Do Men and Women Write Differently?

As authors, we spend a lot of time thinking about plot, character, and craft, but how often do we stop to consider how our own perspective shapes the stories we tell? One of the more provocative questions in fiction is whether men and women write differently. Not better or worse, but with different…
https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/do-men-and-women-write-differently/

#ForAuthors #WritingCraft #gender #genderwriting #selfpublishing
@indieauthors

Find Symbols in Your Settings

We all want our writing to be layered. Like a gourmet meal, we want there to be more to them than just what’s seen on the surface. In stories, this depth can be added a number of ways—through subplots, character arc, subtext, theme, and symbolism. Of them all, I think symbolism is one of the…
https://writershelpingwriters.net/2025/07/find-symbols-in-your-settings/

#Setting #SettingThesaurusGuides #Symbolism #WritingCraft #WritingLessons
@indieauthors

Behind the Scenes: A Day in the Life of a Cowriting Team

Learn about a day in the life of a cowriting team with Resident Writing Coach Christina Delay and her writing partner, Julie Glover. We’re often asked why and how we cowrite books. For us, it began at Under the Volcano, a grill and bar across from the…
https://writershelpingwriters.net/2025/07/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-cowriting-team/

#Collaboration #ResidentWritingCoach #WritingCraft #WritingHelp #WritingLife
@indieauthors

Would Writing a New James Bond Novel be a Dream or Nightmare?

What author hasn’t dreamed of putting their own spin on a legendary franchise? For fans of James Bond, the idea of writing an official 007 novel feels like the ultimate honor—a chance to step into Ian Fleming’s iconic shoes and send Bond on a brand-new mission.
https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/writing-james-bond-novel-dream-or-nightmare/

#ForAuthors #WritingCraft #continuity #freshtake #literaryuniverses
@indieauthors

The Gravity of a Single Word: Why Writers Must Choose with Care

Guest post by Evan Swensen. It happened in a lecture hall so quiet that even the sound of paper turning...
The post The Gravity of a Single Word: Why Writers Must Choose with Care appeared first on C. S. Lakin.
https://www.livewritethrive.com/2025/07/04/the-gravity-of-a-single-word-why-writers-must-choose-with-care/

#WritingforLife #writingadvice #writingcraft
@indieauthors

The Emotion Amplifier Playbook for Antagonists

We all know the importance of tapping into our character’s feelings and conveying those clearly to readers. When we do this, readers connect with our characters and become invested in the story. This is how we keep them engaged beyond the first few pages or…
https://writershelpingwriters.net/2025/07/emotion-amplifier-playbook-for-antagonists/

#Emotion #EmotionAmplifierThesaurus #Villains #WritingCraft #WritingHelp
@indieauthors

Weekly News: 30th June 2025

Every week, we post a curated list of links that authors should find useful or interesting. Here are this week’s links:

• 8th Note Press, the publisher started by TikTok’s parent company, looks set to close.
• MailerLite users can now sell ebooks directly in MailerLite.
• It’s common to submit a manuscript to an agent or publisher and hear nothing. But Jacqueline Salmon says the culture of silence in publishing is getting out of hand.
• A San Francisco book shop has stopped selling JK Rowling books because of her transphobia.
• Pitching bad stories to good journalists doesn’t get you coverage. It gets you ignored. Or worse: laughed at.
• Are em dashes a clear sign of AI writing?
• How to handle contradictory feedback.

Book a FREE consultation to find out how we can help you publish your book.

The Pros and Cons of Writing Fan Fiction

Fan fiction is everywhere, from the depths of online archives to the origin stories of bestselling authors. While it can be a powerful way to practice your craft and build a fanbase, it also exists in a legal and creative gray area that every writer should understand. Fair use protections only go so far, as…
https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/pros-cons-of-writing-fan-fiction/

#ForAuthors #WritingCraft #creativeip #fairuse #fanfic
@indieauthors

Do you like writing-related joy, inclusion and self-kindness, fiction, and/or corgis? Subscribe to receive Process & Product every other month! https://process-and-product.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Next one's going out on Wednesday--and I have some cool classes coming up soon!

@edibuddies, @writers, #Writing, #Editing, #WritingAdvice, #WritingCraft, #QueerWriters, #Romancelandia, #FictionWriting, #SelfPublishing, #InclusiveLanguage, #ConsciousLanguage

Should You Write What You Know or Aim to Experiment?

