Writers in the Storm

By Sarah (Sally) Hamer

We all want to write stories that people remember. But what makes a story memorable? I believe that legendary books, ones that live on for years, have one major similarity, the transformation of a character. It’s like a character arc is magic, taking the imperfect human as a lump of clay and crafting it into a breathtakingly beautiful vase. We’ve all seen it happen, probably even written that arc ourselves. So, how did we get there and get there again?

One of the most powerful ways to craft such an arc is to take what seems like a “negative” trait, whether fear or stubbornness or arrogance or naivety, and show how, through struggle and growth, that trait becomes a strength. We’re not trying to erase the flaw. It’s the basis of who the character is. It means reframing it, tempering it, and allowing it to evolve into a gift. And, hopefully, turn it into legend.

Why Negative Traits Matter

In my editing and teaching, I often find writers who refuse to be mean to their characters. “But I love them!” is a common excuse. LOL! But, if we want our readers to love them, they can’t be perfect from page one. Dull! Boring! It’s the cracks in a character’s armor that let the light in.

A negative trait is not just a weakness—it’s a seed of potential. Stubbornness can become perseverance. Arrogance can soften into confidence. Fear can sharpen into wisdom. And, interestingly enough, when you design a character arc around this transformation, you give readers a mirror for their own lives. We all know what it feels like to wrestle with our shadows. Watching a character redeem theirs is deeply satisfying. It gives us hope that we can transform our lives too.

The Framework of Transformation

1. Show the Harm – Early in the story, let the negative trait cause problems. Readers need to see why it’s unsustainable.
2. Introduce Pressure – Place the character in situations where the trait is tested and its limits are revealed.
3. Reframe the Trait – Through failure, loss, or revelation, the character begins to see the trait differently.
4. Culminate in Choice – The climax should hinge on the character using the “redeemed” version of the trait to succeed.

Remember, the harder the journey, especially one filled with emotional “danger,” the more the transformation feels earned.

Case Study: The Fearful Heroine

Let’s bring this to life with a concrete example. Imagine a young heroine named Elira, living in 18th‑century Europe. She begins her story in poverty, defined by fear, and ends it as a woman of courage and responsibility.

Act I: The Silent Girl

Elira grows up in a rural hamlet, where survival depends on invisibility. She lowers her eyes when tax collectors ride through, hides when soldiers pass, and avoids speaking her mind. Fear is her shield. It keeps her safe but also keeps her small.

When her village is raided, she is taken to the city as a servant in a wealthy household. She believes she has no power, only the duty to obey. Her fear deepens: in this new world, a wrong word could mean punishment or worse.

Act II: The Crucible of Power

In the city, Elira witnesses cruelty and corruption. She sees fellow servants beaten, townsfolk starved, and the casual brutality of the elite. Her fear intensifies.

She is ordered to carry messages and overhear conversations. Her silence protects her, but it also harms others. When a friend suffers because she stayed quiet, Elira realizes her fear is no longer protecting her, now it is betraying her values and she feels guilty about not acting.

This is the turning point. She begins to see that fear is not only a chain but also a compass. It sharpens her awareness, helps her notice details others miss, and warns her of danger. If she can learn to act with fear rather than against it, she might find a new kind of strength.

Act III: From Fear to Fire

When unrest boils over—a food shortage, a rebellion, or a conspiracy—Elira must decide whether to remain silent or act. She chooses to act.

Her fear guides her to move carefully, to plan, to notice the cracks in the system. She uses her memory and insight to pass information, smuggle food, or warn townsfolk. What once paralyzed her now makes her wise and strategic.

In the climax, she risks her life to reveal the truth. Her courage is not the absence of fear but the decision to act in spite of it.

Resolution: The Steward of Voices

Elira’s actions save lives and shift the balance of power. She is no longer the voiceless girl from the village but a trusted witness and advisor. She still feels fear, but now it walks beside her as an ally.

The final image: she stands before a gathering, her voice steady, carrying across the square. The girl who once hid in shadows now speaks for many.

Lessons for Writers

Elira’s arc illustrates several key principles you can apply to your own stories:

• Don’t erase the flaw, redeem it. Fear doesn’t vanish from Elira’s life. It transforms into caution, empathy, and wisdom.
• Make the flaw costly. Early on, her silence harms others. This ensures the transformation feels necessary.
• Tie the flaw to the climax. The story’s resolution hinges on her ability to use fear differently. Without that, the arc would feel disconnected.
• Ground the arc in context. Setting the story in a historical moment of unrest makes her transformation believable. She doesn’t rise by magic but by necessity.

