by Jacque | Feb 8, 2022 | Character, Powerful Stories, Uncategorized
When you scroll through Pinterest or Instagram looking for ways to strengthen your characters, you may run into this common piece of advice: Give your character a quirk. According to dictionary.com, a quirk is a “peculiarity of action, behavior, or personality.” 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 | Jun 10, 2020 | Conflict, five requirements, Powerful Stories, Self-Editing, step 6, Structure, Supersets, Uncategorized
The Best Way to Create Conflict Imagine the scene you’re reading involves the characters all sitting around a table eating dinner. The image is clear because you’ve had dinner at a table before, so you understand what goes on. During this scene, everyone is in a good...
by Jacque | Jul 24, 2019 | Conflict, five requirements, Powerful Stories, Structure, Uncategorized
The best part of any story is the Conflict. The trials and tribulations of compelling characters keep us at the edge of our seats, unwilling to put the book down. It’s no wonder it’s a requirement of story, it is the story! While it’s true you need an inciting...
by Jacque | Feb 26, 2019 | five requirements, Self-Editing, Structure, Uncategorized
Actually, let’s make that four… Editor’s note: In the structure model I use, the Predicament has been removed as a story requirement. It’s such an inherent piece that I’ve never seen it missing when the Climax is presented clearly. No...
