Remember, if you write because “if you can make one person happy, it’s worth it” YOU count as one person. If it makes you happy, then it’s worth it. Good luck everyone!

On the context of powerful verbs, I just watched a video going through ATLA's alternative phrases to "kill" such as "I'm afraid I'm not taking prisoners today" or "I'm about to celebrate becoming an only child". And honestly, those phrases really hit harder than "I'm going to kill you".

I am plotting my novel, and here's Jenna suddenly appeared on my notifications.

12:29 "It's not exciting if the victory comes easily." Me, a horror/thriller writer: "It's not exciting if the victory comes (full stop)" 😈

Couldn't agree more with number 8. There's nothing more exciting than pulling the rug out from under your characters and forcing them to deal with the new challenges. One of my favorite ways to do this is to decrease the time in which a character has to achieve their goal. For example, the mc is fighting a villain, and things are pretty evenly matched...that is until their comrade has suffered a fatal injury. Now the mc has to quickly finish their battle to be able to safely make it to their ally (perhaps even a love interest) and administer first aid. Oh, and bonus points if you do this at the end of a chapter. Instant page-turner.

This is perfect, Jenna! I'm writing a dystopian novel at the moment and I was struggling with this. Thank you!!

The emotional roller coaster is probably the best piece of writing advice I've ever utilized and one that always comes to mind when I'm starting a new chapter. It forces me to look at the chapter from a perspective that I wouldn't normally. It's much more than just changing the mood. It forces me to analyze the outline of each chapter as I go and make changes I need to keep it engaging for my readers. When I start writing a new chapter it's the first thing I think about and when I end it's the last thing I think about. It really improved my writing and outlines structurally.

Thank you, Jenna. I've been following you since before you pushed Eve the Awakening and your videos have helped me a lot.. I've written my own manuscripts before and because of your videos, and your advice I can say with pride that my manuscript has been picked up by a publisher. If it weren't for you I'd probably not have gotten this far. Anyways, you'll probably not see this message but I just wanted you to know that I wanted to thank you. P.S. I'm re-reading the Savior's Champion for probably the third time before I read The Savior's Sister. I have read it on paperback audio and now hardback! I can't wait to read The Savior's Sister hardback next. Thank you again for all your advice, Jenna.

Tip #4 is basically how my series is built into a meta-arc framework, with each stretch having a tonal shift at the halfway point that moves the plot in a slightly new direction: - Each ten-episode season has a major plot twist and/or revelation in ep 5 that shifts the tone for the second half - Many of the themes from one season carry through into the next, whether it be antagonists on the run, main cast dealing with the aftermath of Rubicon-crossing events, or newly emergent threads and hooks in upcoming arcs - The series as a whole comprises two clearly distinct sagas with the same central protagonist (the series is his “journal” throughout the story), with each saga having a midpoint tonal shift separating it into two distinct phases It seems ambitious, I know, but there’s really no other way it can be presented. Structure-wise it’s arc-focussed, and the layered interconnectivity allows for each and every bit to tell its own story, while contributing to a narrative whose plot threads of varying lengths weave into a vivid tapestry of a grand epic.

I like the use of examples, it helps to get across your point across and its fun to see pictures of characters we know and love

All good advice and a lot of them tie back to the same overall idea, some advice I got a while ago: making a story exciting isn't about making the story exciting all the way through, it's about knowing when and how to utilize excitement so that when it happens it happens to the fullest.

I finished both saviour's champion and saviour's sister this month. Absolutely wonderful! I love reading along with the audiobook.

Tip #10 reminds me of its perfect antithesis, the "climax" in the last Twilight book, where everyone talks for a bit and then goes home.

This video made me realize that I don’t just want to write for fun-I actually want to write well, even if just for me. It made me tear up a bit because I know myself, I’m a perfectionist and I’ll probably never be satisfied with my craft

Lol, #8 made me think about how we say "Break a leg!" to actors just before they go onstage.

I'm in the editing phase, and this video is exactly what I needed 👌

Thank you so much for the tips! They’re very helpful ♡

i just found you today and as someone who's wanted to write fantasy since a very young age and is finally now starting I absolutely love your advise

Great tips as usual Jenna! I love that you started with caring about the mc. I've also read books that had lots of action but I just didn't care. I also never thought about subplots as a tool for making the novel as a whole more exciting. It's counter-intuitive but it makes sense.