Savannah Cordova suggests ditching writing what you know for the new and improved version: Know what you write. Show-don’t-tell! Kill your darlings! Don’t use adverbs! Sound familiar? Most writers will probably recognize the long list of industry sayings that seemingly crop up in every single writing…
https://writershelpingwriters.net/2025/06/should-you-write-what-you-know/

#GuestPost #StoryIdeas #WritingCraft
@indieauthors

Weekly News: 23rd June 2025

Every week, we post a curated list of links that authors should find useful or interesting. Here are this week’s links:

• Smashwords will be running their summer/winter sale throughout July.
• Indie author marketing on a tight budget.
• The benefits of going to live author events.
• How to use subtle callbacks to hide clues in plain sight.
• Reasons to crowdfund your next book.
• Lessons from Aikido about making space in your life for writing.
• Social monocultures don’t exist any more, which is important for modern marketing.

Book a FREE consultation to find out how we can help you publish your book.

How Season 2 of 1923 Became a Masterclass in Audience Betrayal

Warning: This blog contains major spoilers for season 2 of 1923 (and season 1, for that matter). The first season of the Yellowstone spinoff prequel 1923 was a hit that audiences fell in love with, building on plot points and unspoken…
https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/season-2-of-1923-masterclass-in-audience-betrayal/

#ForAuthors #WritingCraft #audiencebetrayal #betrayingreadertrust #betrayingyouraudience
@indieauthors

Why You Deserve to Go on a Writing Retreat

So, You Want to Go on a Writing Retreat? A writing retreat is a designated period and space where writers gather to focus on their writing projects. Often such retreats take place in beautiful, inspiring locations. Alternatively, retreats may be virtual, where creatives are…
https://writershelpingwriters.net/2025/06/you-deserve-a-writing-retreat/

#Motivational #ResidentWritingCoach #WritingCraft #WritingLife #WritingTime
@indieauthors

Weekly News: 16th June 2025

Every week, we post a curated list of links that authors should find useful or interesting. Here are this week’s links:

• US copyright certificates being issued right now may be invalid. It should be simple for the US Copyright Office to fix it, though.
• Elizabeth Spann Craig has a simple method for organising book files.
• Disney and Universal have sued Midjourney. Jonathan Bailey says it may be “the most important lawsuit filed against an AI company.”
• The pros and cons of local book marketing.
• How to tell when it’s time to stop revising your manuscript.
• How to get more clicks on your adverts.
• Instead of chasing goals, set limits.

Book a FREE consultation to find out how we can help you publish your book.

Campfire Stories As a Blueprint for Unforgettable Books

What makes campfire stories so captivating? Aside from the atmosphere created by crackling flames and darkness held at bay by firelight, these stories grab our attention right away, hold us spellbound, and linger long after the last log burns out.
https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/campfire-stories-blueprint-unforgettable-books/

#ForAuthors #WritingCraft #campfirestory #selfpublishing #storiesaroundthecampfire
@indieauthors

Continuing a Series: Enticing Readers to Return

When writing a series, we need to adjust our writing techniques. Last year, we talked about the tricky balance of repeating information in a series from one book to another. We want to avoid giving readers a sense of déjà vu, but we also can’t assume that readers have read (or remember) previous…
https://writershelpingwriters.net/2025/06/continuing-a-series/

#ResidentWritingCoach #Series #WritingCraft #WritingLessons
@indieauthors

Weekly News: 9th June 2025

Every week, we post a curated list of links that authors should find useful or interesting. Here are this week’s links:

• The UK government’s AI bill has been blocked again in the House of Lords.
• Sales and income aren’t the only ways to measure success as an author.
• If your ebook is exclusive to Amazon and was published after 1st May, you could enter the Kindle Storyteller award.
• Another scam, this one preying on authors’ desire to be in book shops.
• Writing a series has a greater potential for making money. Ingram Spark has advice about that.
• Avoid over-explaining things in dialogue.
• From the archives: what metadata is, and why it matters.

Book a FREE consultation to find out how we can help you publish your book.

I wrote about Amanda Lee Koe's phenomenal SISTER SNAKE, (and couldn't stop myself from a light musing on fairy tales because you know me).

https://loft.org/writers-block-blog/sister-snake-amanda-lee-koe-and-time-magic

Turning Inspiration Into Original Writing

Most writers walk a line between influence and invention. What we grew up on, whether books, movies, or television shows, serve as creative fuel for both our conscious and subconscious mind. Just because a new book is inspired by a story from the past doesn’t mean it is inferior,…
https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/turning-inspiration-into-original-writing/

#ForAuthors #WritingCraft #drawingoninspiration #inspiration #inspiredby
@indieauthors

The Importance of Beginning with the End in Mind

Liz Alterman is here to share how to begin your novel with the end goal in mind and avoid mistakes she’s made. Plus…she’s giving away a query critique and an EBook to celebrate her newest release, Claire Casey’s Had Enough. When we sit down to write a book, it’s typically because we feel called to […]…
https://writershelpingwriters.net/2025/06/beginning-with-the-end-in-mind/

#GuestPost #Plotting #Synopsis #WritingCraft
@indieauthors