Ask Writer Guy

A helpful advice column -- get your writing questions answered!

We get a fair number of e-mails from both kids and adults, asking things like, “How should I start my story?” “What should I write about?” and “If peanut butter cookies are made of peanut butter, what do they make Girl Scout cookies out of?”

We don’t pretend to know all the answers. (But the answers to the questions above are: with a grabber; whatever you’re excited about; and Girl Scouts.)

But seriously.

Since the Writer Guy is a fiction kind of guy, he’ll be answering questions on writing fiction. (And no, he won’t help you write a book report on a book you haven’t read yet – not THAT kind of fiction.) We’ve posted the first question below.

How often will we update this page? Hard to say. Writer Guy is also a lazy — and occasionally busy — kind of guy. He’ll post the answers when he gets around to it.

(Writer Guy reserves the right to fix spelling and punctuation, edit questions, and change names to protect the innocent.)

How do I make my characters sound different from each other?

July 8, 2025 by Bruce Hale

Dear Writer Guy, I often get feedback that my characters sound the same (voice). What process do you recommend to build distinctions in each character’s voice? Thanks,Judy Dear Judy, At the root of it, this is first a matter of getting out of YOUR head and getting into your characters’ heads. Early on, all our characters …

How do I get published?

September 6, 2021 by Bruce Hale

Dear Writer Guy, I have written a science fiction novel, and I live in India. I am a newbie and I have no idea about this publishing business. However, I do know that I do not want to go with the self-publishing route. I have worked really hard on my book, and I am writing …

How do I find an agent?

July 14, 2021 by Bruce Hale

Dear Writer Guy, Do you have any information on how to find a publishing agent? I have written a couple of children’s stories (ages 3 to 7) — and, yes! I am a new writer — and I am at the stage of taking a leap to find a publishing agent. I work full time …

Help, my ideas aren’t working out!

April 8, 2021 by Bruce Hale

Dear Writer Guy, I am writing a story right now, but I can’t think of any ideas on what to write about next. I’m mostly focusing on the genre of “Fictional and Fantasy.” Whenever I think of a good idea, it either doesn’t work out and can’t connect to the rest of the story, or …

How do you write a graphic novel if you’re not artistic?

June 2, 2020 by Bruce Hale

Dear Writer Guy, I have written a picture book story about French Fries called Petrifies! It’s an action packed rescue story. I’ve been told it should be a graphic novel more than once, but have no idea where to go from here. I am not an artist. Thanks much, Missie Dear Missie, As an …

Help! I’m stuck in my story middle!

February 25, 2020 by Bruce Hale

Dear Writer Guy, I always get stuck in the middle of my books. I write like twenty chapters and then I get writer’s block. Do you have any advice? Sincerely, Zakariya R. Dear Zakariya, A sagging middle sometimes results from not having a challenging enough goal for your hero to achieve, or not throwing enough conflict into his/her …

Why is publishing so disorganized?

October 4, 2019 by Bruce Hale

Dear Writer Guy, Why is publishing so disorganized, compared to other industries? Sincerely, Anonymous Writer (from SCBWI North-Central CA) Dear A.W., I agree — from the outside, publishing looks much more disorganized than, say, the office supplies or plumbing industry. Unlike plumbers, editors seem to take forever to reply to your query (assuming they …

One thing you must do if you want to write

August 17, 2019 by Bruce Hale

Dear Writer Guy, I’ve heard that it is important to continue reading even though you are constantly short on writing time. How do you balance the two? Do you read in the genre you write in? Do you also read adult stuff? Just curious, Alice in Missouri Dear Alice, As the novelist John Irving said, “I …

Do I need a website if I’m not published yet?

November 27, 2018 by Bruce Hale

Dear Writer Guy, I am an up-and-coming writer. Translation: unpublished but soon to be published. (I just know it.) My question: Do I need a website? I don’t have anything published to put on it. I hear that I need a presence anyway. What do I put on the site? I sure don’t have the …

What are the steps of writing a story?

November 21, 2015November 6, 2015 by Bruce Hale

Dear Writer Guy,

I’ve been thinking for a long time now about writing a book…. Please give me directions on how to set about writing the book?