Michelle Barker
@michellebark.bsky.social
Senior #editor at DarlingAxe.com. Award-winning #author, Ironman #triathlete. michellebarker.ca
The German Emigration Center is maybe the most incredible museum I've ever visited. Interactive stations bring the history of emigration to life. Moving, effective, eye-opening.
#WritingCommunity #Germany
#WritingCommunity #Germany
September 26, 2025 at 6:13 PM
The German Emigration Center is maybe the most incredible museum I've ever visited. Interactive stations bring the history of emigration to life. Moving, effective, eye-opening.
#WritingCommunity #Germany
#WritingCommunity #Germany
Bremerhaven! What an unexpectedly wonderful little town in Northern Germany. Highly recommend! Plus, it's amazing to finally see in person a place you've been writing about.
#WritingCommunity #Germany
#WritingCommunity #Germany
September 26, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Bremerhaven! What an unexpectedly wonderful little town in Northern Germany. Highly recommend! Plus, it's amazing to finally see in person a place you've been writing about.
#WritingCommunity #Germany
#WritingCommunity #Germany
Officially this is Day 2 of my German research adventure, but I was too tired to post yesterday. Insight so far: DO NOT trust ChatGPT for directions in a foreign country. The ones it gave me were stunningly wrong, right down to the "landmarks."
#WritingCommunity #Germany
#WritingCommunity #Germany
a man in a suit is standing in front of a building with a sign that says guinness
ALT: a man in a suit is standing in front of a building with a sign that says guinness
media.tenor.com
September 24, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Officially this is Day 2 of my German research adventure, but I was too tired to post yesterday. Insight so far: DO NOT trust ChatGPT for directions in a foreign country. The ones it gave me were stunningly wrong, right down to the "landmarks."
#WritingCommunity #Germany
#WritingCommunity #Germany
August 25, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Just finished reading Hitler's People by Richard J. Evans. Great book. One thing that struck me was the number of high-ranking Nazis who were talented musicians. Like, a lot of them. Music didn't have the power to redeem them. I'm trying to figure out why.
#WritingCommunity #BookSky #History
#WritingCommunity #BookSky #History
August 22, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Just finished reading Hitler's People by Richard J. Evans. Great book. One thing that struck me was the number of high-ranking Nazis who were talented musicians. Like, a lot of them. Music didn't have the power to redeem them. I'm trying to figure out why.
#WritingCommunity #BookSky #History
#WritingCommunity #BookSky #History
#Writers, what's the best writing advice you've ever gotten? One that's been on my mind lately is: a problem that your character can walk away from is a book the reader can walk away from.
#WritingCommunity
#WritingCommunity
a cat is laying on the floor in front of a robotic vacuum cleaner .
ALT: a cat is laying on the floor in front of a robotic vacuum cleaner .
media.tenor.com
August 22, 2025 at 9:56 PM
#Writers, what's the best writing advice you've ever gotten? One that's been on my mind lately is: a problem that your character can walk away from is a book the reader can walk away from.
#WritingCommunity
#WritingCommunity
#MysteryWriters don't neglect your setting! Here is a post all about how setting can work for you in your mystery novel.
#WritingCommunity
writershelpingwriters.net/2025/08/how-...
#WritingCommunity
writershelpingwriters.net/2025/08/how-...
Colonel Mustard in the Ballroom: How Setting Shapes Mystery
Setting is important in any genre, but especially mysteries where it can limit suspects, suggest motives, provide clues, and shape the crime.
writershelpingwriters.net
August 20, 2025 at 2:43 PM
#MysteryWriters don't neglect your setting! Here is a post all about how setting can work for you in your mystery novel.
#WritingCommunity
writershelpingwriters.net/2025/08/how-...
#WritingCommunity
writershelpingwriters.net/2025/08/how-...
True or false: a #writer is someone who sits in their pyjamas all morning staring out the window and calls it work.
#WritingCommunity
#WritingCommunity
a poster for the la guarimba film festival
ALT: a poster for the la guarimba film festival
media.tenor.com
August 19, 2025 at 6:30 PM
True or false: a #writer is someone who sits in their pyjamas all morning staring out the window and calls it work.
#WritingCommunity
#WritingCommunity
#Writers, are you using the weather in your fiction to its full potential? Winter means snow, which means leaving footprints behind. Summer heat can amplify tension. Rain can create delays, reflect mood. Choose your setting with intention.
