How Are Writers like Holly Bushes?

I learned something fascinating about holly this week (besides that it can be a bush or a tree). What I learned is specific to the leaves. Apparently, holly leaves don’t start out prickly because they’re naturally cranky. They’re prickly because life happened to them. Let me explain… Scientists discovered that every holly leaf contains the...
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https://writershelpingwriters.net/2026/06/how-are-writers-like-holly-bushes/

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What To Do If You Feel Overwhelmed With Writing

You’re Not Alone Most writers feel overwhelmed with writing at some point. It’s part of the process! However, knowing this and dealing with it are two separate things. It’s all very well someone like me telling you it’s normal. What are the steps to getting out of this headspace? Let’s break it down. Ready? Let’s...
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https://writershelpingwriters.net/2026/06/overwhelmed-with-writing/

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Falling in Love: Types of Romance Stories

From subgenres to tropes and beyond, there are many ways to categorize a romance story. We may not know exactly what type of story we’re writing while drafting (especially if we tend to write by the seat of our pants), but once we type “The End,” we do need to figure out what we’ve created....
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https://writershelpingwriters.net/2026/06/types-of-romance-stories/

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How to Generate Better Story Ideas Using the Ones That Don’t Work

Generating ideas is the most underrated skill in a novelist’s toolkit—more essential than an appetite for cold-blooded revision, a head for structure, or a gift for dialogue. Generating more story possibilities within a single manuscript separates a competent draft from a novel with depth, complexity, and staying power. So how do you come up with...
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https://writershelpingwriters.net/2026/06/how-to-generate-better-story-ideas/

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Five Truths I Learned Editing Hundreds of Books That Might Change Your Life

As a Book Coach and developmental editor, I work on hundreds of books with writers each year, in full or in part. I give feedback on drafts, debuts, and nearly polished manuscripts written by writers tackling their third, fourth, or even tenth book. Because I follow the journeys of so many writers, I’m in a...
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https://writershelpingwriters.net/2026/05/five-truths-i-learned-editing-hundreds-of-books/

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The Art of Withholding Information

As authors we hold all the cards when it comes to how and when we reveal key information to our readers. Withholding certain details can create intrigue and set up twists the reader doesn’t see coming. But if we aren’t careful, our readers might feel confused or cheated and consider our purposeful withholding as breaking...
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https://writershelpingwriters.net/2026/05/art-of-withholding-information/

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From Cathartic to Intentional: How to Write When It Feels Hard

Ever feel like you’re having such a hard day or week or month that you’re not sure how to write anything at all? You’re not alone. Recently, someone in the writing community on Substack posted the following: “Don’t you love it when you don’t work on your WIP for three months and then you write...
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https://writershelpingwriters.net/2026/04/how-to-write-when-it-feels-hard/

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What Your Story Problems Reveal About Your Writing Brain

Much as we may have things in common as writers, our brains are wired differently. How one writer creates a story is likely to be quite different from how another one does it. That doesn’t mean that one is wrong—it just means our processes differ. Figuring out how your writing brain operates and how to...
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https://writershelpingwriters.net/2026/04/writingbrain/

#ResidentWritingCoach #WritingCraft #WritingLessons

What Your Story Problems Reveal About Your Writing Brain

Much as we may have things in common as writers, our brains are wired differently. How one writer creates a story is likely to be quite different from how another one does it. That doesn’t mean that one is wrong—it just means our processes differ. Figuring out how your writing brain operates and how to...
The post What Your Story Problems Reveal About Your Writing Brain appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.
https://writershelpingwriters.net/2026/04/writingbrain/

#ResidentWritingCoach #WritingCraft #WritingLessons

From Idea to Page: The Journey of a Romance Novel

Romance is the #1 genre of all time. Whether you love it or loathe it yourself, it’s fair to say readers LOVE it! As someone who enjoys romance novels of ALL kinds – classic and Rom-Com, through to romantasy, paranormal, steamy, LGBTQ+, young adult (YA) and beyond, I thought I would share my tips on...
The post From Idea to Page: The Journey of a Romance Novel appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.
https://writershelpingwriters.net/2026/03/journey-of-romance-novel/

#ResidentWritingCoach #Romance #WritingLessons