, like a position of authority, a trusted ally, or cherished relationship, can convince them to stumble through that first story door.

This type of conflict can also test a character’s commitment. What happens when they lose the one thing that’s been motivating them to continue? If their lead witness in a trial is murdered, or their benefactor withdraws support, or an adoption falls through, will they forge ahead or throw in the towel? 

Power Struggles

If there’s one thing we know about our characters, it’s that at some point, they’re going to clash. And why is no mystery. Each member of our story’s cast has their own goals, agendas, needs, and beliefs, and those don’t always play nicely with the goals, agendas, needs, and beliefs of others. When there’s too much friction, a power struggle ensues. 

This often happens in relationships where characters don’t have equal status, such as a police officer and suspect, boss and employee, or teacher and student. It can occur when the person with less power tries to level the playing field or unseat the other party. Conflict will also arise when it’s perceived that one person is using their position unfairly. If your character is on the receiving end of a power play—say, they’ve been frivolously sued by a disgruntled customer, falsely accused by a rival, or passed over for promotion because of nepotism—it will trigger their moral sense of right and wrong, leading to a battle royale.

One of the best places to highlight a power struggle is within a dialogue exchange between characters with different goals. If one party wants information the other doesn’t want to share, a beautiful tug-of-war can unfold, complete with verbal jabs, veiled threats, and insults. 

Miscellaneous Challenges

Conflict is multifaceted, and like most things in life, not every scenario can be filed neatly into a particular box. If you’re searching for conflict that provides a unique challenge for your character or complicates their situation in ways you might not have considered, this is the category for you. Maybe your character is in the wrong place at the wrong time, they have been mistaken for someone else, or a dire circumstance forces them to blindly trust a stranger. Oh, the possibilities! 

Want to see the conflict scenarios listed in each category? Find them here.

When conflict is thoughtfully chosen, everything clicks into place. Problems, challenges, and blockers raise the stakes, intensify the plot, and force the character to confront their own inner demons and shortcomings because only through growth, the ability to adapt, and hard work will they stay ahead of disaster.

The Conflict Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Obstacles, Adversaries, and Inner Struggles (Volume 2) is packed with great scenarios so you have lots of ideas on how to keep the pressure on while writing a story premise that’s fresh. We hope you’ll check it out.

Add the book to your Goodreads list and see the reviews
See the master list of entries
Buy the book in print and ebook or PDF formats
Check out The Conflict Thesaurus Volume 1

ANGELA ACKERMAN

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

The post Use Conflict to Target a Character’s Soft Spots appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

This question can have a lot of answers – tension, conflict, stakes, emotion, action…on and on it goes. But I would argue one of the most important is one of the most basic: choice.

Characters with agency are always doing, acting, and pushing the story forward. Without action, the story stalls, which is why conflict is so important: problems, obstacles, challenges, adversaries…these things force our characters to do something to navigate past the things blocking their way. The linchpin that connects conflict to action and puts your character in the driver’s seat is choice.

Choices come in all shapes and sizes and should rarely be easy to make. Instead, they should force the character to weigh and measure, to think about possible consequences, who will be impacted, what will be lost and gained. If your character can’t see any good options at all, it comes down to what will do the least damage and to whom. Let’s look at some of the ways we can force our characters to make hard decisions.

Dilemmas: When neither choice is ideal, you have a dilemma. Decision-making will require weighing and measuring, because no matter what choice is made, there will be blood. Sometimes these choices come down to what the character is willing to sacrifice, or their preferences. Occasionally dilemmas can be between two positive choices, in which case it’s a win-win scenario.

Hobson’s Choice: This is the choice between something unwanted and an option that is even worse…kind of like expecting a raise at work but instead being given the choice of a deep pay cut or being laid off.

Sophie’s Choice: This scenario is one where the character must choose between two equally horrible options. Named for the book (and movie) Sophie’s Choice, in which the character must decide which of her two children will be killed, this is known as the impossible, tragic choice. However, it can also simply be a time-and-place decision when the character can only be in one place at that time.

Morton’s Fork: This choice is agonizing because both options lead to the same end. Die now or die later type scenarios. It’s a deceptive choice because there is only one outcome.

Moral Choices: Moral choices are those requiring the character to decide between two competing beliefs or choose whether or not to follow a moral conviction. Protect a loved one or turn him over to the police? Moral choices require the character to rationalize the decision so they can feel okay about making it.

Do Something or Nothing: In some cases, the character can choose to intervene or not get involved. These often carry a cost: a risk to their reputation (if not acting paints them as a coward), the moral repercussions of deciding to do nothing (after, say, letting someone die), or even a safety cost (if they choose to save someone who turns out to be a threat).

Make Sure Choices Carry Weight.

Brainstorm possible complications that will further stress your character, increase the stakes or fallout, and create a fresh twist to your scenario. Use these challenge questions to help you:

• What unforeseen consequences could happen because of this choice?
• Is there an unknown factor or missing piece of information that can allow me to create a reversal of the consequences and a fresh twist of fate?
• What sacrifice can I build into this choice that disconnects the character from a safety net that’s actually holding them back (especially when this separation is needed for the character to grow and change)?
• How can I tempt the character into making the wrong choice?
• How can I raise the stakes further?