#WritingCommunity
#WritingCommunity
August 18, 2025 at 4:14 PM
#Writers, are you using the weather in your fiction to its full potential? Winter means snow, which means leaving footprints behind. Summer heat can amplify tension. Rain can create delays, reflect mood. Choose your setting with intention.
#WritingCommunity
#WritingCommunity
What's the difference between omniscient POV, deep third, and head hopping? It all comes down to control. Ask yourself who's holding the camera? If it's being tossed around indiscriminately, you've got a problem.
#WritingCommunity
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/p...
#WritingCommunity
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/p...
POV: Who’s Holding the Camera?
Intentionality is how you earn readers’ trust.
darlingaxe.com
August 18, 2025 at 4:11 PM
What's the difference between omniscient POV, deep third, and head hopping? It all comes down to control. Ask yourself who's holding the camera? If it's being tossed around indiscriminately, you've got a problem.
#WritingCommunity
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/p...
#WritingCommunity
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/p...
Would love to hear from #writers who do some (or any, or all?) of their work by longhand. Not many do anymore, and I feel like when I make the effort, the work comes out differently. Agree?
#WritingCommunity
#WritingCommunity
August 17, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Would love to hear from #writers who do some (or any, or all?) of their work by longhand. Not many do anymore, and I feel like when I make the effort, the work comes out differently. Agree?
#WritingCommunity
#WritingCommunity
#Writers, tell me a little about your current work in progress. I'm working my way through the second draft of a historical novel set in Berlin 1938. Filling some research holes, just generally doing it better. Time away from it made me see what it needed.
#WritingCommunity
#WritingCommunity
a person is writing in a notebook with a pen on top of it
ALT: a person is writing in a notebook with a pen on top of it
media.tenor.com
August 17, 2025 at 6:29 PM
#Writers, tell me a little about your current work in progress. I'm working my way through the second draft of a historical novel set in Berlin 1938. Filling some research holes, just generally doing it better. Time away from it made me see what it needed.
#WritingCommunity
#WritingCommunity
#Mystery writers, if you're interested in structure and are fans of Sue Grafton, here's a breakdown of A Is for Alibi from our ongoing series on mysteries.
#WritingCommunity #booksky
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/a...
#WritingCommunity #booksky
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/a...
Story Skeleton—A Is for Alibi
Grafton straddles the two mystery worlds—noir and classic—to create something unique.
darlingaxe.com
August 15, 2025 at 11:24 PM
#Mystery writers, if you're interested in structure and are fans of Sue Grafton, here's a breakdown of A Is for Alibi from our ongoing series on mysteries.
#WritingCommunity #booksky
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/a...
#WritingCommunity #booksky
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/a...
At McLoughlin Gardens I was often up with the sun. I would grab a coffee, sit out on the deck and write as the sun rose. Couldn't ask for more inspiration than that.
#WritingCommunity
#WritingCommunity
August 15, 2025 at 11:21 PM
At McLoughlin Gardens I was often up with the sun. I would grab a coffee, sit out on the deck and write as the sun rose. Couldn't ask for more inspiration than that.
#WritingCommunity
#WritingCommunity
Reposted by Michelle Barker
Writers in the Vancouver area! Come check out our presentation on narrative structure next month at WriteOnBowen.com 😎
(With @michellebark.bsky.social !)
(With @michellebark.bsky.social !)
August 13, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Writers in the Vancouver area! Come check out our presentation on narrative structure next month at WriteOnBowen.com 😎
(With @michellebark.bsky.social !)
(With @michellebark.bsky.social !)
Sharing another photo from my magical month as writer in residence at McLoughlin Gardens.
Sometimes when I couldn't sleep, I'd stand on the deck and look at the stars. No light pollution. It was fantastic.
#WritingCommunity
Sometimes when I couldn't sleep, I'd stand on the deck and look at the stars. No light pollution. It was fantastic.
#WritingCommunity
August 14, 2025 at 2:10 AM
Sharing another photo from my magical month as writer in residence at McLoughlin Gardens.
Sometimes when I couldn't sleep, I'd stand on the deck and look at the stars. No light pollution. It was fantastic.
#WritingCommunity
Sometimes when I couldn't sleep, I'd stand on the deck and look at the stars. No light pollution. It was fantastic.
#WritingCommunity
When you finally figure something out, you want to tell everyone 😅. I could never quite explain why head-hopping bothered me so much and how it was different from omniscient POV. Suddenly I got it, so I'm sharing it with you.
#WritingCommunity
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/p...
#WritingCommunity
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/p...