Excellent video Jenna! Immersed in editing, worried about dialog it it easy to overlook these things...the heartbeat of the story isn't always what it seems.

Jenna always seems to bring out the correct video at the correct time.

Great advice Jenna! I do like #4, I hadn’t thought about that particular transition. 😎 And sadly, from many stories I’ve read too many authors need to consider #6 for real. TFS

I really needed this right now, once again you’ve helped us all

These tips were some of the best ive heard, thank you ! Got my mind going as you were speaking

You are so amazing thanks for the tips Jenna ❤️

Thank you. This was exactly the reminder I needed.

amazing content as always Jenna.

Another amazing video! Very helpful. I especially appreciate the reminder to make sure the MC almost fails before the climax of the story.

Thank you so much. I'm now thinking about some changes I could make to my almost-finished manuscript. I'm saving this one to review before STARTING my next project. 😄

OMG, Where you reading my mind?? I was just thinking that the book I'm writing lacked excitment and I didn't know if it was just the impostor syndrom stricking again, or if it was an ACTUAL problem. Thank you so much for this video! Your tips are incredibly helpful! Btw, I just started reading The Savior's Sister (right after finishing the Savior's Champion) and now I trust even MORE in your tips and videos. I literally couldn't put them down when I opened them

This is awesome! Thanks!

Fantastic tips! I have been worried for a while that my fantasy book didn't have enough action in it, but I think I just need to work on pinning #10 💜

These are some writing tips I’m definitely going to use as I’m writing my action sci-fi story.

Thank you for this podcast.

LOVEE your energy! You are so sweet 🥰

This is genuinly such a helpfull video. I'm currently trying to plot out my book and there is so much helpfull advice in this

Amazing tips as always.

Amazing video!!

That last point made me think of León: The Professional. That ending had me sobbing!!! So, that's very good advice.

I don't think the ups and downs need to be every other chapter, that would simplify the plot and/or make it hard to keep going in longer stories. But it does need to go up and down. But like, it can be happy for 1-6 chapters before it goes down into bad and worse for a bunch of chapters. Like, it doesn't have to be so fast all the time. Other than that, I agree with that point.

Great tips 👌

Omg the last point! So many stories felt exactly like that to me 😬

Speaking of roller-coasters, I grew up reading Edgar Rice Burroughs (of Tarzan fame), who was a pulp writer and a serial writing machine. He may have had only one story at his disposal but every month's installment ended with a gut-wrenching cliff-hanger. I never tired of the worlds he created and he kept me coming back for many years.

Thank u so f,n mutch u saved my franchise

She *was* in the dungeon vs She *was* shackled in the dungeon isn't actually changing a word, it's adding a word. And it's still passive. She *sat* shackled to the floor of the dungeon. Would make it more interesting. She hung... she lay... etc. It's the was/were/is that makes it passive. Though the "shackled" part makes it more interesting as well as it gives us something to envision.

Number 1 is I think the most important, or at least the foundation of them all. If the reader doesn't care about the characters, the reader doesn't read. I started writing a few crime stories that I abandoned simply because I could not find an emotional investment for my characters, or some came off as rather bland. If I don't care, why should my reader?

Can you do a video on developing an interesting setting/world. I have my magic system figured out and my character and plot figured out but I have no idea what setting to put them in

#2. Ultron, from the Avengers. Anyone else think his humor is hilarious?😂

I'm in a writing slump and I am sat here procrastinating on my phone and I see "Jenna Moreci" and if that isn't a sign from the cyborg goddess I don't know what is

Are you afraid your writing might be a wee bit boring? God, I hope not, because if so I've probably wasted the last fifteen years of my life. 😂

I H A T E when authors don't describe the physicality of something exciting or traumatic - ESPECIALLY traumatic. If you want me to be effected and invested in this horrible thing, I need to know HOW it affects the character.

One of my characters was described as claiming the ground under his feet instead of just walking towards his dropship.