Why Readers Love This Arc

Readers resonate with arcs like Elira’s because they mirror real life. Most of us don’t shed our flaws overnight. We learn to live with them, to reshape them, to find the gift hidden inside the wound.

Fear, in particular, is universal. We all know what it feels like to be afraid of speaking up, of stepping forward, of being seen. Watching a character transform fear into courage gives us hope that we can do the same.

---

Practical Exercise for Writers

If you’d like to try this in your own work, here’s a simple exercise:

1. Choose a Negative Trait – Pick one for your protagonist: fear, arrogance, stubbornness, naivety, recklessness.
2. List the Costs – Write down three ways this trait causes harm in the first act.
3. Reframe the Trait – Ask: what hidden strength lies inside this flaw? How could it become a gift?
4. Design the Turning Point – Create a moment where the character realizes the flaw is no longer protecting them.
5. Plan the Climax – Ensure the character’s success depends on using the redeemed version of the trait.

This exercise will help you design arcs that feel both authentic and inspiring.

The beauty of storytelling lies in its ability to reveal transformation. By turning negative traits into positive ones, we remind readers that growth is possible, that flaws can be reframed, and that even fear can become fire.

When you craft a character like Elira, someone who begins in shadows and ends in light, you’re not just telling a story. You’re offering a mirror, a map, and a spark. And that spark may be exactly what your readers need to kindle their own courage.

What traits do your favorite characters have? How do they transform? Please share it with us down in the comments!

About Sarah

Sarah (Sally) Hamer, B.S., MLA, is a lover of books, a teacher of writers, and a believer in a good story. Most of all, she is eternally fascinated by people and how they 'tick'. She’s passionate about helping people tell their own stories and has won awards at both local and national levels, including two Golden Heart finals.

A teacher of memoir, beginning and advanced creative fiction writing, and screenwriting at Louisiana State University in Shreveport for over twenty years, she also teaches online for Margie Lawson at www.margielawson.com and for the No Stress Writing Academy at https://www.worldanvil.com/w/classes-deleyna/a/no-stress-writing-academy.  Sally is a free-lance editor and book coach, with many of her students and clients becoming successful, award-winning authors.

You can find her at info@mindpotential.org

Top photo licensed from Depositphotos.

By Kris Maze

Writing a novel rarely takes a straight path, processing many drafts before arriving at The End. Many writers focus on crafting their words but lose their work to faulty saving systems. If this has ever happened to you, this post may the remedy needed to finish your novel quicker.

Where's my stuff!?

Let's say that three weeks ago a side character you quietly killed off now needs to be resurrected, but their key details have disappeared in previous edits. Where were those detailed descriptions again? That clever dialogue you spent hours agonizing over? Digging through your draft history can be a pain, if not impossible.

If you add up these changes over the months and years that it takes to bring a novel to completion, a writer could have hundreds of manuscript versions. And a non-sortable, frustrating, mess.

Drowning in Drafts

Sorting through drafts was maddening for me without a version control plan. I often grabbed the wrong copy or found myself editing an old document. At other times, I updated multiple documents, unwilling to part with old versions I could revert to. Shutting down my computer brought on a wave of anxiety as I wondered, where exactly would my stuff go when it isn’t all open on my home screen? 

My experience finishing a novel was circuitous, winding, and dense. And after losing my work enough times due to multiple save points, I got serious about taking control of my manuscript versions.

If you have ever struggled with losing your work, or keeping your novel-related files organized, this post is for you. Join me, my creative writers, and lessen the stress of finding your work.

Controlling Chaos: Manuscript Version Control Set Up

Making Folders that Keep It All Tidy

The first step in managing your drafts is to have clearly designated spaces to keep the various parts of your project. On my laptop I have a core folder for all things writing. Inside that main folder I have a core “Writing Projects” folder, which has folders for each book or short story I’ve worked on. 

Inside that project folder are five sub folders that keep me organized through the whole book process from writing to publishing. Here are the designations I have within that folder:

Early Drafts

1. “Early Drafts” This one has a lot of the junky, messy versions. This one is named with a working title or the nickname the project has before it gets the final book title. 

I recommend that you keep the nickname on the folder and to not update it once the book has an actual title, since it keeps the early work together and out of your way as you progress through your novel.

Final Drafts

2. “Final Edits” This folder is very helpful in the editing stages. Inside this folder are subfolders for beta feedback, professionally edited files, and many, many “final” drafts that I can now sort through with ease.

Social Media

3. “Social Media” This folder has subfolders that house my social media copy. I have a folder for each type of media, short videos and posts, and it has a spreadsheet to help me keep track of which ones I’ve used.