Surprise Readers With a Third Option

When it comes to wowing readers, one technique that never fails is to find the third option.

Imagine it. The walls have closed in, and your character has only two foreseeable choices. Neither is ideal, but there seems to be no other route forward.

All is lost…or so the reader thinks.

Because you–incredible story wizard that you are–have the character come up with a new, ingenious, and completely viable option so they can blaze their own trail. This third path will delight readers because it’s something they should have seen themselves but didn’t, and it upends their expectations in the best possible way.

The Firm provides a great example of this. Fresh out of law school, tax lawyer Mitch McDeere lands a too-good-to-be-true job at a law firm in Memphis. This dream job turns into a nightmare when he discovers the firm is engaging in white-collar crime for mobsters in Chicago. When he’s approached by the FBI, he’s given two choices—either continue with the corrupt law firm and eventually be thrown in jail, or work for the FBI as an informant, be disbarred, and be targeted by the mob.

The pressure is on and it seems there are no other options, but Mitch comes up with a third one: to turn over evidence for a lesser crime (mail fraud) that targets the firm instead of the Morolto crime family. This allows him to continue working as a lawyer, avoid jail, and escape the FBI’s noose.

When your character finds a third option that allows him to sidestep nasty consequences, he gets to keep his head above water and fight another day. And his ingenuity will give readers yet another thing to love about the character.

Need More Help? Add This Book to Your Reading List

The Conflict Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Obstacles, Adversaries, and Inner Struggles (Volume 1) is packed with ideas on how to choose meaningful conflict that forces choices that will reveal your character’s inner layers and challenge them. It covers 120 unique conflict scenarios and ways to adapt each so you can plot fresh scenes. If you like, you can check out a sample here.

Happy writing!

ANGELA ACKERMAN

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

The post How to Draw Readers in Through a Character’s Choices appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

Every December we put together a gift-giving list for writers for those of you wanting to pick up a little something for critique partners & book buds, or to source ideas for your personal Holiday Wish List.

This year, we’re doing this early. Quite early. Why, you ask?

Supply Chain Issues

You may have heard whispers about paper shortages, printers being backed up with orders, and delivery snags. Well, this isn’t some sort of urban legend. Unfortunately, the pandemic has caused havoc with the supply chain and word is, we all need to brace for some challenges as the holidays ramp up. (If you’d like to read more about this problem, Jane Friedman talks about the supply chain issues that may impact writers this Christmas and Writers in the Storm looks at strategies for authors to work through these challenges.)

By posting our list early, we’re hoping you’ll get a jump on ordering print books for the holidays and won’t be affected by any supply chain problems. Let’s dig in!

Angela & Becca’s Book Recommendations

When it comes to suggesting books as gifts, the hard part is narrowing it down. But over the years we’ve come across some real gems you may want to pick up. (May contains affiliate links because heck, they help pay the bills.)

Books to Help Writers Grow Their Creative Skills

Luckily there’s a ton of great books out there to help us strengthen our writing skills. Personally I am a fan of ones that tackle a specific topic and explore it in depth. If you’re like me, check these out.

Blueprint for a Book is written by one of the smartest women I know – Jennie Nash. She’s helped thousands of writers craft powerful fiction using her blueprint method. Jennie drills down to what makes a story meaningful and shows writers how to bring key elements together to build a solid foundation. The result? Writers know what to write and why, and can focus on delivering a story hardwired to create an emotional impact.

The Anatomy of Prose is a terrific book if you feel your storytelling is solid but maybe your writing isn’t quite as strong as it could be at the sentence level. Add a ton of ideas to your writerly bag of tricks and laugh as you do so as Sacha’s bawdy humor is legendary. And tippity-tip, while you’re picking up this book, snag her Heroes and Villain books, too.

On Writing really doesn’t need a summary from me because, well, it’s Stephen King. That’s really all that needs to be said. I loved this book because it shows where his life experiences and fiction collides, and it’s full of good, writerly advice to carry with you. A staple for all writers.

Boundless Creativity is for writers wanting to let go of self-doubt, impostor’s syndrome, and just move forward and create. This book takes a holistic approach to writing, and I don’t think you can read it and not come away unchanged. It will help you get in touch with why you need to create and show you how to let go of the mental blocks holding you back.

Writing Your Story’s Theme is one on my pick-it-up list. K.M. Weiland is a master of writing craft and all her books are an auto-buy. Theme is something that can seem like an afterthought for some writers, not something to think too hard about. And as Katie herself states, “Theme is the heart, the meaning, the point. Nothing that important should be overlooked.” My gut says if you want to level up your fiction, you should read this book.

The Conflict Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Obstacles, Adversaries, and Inner Struggles (Vol 1) released in October and the response to it has been huge (don’t tell The Emotion Thesaurus, but some have said this may be their favorite guide yet). So if you want to write conflict that targets your character’s soft spots and creates an impact, this is the book for you. In addition to master-level advice on leveraging conflict and tension, it showcases over 100 conflict scenarios and supplies endless possibilities for adapting each.