I haven't even watched this yet, just want to say thank you

In one of my stories, my MC faced off a tough bad guy and it was a difficult fight, until the villain ended up in the river and died horrifically.

Cool.

I learned more about writing here than my creative writing class.

Yeah, all of my stories have heavy anime influence. So a lot of high Fantasy moments, but there is still real moments mixed into worlds that break physics. Like how every time spells go flying, I usually have more light hearted moments in between the action.

Me legit days before seeing this: I'm a crappy writer. This story isn't going to work. Now, i'm surprised how I not only successfully meet most things on this list.

Literally just recently trying to figure this out

I LOVE the almost-fail. At the risk of tooting my own horn, I think I wrote one of the best almost-fails I've ever read.

Relatability makes them likable. I tend to feel empathy the moment someone is relatable cause I "get" them.

8:43 ad-break perfection.. "He went into the arena could instead be written as..." "I was having a lot of trouble losing weight" Thanks for that laugh.

💜⚡️

Does someone have tips to how make a diary story exciting? Cuz i'm writing one, and it seems kinda dull at times, cuz there's only one pov

I wrote this today, hopefully it sounds good. She was once an angel with a striking breathtaking beauty. An unimaginable beauty from the riches kingdoms of heaven, where the mansions Bloomed and flourished with magnificence! She carried a holy presence that danced joyfully like an ocean breeze, automatically bringing dead gardens to life with every step that she took, over the grains of soft soil that laid beneath her feet. A cloud of happy memories that are now burned into the blackness of ashes and have been casted into the loneliest valleys of the outer darkness.where she now sits upon a throne of death, enshrouded in a cloak of corroding lies, With her head held high and a broken crown that sits upon her head. Her saddened evil eyes that have seen hell and all of its tortures. Though she now walks through the forsaken dead gardens of Lost souls, she still remembers who she once was, before the corruption.... before the plague..... Before the wicked virus that spread and captivated the minds of men. She was a fool to trust the infected words. Words that acted as bad seeds,hatched and Gave life to rotten rotten fruits. Rotten thoughts that acted like black vines, wrapping around her mind, squeezing every bit of joy and holiness out of her dying soul. Now she forever sits in a table filled with childhood monsters while drinking a cup of deceit, with an evil grin waiting.. and waiting.... and waiting.... For eternity......

#2 reminds me of the Dark Tower by Stephen King. Our introduction to Roland made me want him to die more than anyone else in the book and I didn't manage to finish it.

Captain Ravioli 😭🤣

I swear Rick riodan is the king of this

I think my best chance to make my book exciting is to light it on fire.

Jenna: " 'He went into the arena' could instead be written as..." ***Ad interupts the cyborg.*** Ad: "Cheez-It! Now comes in ten different flavors!"

Don't write much as used to or used to try to anyways. Basically always use description words to both show an tell, kinda, at same time while building up along the plot to major events. An not be too cliched while at it.

Very timely. I'm about to fix my messed up outline (I'm a pantser trying to write from an outline - I wandered off track and broke it!). I have now realised I need to juggle a couple of key plot points. Regarding point 4: please for the love of who every your deity is - do it but keep it brief. I have read books where mid conversation there are three paragraphs of thoughts, emotions and bodily reactions between two lines of dialogue. It's so much that when I reached the second line of dialogue (a reply to the first line) I'd forgotten what they were saying. This author does this consistently. I have learned now to skip over the extra waffle, but that shit should have been cleaned up in the developmental edits!

10:46 or bring in 7.

characters are super oriented for a conflict narrative, like if it ended in a fight immediately they would have a continuous advantage, so instead heres a political minefield to navigate without blowing a hole in relations. and suddenly quirky fight winner is out of their element and dependent entirely on trained politician team mate to get things done/ get them out of trouble.

About the third point, the giving them disadvantages... How could do that with a superhero that is Superman-alike

I was just thinking “I don’t have an almost” then I realized the character who *almost* died.

I've been following your channel for some time now, but you know what I don't get, do you actually only have two books published? I tried following the first link, seems like it's dead and on Amazon I only see one published book. So, your advice is based on only publishing two books or did I miss something?

Iv watched the princess bride 10 times and i didnt know the giants name

#5 can be used ad nauseum.