Book Covers & Meta Data

4. “Book Covers & Meta Data” This folder holds all the variations of the key parts of the book outside of the manuscript. Having separate folders helps to keep it all organized.

Upload Files

5. “Upload Files” This folder makes uploading final documents fool-proof, allowing me to have only the final book cover, manuscript, and digital files ready at my fingertips to upload to stores. 

Scrivener Exports

One step for me involves using the “compile” feature in Scrivener, which I will share here. If you don’t use Scrivener, you can apply these organizing ideas with any document system. You will still benefit from saving multiple files that document your progress and setting up a folder system with easy-to-find files. For the purposes of this article, I will focus on using Word as it is the most used software when working with editors.

Instructions for using compile in Scrivener may change over time as the software gets updates, so check the Literature and Latte website (the URL home of Scrivener) or customer service if you have any issues. 

To export Scrivener project to Word follow these steps: 

1. click Compile icon 
2. choose output format 
3. select files to include 
4. click Compile 
5. give document a title 
6. save.

If you prefer to watch a short instructional video, I found this helpful resource by author Kirsten W. Larsen in a YouTube series on using Scrivener. This video explains how to export your manuscript in parts, selecting only the chapters and not the meta data. It also shows how to export in other formats as well. 

Scrivener will default to the last settings used, so once I set mine up to save only the chapters (and not the notes, or metadata) it would compile quickly each time I finished my writing session.

Naming Docs – The Secret Sauce

Now that you have your first draft outlined in Word and it is time to save it on your laptop. Remember those fancy folders we created? Let’s take one more step and craft a name that will not only clearly identify this draft but will also bump the most recently used draft to the top of this folder.

Using “Save As”

There are two options in the main drop “File” menu that we should pay attention to here: “Save” and “Save as.” These do very different actions to your manuscript and it could be easy to lose your work, as I once did long ago.

The difference summed up here is basic:

“Save As” creates a NEW FILE.

“Save” updates the existing file.

For my system, every time I finish a writing session, I hit “Save As” and create a new version of the draft. Even when I write at erratic times and for various durations of time, each change will be traceable, with the most current one located at the top of my Writing Projects folder. This version during this slice in time will be organized by date and time to ensure that I always grab the latest version.

Naming the Files – The Key to My Organized Universe

A file name can be a hindrance if you don’t have a plan. I have many drafts of older novels that include multiple title variants and clues about which manuscript I am looking at with the word “final” or “complete” in them. Be thoughtful about your title and save yourself a lot of stress later when you try to find your latest file.

Instead of using the hodge-podge titles I had been concocting over the years, I began to use a logical system that would order my files for me. Each file has three to four components as follows…

• Title Name
• Date
• Time
• Special Purpose (Beta, Editor, Critique, for example)

Title

It starts with a shortened title, something you will easily recognize that is not like any of your other projects. Once you save your first draft the latest title will come up automatically when saving. Then you can adjust the other parts of the whole file name.

 Date

Next include the date in this format:

251212. [year in two digits, month and day]

Having the year first is the key. Adding it first allows the files to adjust to your drafts and to automatically order them in your folder.

Time

I write at different times throughout the day, as many writers do, so adding the time is an important identifier to include in the file name. You could add the four digits for the time, such as “0914” for 9:14, but that could be in the morning or at night. I prefer to add “am” or “pm” after that. Other writers may prefer using military time or the standard world clock time that uses 24 hour days.

Special Purposes

At times, it may be useful to add a descriptor at the end of the file name to keep this version separate. Maybe you are ready to share a portion of your work with a beta reader, editor, or critique group. By adding a simple word, or person’s name at the end of your normal file name, you will always know which file you gave them. You can easily send the updated file by using this same system and the date and time will make it clear which one is the newest.

Example:  HarryMetSmiley 250622.0407pmFirstRevision

In the example above, I have all the information I need to understand where this file is in the progression of the novel. 

• It has the working title for the project: Harry Met Smiley. 
• It has the date: June 22, 2025.
• It has the time I finished that writing session: 4:07 pm.
• And I have the stage of my writing: a first deep revision.

Here are some variations of this manuscript near the end of this project’s timeline.

