by Jacque | Oct 13, 2021 | Essential Scenes, five requirements, Powerful Stories, Self-Editing, Structure, Uncategorized
Mystery or Romance? Sci-Fi or Fantasy? Literary or Non-sense? The single most important question asked is, “What’s my genre?” This can be a confusing topic for most contemporary writers. Your story is set in the future, contains a murder, and the protagonist gets...
by Jacque | Sep 8, 2021 | editor secrets, Uncategorized
One of the biggest frustrations I hear from new writers is that they can’t find the time to write. Let’s face it: Writing and editing are the hard parts; the imagining is where the fun is. For several months, life was tough. It was stressful, and it felt like I was...
by Jacque | Mar 10, 2021 | Uncategorized
Mary Laura Philpott suggests that if we have a talent for something, we enjoy doing it. She also wonders if we get good at it because we enjoy it and if “talent” is really a thing. But what does it mean to have a talent for something? For our purposes, it means a...
by Jacque | Feb 10, 2021 | Character, Powerful Stories, Structure, Uncategorized
“I want to hook my readers from the first sentence.” That’s something I hear A LOT, especially from new writers. It makes sense: readers want something to draw them into the story, and you want to deliver. But let me ask you this…what is the first line of the book...
by Jacque | Jan 13, 2021 | editor secrets, Powerful Stories, Uncategorized
So you got your manuscript back from your editor. Now what? The most important thing to remember is the issues in your story are not a reflection of who you are as a writer or a person. They don’t make you bad. Every author from Stephen King to Nora Roberts needs an...