Now might also be a good time to complete your collection if you’re missing any of our show-don’t-tell thesaurus guides. So if your bookshelf needs a rainbow to spruce it up, or you want to be a writer friend’s superhero, you can find all our books here, in print, digital, and PDF.

Books to Help with the Business Side

Becca and I have four businesses between us, and most days, I’m not sure how we juggle them all. I do know we’d be a twitching mess if not for our need to consume education wherever we can. Here are some of our favorite reads.

Start with Why is all about the power of authenticity and how to inspire others, and it’s an amazing book. Whether you write fiction or non-fiction, success means building connections with readers and influencers that are meaningful and genuine. People love a good read, but it’s an author’s authenticity and passion for what they do that converts readers into fans.

Drive is all about understanding what motivates people. It may be I got more from this book as I work with others and knowing what makes them happy and productive is key to retaining good help, but I also came to understand more about myself and how to be happier & more self-motivated. This can be a tough business and motivation must come from within.

Author Branding is a great how-to book that helps writers define their brand and use social media to showcase it effectively. So, if the whole idea of putting yourself out there gives you hives, pick up this book. It’s easy to understand and is filled with great advice and helpful tips.

Wide for the Win: I’ll round things off and suggest a read that looks at going WIDE with your books, leveraging all platforms for selling your book rather than focusing exclusively on Amazon Kindle Unlimited. Mark Leslie Lefebvre has vast experience at all levels of publishing and knows a ton on selling fiction for a living, so you may wish to add this book to your bookshelf.

Books to Help Writers Flex Their Marketing Muscles

The 1-Page Marketing Plan is aimed at business owners, but here’s a secret…your writing is a business. Sometimes looking outside the publishing industry can lead to a fresh perspective and deeper insight into marketing in general. While I used this more for our SaaS business, you might find it helpful to go through this book and create a 1-page marketing plan to identify important components like identifying your audience, messaging, and what you want to accomplish.

Copywriting Secrets is a great primer on understanding how certain language choices will lead to stronger sales. There wasn’t a lot here I didn’t know (but I read a lot of marketing books), but this one has great coverage, so it’s a good all-in-one source. Just remember to always be authentic and use your best judgment. If your sales copy feels blatant or manipulative, people will notice.

Newsletter Ninja is another one on my “to buy” list, because it’s one I see referred over and over. And sure, I know some say email is dead and it’s all about TikTok, Facebook, and the Gram, but you can’t argue with the intimacy of a personal readership. Email subscribers are often the people most invested in what you write, so you want to cultivate those relationships. The key is knowing your readers well and generating engagement, so I look forward to upping my game in the newsletter arena with this book.

What Books Are on Your Wish List?

Is there a book you’ve heard good things about, and you’re hoping it will end up in your hot little hands this holiday season? Let us know in the comments so we can check it out!

ANGELA ACKERMAN

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

The post Bookish Gifts for Writers (TIP: This Year, Shop Early) appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

Posts, Podcasts, and PDFs

The Difference Between Conflict and Tension
Layering the 4 Levels of Story Conflict into Your Story
5 Commonalities Between Heroes and Villains
Directory of Trouble-Makers: 15 Possible Adversaries for Your Protagonist
Use Conflict to Raise Intrigue-Building Questions for Readers
Keep Tensions High by NOT Resolving Romantic Conflict
Make Sure Your Protagonist Has Agency
Character Arc Help: Why Your Character Needs to Fail (and How Conflict Can Help)
How Does Internal Conflict Fit into Character Arc?
5 Ways to Add Internal Conflict to a Story
Showing Internal Conflict to Readers
Vary Your Conflict Scenarios by Choosing from a Variety of Categories
Need Conflict? Just Let Your Characters Talk
Use Difficult Decisions to Test and Challenge Your Character
Optimize Your Conflict by Raising the Stakes
Find Conflict Organically Via the Setting
Tips for Crafting Conflict in Your Novel (podcast)

We’ve also uploaded some of the appendix tools from the book to our Tools page so you can access them. There, you can find a Character Conflict Response Flowchart that shows how to plot a character’s route to success of failure, along with an Internal Conflict Brainstorming Resource to aid in figuring out their main source of inner conflict.

Other Mother Lode Posts

If you found this collection of resources helpful, you might be interested in some of our other compilation posts.

How to Write about Character Occupations
How to Show (Not Tell) Character Emotions
How to Create Phenomenal First Pages
How to Write about a Character’s Emotional Wounds
How to Write about Your Character’s Pain
How to Choose & Employ Your Character’s Talents and Skills
How to Use Amplifiers to Stress Characters & Elevate Emotion

BECCA PUGLISI

Becca Puglisi is an international speaker, writing coach, and bestselling author of The Emotion Thesaurus and its sequels. Her books are available in five languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world. She is passionate about learning and sharing her knowledge with others through her Writers Helping Writers blog and via One Stop For Writers—a powerhouse online library created to help writers elevate their storytelling.

The post A Mother Lode of Resources on Writing Conflict appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.