ParallelLives 250622.0407pm CharacterArcChanges
ParallelLives 250624.0407pm Part2Rewrite
ParallelLives 250625.0407pm ForBetaReaders
ParallelLives 250807.0407pm BetaFeedbackReconciled
ParallelLives 250810.0407pm ForEditor
ParallelLives 250815.0407pm EditorialChanges
ParallelLives 250901.0407pm FinalCandidate
ParallelLives 251021.0407pm FinalForPublishing 

Adding date and time assures that each draft is always identifiable, but the way to craft this file name has to be consistent. Be sure to check this when using “Save As”  and making a copy to the correct folder. That little extra attention to your file name will make all the difference in finding it later.

New folders for new steps

In the revision process, you will hit certain milestones or turning points in writing your novel. There may be the completed first draft. There may be a time when the book title changes. There are the instances of before getting extensive feedback from editors and beta readers and applying changes from that feedback.

When you need to clarify the latest stage of your novel, create a new folder and save your next update to the new one. Retire the old ones, tucked away in the main folder to avoid clutter and confusion.

It is also important to back up your laptop and files. Here is a recent post on this topic by James R. Preston.

Work Flow – A Satisfying Habit

This may sound like a lot of extra steps to you, but knowing where to find your latest manuscript is worth the effort. For me, I have learned to appreciate the pattern of exporting a copy from Scrivener and saving it on my laptop. Then with a couple of clicks, uploading it to Slack (or another cloud service). This pattern assures me that my work is safe, and retrievable. And that allows me to focus on the creative writing process instead of wondering where the last draft disappeared to. It has become a satisfying routine that marks the end of my writing session. 

My last writing project was Parallel Lives – The Paths Not Taken, a speculative, light romance with sparkle, and I found that the main project folder contains 251,302,948 bytes (255.2 MB on disk) for 598 items related to writing this manuscript. This does not include the handwritten drafts that filled a notebook over the year it took to draft it. That’s work saved and crafted that I can find whenever I need to.

Final tips 

My hope is that you can find some digital file management tricks that work for you. It is terrible to hear the heartbreak of an author who lost any amount of their work. Sometimes the battle for writing just one paragraph can be a complete tragedy if becomes lost, don’t let that happen to you. Organize your files and protect your work. Your novel depends on it! :)

• Make it a routine that works for you
• Check your files to see that they saved
• Open the files occasionally in all the places to check

Let's hear from you!

Do you have your own system for keeping track of drafts? What trouble have you had in keeping your files organized? Share your version control tricks…I love learning new ways writers tame the chaos of drafting!

About Kris

Kris Maze is a speculative fiction author who crafts suspenseful, heartfelt stories with twisty plots and a touch of the uncanny. Her work blends science fiction, mystery, and emotional depth, often exploring the big “what-if” questions of life and the universe. She also writes darker fiction under the pen name Krissy Knoxx. When she isn’t writing, she’s likely teaching, traveling, or wandering trails pondering the wisdom of Bob Ross. Follow her author events and join her newsletter found at KrisMaze.com.

Parallel Lives – The Paths Not Taken

Check out my new release!

A speculative time travel with light romance elements!

Harriet Last doesn’t expect much to change in her careful, practical life. That is, until a tech demo lets her revisit the “paths not taken.” What she finds is a glimmer of the person she used to be… and a thread of unexpected connection she can’t quite explain.

As Harriet explores these softly shifting memories, she begins to see where she set her dreams aside and where she might pick them back up again.

A heart warming, hope-filled story about rediscovering yourself, welcoming possibility, and noticing the spark that’s been beside you all along.

Buy it today wherever you purchase your next favorite story!

by Rachel Warmath

Many of us write about the hardest parts of our lives.

We use storytelling to explore the traumas we’ve survived, the wounds we’re still making sense of, and the difficult moments that have shaped us. Whether you’re a memoirist telling your own story, a ghostwriter telling someone else’s, or a novelist channeling pain into a character, you’ve likely faced the question:

How do we approach heavy material without letting it consume us?

That’s what we’re going to unpack in this blog post.

Early in my career, I had one ghostwriting client who recounted a certain scene from her past. It was violent and chaotic and triggered something in me. That whole day, it haunted me. I felt on edge. When my imagination would replay the images and dialogue in my mind, my palms got sweaty and my heart would race. I managed to jot down a few notes about our call, but I avoided sitting down at my desk to write. That night, I didn’t sleep well at all. The next morning, I still wanted to avoid the project.

Through that experience, I made a decision: In order to safely write about trauma, I needed better boundaries and real tools to protect my energy. Over time, I have learned how to do exactly that, through trauma-informed training, nervous system regulation tools, therapy, and consistent self-care routines.

4 Ways to Protect Your Writing Energy

In this post, I’ll share with you what I wish I’d known sooner. These tools and practices are designed to help you create safety for yourself and your writing clients. Let’s get into it!