POV: Who’s Holding the Camera?
Intentionality is how you earn readers’ trust.
darlingaxe.com
August 14, 2025 at 2:08 AM
When you finally figure something out, you want to tell everyone 😅. I could never quite explain why head-hopping bothered me so much and how it was different from omniscient POV. Suddenly I got it, so I'm sharing it with you.
#WritingCommunity
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/p...
#WritingCommunity
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/p...
Hey, #writers, if you happen to be on Bowen Island the weekend of September 13-14, there's a great writing festival taking place: Write on Bowen. Come to our workshop! We'd love to meet you and talk story structure (one of our favorite topics).
#WritingCommunity
#WritingCommunity
August 14, 2025 at 2:06 AM
Hey, #writers, if you happen to be on Bowen Island the weekend of September 13-14, there's a great writing festival taking place: Write on Bowen. Come to our workshop! We'd love to meet you and talk story structure (one of our favorite topics).
#WritingCommunity
#WritingCommunity
Reposted by Michelle Barker
#amwritingfantasy #amwriting #writingcommunity #indieauthor #indieauthors inventingrealityediting.com/2...
Stuff your book in a Little Free Library
If you’ve written multiple novels, and especially if they’re a series, you may want to consider sticking your book in a Little Free Library.A Little Free Library is a small container, usually …
inventingrealityediting.com
August 14, 2025 at 1:46 AM
Sharing one of my sunrises from the residency I just finished at McLoughlin Gardens on Vancouver Island. Absolutely magical. Great place to get lots of #writing done.
#WritingCommunity
#WritingCommunity
August 11, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Sharing one of my sunrises from the residency I just finished at McLoughlin Gardens on Vancouver Island. Absolutely magical. Great place to get lots of #writing done.
#WritingCommunity
#WritingCommunity
Calling all #writers! Great festival coming up on Bowen Island in September. Please join us!
www.writeonbowen.com
www.writeonbowen.com
WELCOME | Write on Bowen
www.writeonbowen.com
July 11, 2025 at 3:25 AM
Calling all #writers! Great festival coming up on Bowen Island in September. Please join us!
www.writeonbowen.com
www.writeonbowen.com
Reposted by Michelle Barker
#Win a Story Skeleton: The Classics #ebook
writershelpingwriters.net/2025/05/read...
@michellebark.bsky.social #giveaway #writingcommunity
writershelpingwriters.net/2025/05/read...
@michellebark.bsky.social #giveaway #writingcommunity
Reading Like a Writer
Up your writing craft by doing an exercise that exposes the skeletons of published novels. Enter to win an EBook of Story Skeleton!
writershelpingwriters.net
May 20, 2025 at 8:19 AM
#Win a Story Skeleton: The Classics #ebook
writershelpingwriters.net/2025/05/read...
@michellebark.bsky.social #giveaway #writingcommunity
writershelpingwriters.net/2025/05/read...
@michellebark.bsky.social #giveaway #writingcommunity
Writers who are interested in story structure, check out my most recent blog post with Writers Helping Writers:
writershelpingwriters.net/2025/05/read... Includes a giveaway for our book, Story Skeleton: The Classics
#WritingCommunity #BookSky
writershelpingwriters.net/2025/05/read... Includes a giveaway for our book, Story Skeleton: The Classics
#WritingCommunity #BookSky
Reading Like a Writer
Up your writing craft by doing an exercise that exposes the skeletons of published novels. Enter to win an EBook of Story Skeleton!
writershelpingwriters.net
May 20, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Writers who are interested in story structure, check out my most recent blog post with Writers Helping Writers:
writershelpingwriters.net/2025/05/read... Includes a giveaway for our book, Story Skeleton: The Classics
#WritingCommunity #BookSky
writershelpingwriters.net/2025/05/read... Includes a giveaway for our book, Story Skeleton: The Classics
#WritingCommunity #BookSky
Great piece on why it's not enough to rely on beta readers for your novel.
#WritingCommunity
writersinthestormblog.com/2025/05/are-...
#WritingCommunity
writersinthestormblog.com/2025/05/are-...
Beta Readers Help—But Editors Make Your Book Great
Beta readers are passionate readers and valuable resources. But can they replace a developmental editor? Find out the differences between these two roles!
writersinthestormblog.com
May 19, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Great piece on why it's not enough to rely on beta readers for your novel.
#WritingCommunity
writersinthestormblog.com/2025/05/are-...
#WritingCommunity
writersinthestormblog.com/2025/05/are-...