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 | May 21, 2019 | five requirements, Self-Editing, Structure, Uncategorized
Every story needs the same Five Requirements, just presented in unique ways, both to the genre and the story itself. That first Requirement is the Inciting Incident of the story. This incident or event must deliver a promise, hook the reader, and propel the story...
by Jacque | Dec 18, 2018 | Essential Scenes, Self-Editing, Structure, Uncategorized
For a piece of fiction to work, several elements must be present. Most commercial and genre fiction, those works of art that general audiences read and buy, follow the three-act structure. Not surprisingly, those acts are the beginning, middle, and end. But to have a...
by Jacque | Oct 22, 2018 | Self-Editing, Uncategorized
Pacing is often an overlooked, sometimes seemingly magic, element to a good book. It can keep readers at the edge of their seat, calm them from high intensity scenes, and drive them to turn the page. Yet, if it’s not done well, it can exhaust your audience, bore them,...
by Jacque | Sep 12, 2018 | Self-Editing, Uncategorized
The dreaded plot hole. Nobody likes to hear that they have holes in their story. It’s a lot of work to fill in those gaps and find every spot in your manuscript that refers to the offending bump in the road. But what are they, really? It’s a bit of a buzz word, yet...