1. Create Self-Care Routines and Take a Proactive Approach

A resilient nervous system starts with taking full responsibility for yourself and actively developing habits before the stress hits. Trust your intuition on what you think might work best for you.

There’s something to be said for mastering the basics of self-care: getting good sleep, eating nourishing foods, staying hydrated, spending time in nature, and doing practices like walking, yoga, exercise, breathwork, journaling, and meditation. Create a solid foundation for yourself because it will empower you in every area of life, including your creative pursuits.

Be open to trying new things. When you do find a practice that resonates, do it often. As the quote goes, “We don’t rise to the level of our expectations; we fall to the level of our training.”

2. Create a Clear Opening and Closing to Each Session

Clearly open and close sessions, whether you’re writing about your own trauma or interviewing a client about theirs. Experiment with different cues to signal to your body and brain that it’s time to start or stop working. I’ll sometimes light a candle as I set sacred space; blowing out the flame at the end of the session is a great visual cue that my work is done.

I’ve also used essential oils, smelling one scent at the start of a session and then a different scent at the end, to help my body differentiate between when I’m beginning and ending work. This is actually backed by neuroscience! Scent sends signals directly to your body’s limbic system, where emotions and memories are processed. And trust me, now anytime I smell citrus and vanilla, my body knows it’s time to relax.

You could also try:

• Walking barefoot outside and setting an intention before you sit down to write
• Listening to a certain song or playlist to get “in the zone” for a session
• Washing your hands after working, signaling that work is over and you’ve rinsed off any dense or negative energy
• Changing your environment when you’re done —closing your laptop, stepping outside, or switching rooms
• Saying out loud, “I’m done for the day” or “I release this” after you’re finished
• Taking a short walk after work as your “commute” if you work from home (or adding mindful breathing to your drive)

The point here is to find a small ritual that works for you and feels natural. Not only are you creating mental distance from work, but you’re also bringing your body into the experience, too. It’s a somatic reset that says, the work is now done and I’m moving on to what’s next.

3. Understand What’s Happening When You’re Triggered and Use Tools To Ground Yourself

Diving into traumatic material can activate your nervous system and trigger a response—whether you’re writing about your life, someone else’s, or a fictionalized version of something you’ve lived. Even though the danger isn’t happening to you directly in that moment of writing, you can still become agitated. Or if the heightened state becomes chronic or very intense, you could experience vicarious or secondary trauma.

The risk increases when the material mirrors something you’ve been through. For example, if you’re writing a character who endures a type of harm you’ve survived, or you’re ghostwriting for a client whose story is similar to yours, the emotional resonance can be overwhelming. So first and foremost, have keen discernment about which projects or storylines you’re equipped to handle. You’re allowed to say no to a book project or theme that could be too much for you.

Keep in mind, too, that your body’s reaction is normal—it’s actually your nervous system trying to keep you safe! Recognize when you need to take a break and consider those moments an invitation to prioritize self-care.

4. Know Your Energy and Your Limits

How well do you know your own energy? Can you tell the difference between when you are at full capacity and when you’re drained?

Do seasonal or cyclical check-ins with yourself. I like to revisit my workload every quarter and ask: Is this feeling balanced? Do I need to set new boundaries around when I take meetings? Do I need more days off? Sometimes the required shift means limiting client calls to two per day. Other times, it means scheduling more rest between drafts.

The more self-aware we are, the easier it is to notice early warning signs of dysregulation and prevent compassion fatigue. Create boundaries not only with clients but with the book you’re writing. Know when it’s time to take a break… and take breaks without any guilt! Every writer needs time off.

This Is Sacred Work

Writing about trauma is an incredibly healing, transformative kind of work. Alchemy is happening under the surface. When you reflect on your pain or witness another person’s pain and translate it into a meaningful narrative, that takes artistry and emotional intelligence.

It also requires resilience: mental, emotional, and energetic resilience. By honoring your limits and caring for yourself, you create space for yourself to thrive even while writing about the heaviest moments you’ve been through. May these practices help you stay rooted as you write the hard things. Remember, healing happens throughout the creative process, not just in the final draft.

Keep going. You’re doing powerful work here.

About Rachel

Rachel Warmath is a memoir ghostwriter, writing coach, and developmental editor based in Salt Lake City, Utah. She is also a trauma-informed yoga teacher and energy healer. Rachel believes every story holds medicine. If you’re ready to write yours, she’d love to help.

Visit ConfidentAuthors.com to learn more about her one-on-one support for authors.

Featured photo created with Canva Premium.