Writers in the Storm

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For the Love of Books

3 weeks ago | writersinthestormblog.com | James Preston

by James R. Preston"Do not read, as children do, to amuse yourself, or like the ambitious, for the purpose of instruction. No, read in order to live." - Gustave FlaubertYou love books. If you didn’t love books and stories you wouldn’t be here. I love books, too, always have. I think we should take a break from studying the art & craft of writing, c’mon, how about a few minutes spent telling stories of our early experiences with books and reading? Don’t worry— I have a purpose in mind.
7 Types of Questions to Help You Define Your Author Brand

1 month ago | writersinthestormblog.com | Jenny Hansen

by Jenny HansenLast month, I talked about "the How and Why of a Strong Author Brand," and the comments were amazing. So many of you said, "I've been meaning to do this for ages!" This month's post is for any of you who felt like the Mysterious Branding Forest was just way too confusing to navigate based on that big picture overview. This post divides your questions into seven distinct areas. You're invited to do them all at once, or (even better) to divide them up and do one every week.
How (and Why) To Define a Strong Author Brand

2 months ago | writersinthestormblog.com | Jenny Hansen

by Jenny HansenMy day job involves helping businesses clearly define their brand, so they can turn their stories into money and clients. And do you want to know the most common request people approach me with? "Can you help with my marketing?" *shakes head* This is a common thread among businesspeople AND authors. Branding and marketing are two very different things, and yet I see people mix them up all the time. Even worse, they try to put the least important of the two at the front of the line.
The Wolf Under the Table

2 months ago | writersinthestormblog.com | J. Scott Coatsworth

by J. Scott CoatsworthSometimes we writers get stuck in a boring backwater, with nothing exciting at hand to move the story along. That’s when this little sleight of hand trick comes in handy. Let’s say your characters are on a quest for the fabled Sword of Bighands. They’re sitting around a thick iron-banded wooden table at the Borderlands Pub, a dark, seedy, local hangout where you can buy anything from drugs to human slaves.
A Spring Gift from WITS: Share Your First Lines!

Mar 24, 2025 | writersinthestormblog.com | Jenny Hansen

Every so often, we open the doors of WITS to our readers. It's our version of Open Mic Night where you get to take the stage. We like hearing what you're up to in your writing and, since we just made the turn into Spring, it seems like a great time to hear about new beginnings. Today, we'd love to hear your first lines for a new manuscript or short story. If that sounds daunting, give us the first line of your new chapter, or the first line of one of your favorite books.
Some Keys to Achieving Confidence in Your Writing

Mar 17, 2025 | writersinthestormblog.com | Jenny Hansen

by Jenny HansenGaining confidence is often difficult in many areas of our life, but for creatives, confidence might feel exceptionally hard. We create something tangible out of our own imaginations. Our "something" is typically judged by others as valuable vs not valuable. Creatives rarely know in advance how our creations will be received. We begin our creative journey with whatever gifts are innate, but then we have to build upon them. We spend weeks or months planning a project.
The Shadow Before -- Thoughts on Foreshadowing

Mar 10, 2025 | writersinthestormblog.com | James Preston

by James R. PrestonAcross the electronic gulf in the early years of the twenty-first century the Writers in the Storm web page was likely being watched keenly and closely by intelligences searching for ways to improve their art and craft of writing. With thanks and apologies to H. G. Wells, welcome to The Shadow Before, some thoughts on foreshadowing, and Mars. The beginning and ending link your story together. They help to make it a whole, instead of simply a series of incidents.
Crafting Characters Using the 7 Types of Listening

Feb 21, 2025 | writersinthestormblog.com | Jenny Hansen

by Jenny HansenIt's hard to listen in a world like ours. Between phones and socials and the 24/7 television cycle, we live in a fairly overwhelming world. Yet so much value comes to us, and to our characters, if we all take the time to learn the true art of listening. Listening was so important to me that I took a class on it last year. (The One Philosophy by Nancy Matthews.) It was illuminating on both a writing and a personal level. While I had a lot of takeaways, the biggest were about listening.
Diving in the Toolbox: Creating a Plot-Subplot Template

Jan 31, 2025 | writersinthestormblog.com | Laurie Campbell

by Laurie Schnebly CampbellWhen someone first asked about creating a plot-subplot template for their toolbox, I was baffled. “Why would you need to create a template? Why not just use the W, or the Hero/ine’s Journey, or Discovering Story Magic, or Plotting Via Motivation, or the Snowflake, or Personality Ladder, or -- oh. Yeah. I get it.”There are all KINDS of templates, and a lot of ‘em (like those mentioned above) are extremely good.
Want Readers to Empathize? Use Hidden Experiences!

Jan 20, 2025 | writersinthestormblog.com | Angela Ackerman

by Angela AckermanNo matter who your protagonist is—a formidable galactic emperor, a morally complex teenager, or the retiree down the street with too many cats—readers must find something fundamentally relatable about them, something that resonates with their own human experience. This causes them to feel bonded to the character in a way they didn’t expect, and we need that to happen to get them invested in the story. Tapping into our reader’s psyche to pull on their emotions is essential.