6:32 reminds me of season 2 of Tokyo ghoul

Yes I do like ravioli

#10 is something a story I'm reading and critiquing rn sorely needs. It's like. Girl meets boy. Ooh, he's pretty. I like him. (But she's disguised as a guy and he can't know atm, which is cool). But then she talks to him about what kind of girl he'd like, and he describes her. I mean... make him want something else, or think he wants something else, only to have him fall for her later. Now, he's basically in love though he "can't figure out what's so alluring about this man". Sigh. Too easy. Same with the fights and stuff. You can't do this, you're a woman. Yes, I can, and I'll beat everyone without breaking a sweat. Oh... well, that was boring.

Thankyou for the "Good Advice" & Pointing to the (Watchers/Avid Typist) Whome Does/NOT & Will NOT Read the Drivel that you Call a Book. Its a Pitty Your Advice DIDNT make it INTO your BOOKS!

"But Jenna...." No, no buts. I just like saying it as I watch your videos.

Who got surprised by Heeeello?

Well thought-out points. I would suggest you re-orient the microphone. You're off-axis and sound washed-out with low volume.

The number one make me discover why I can't liked the Morbius movie.

1. Sigh...I have "sagging Adam and Kayla" syndrome. The eldest and the youngest respectively of my four mains. It's not that I'm NOT invested in them, because the fact that there is a plot AT ALL hinges on Adam, and my climax hinges on Kayla, but...I don't know...I feel like I don't know them as well as either Victoria or Stephen (the middle two siblings). Is there a way to fix that? I feel like I'm not as invested in their chapters, and, for the above reasons, no, I can't remove them from the plot. I THINK like Victoria and FEEL (sorta...) like Stephen (the middle two siblings), and hell, I f*cking AM Jeremy (the hero, but not one of my POV characters, mostly: he gets a chapter or two), but for Adam and Kayla, the relationship is a little more tenuous. 2. Trust me, other than Kayla, they ALL start out profoundly unlikeable. My main four, anyway: not Jeremy. Adam starts out as a spoiled, entitled, rich prick...because he was raised by one...Victoria starts out as a bleeding-heart, Fundamentalist Christian, "I must be good wife material for the man my father selects for me" kind of chick, Stephen's just...a f*cking emotional wreck until, like, the last quarter of the book, and NO, I will NEVER "cure" him of his depression, because I hate the cure narrative for disability. But I hope that that's compelling enough to draw people into their transformations. 3. Hmm...Adam, wheelchair user (if you consider that a "flaw", which I don't, but his world does), spoiled, domineering little shit. Victoria, conditioned to be, and I'm sorry, but it's true, a womb on legs. Stephen...Stephen is Stephen. Kayla, lack of confidence, combined with a VERY impulsive nature. And she kind of goes back and forth between those two, and it's one of her impulsive moments that sets the entire remainder of the SERIES, not just the book, on its track. And I'm only putting Jeremy in because the plot hinges on so many of his actions, but Jeremy, lost his dad at a young age, VERY good at hiding his insecurities, but when you see who he is when he's alone, it's kind of sad. Not in a "haha" or in a "poor you" kind of way, because his MAIN strength is that he is loved, but more in a "Wow, you hide a lot of who you are from the world, don't you?" kind of way. Not to the point of an actual identity crisis, but he does not know who he is without the other people in his life giving him his various roles. He'll be the loving and attentive son, the goofy-ass youngest brother, the infallible lover, the best friend you've ever had, the worst enemy you've ever had, the skilled artisan, but...get him alone, just alone with his mind, and he's none of that on the inside. 4. WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE--gasps for breath--I'm actually good at this part--WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! Haha. 5. Also good at this one. Next! 6. Different verbs, adjectives, adverbs, for each character, eh, because they all have different voices. This is all first-person, right, so Adam's speech starts off harsh, rude, and superior, but he DOES mellow. Vicky starts off stiff and mature, and totally unconscious of what a classist...I don't wan to call her a bitch, because she doesn't MEAN it...but what a classist bitch she is, but he loosens up. Stephen stays pretty consistent with every other word being an obscenity, but when he's in his more mellow moods, he can be quite eloquent regarding his more artsy side Kayla is...you ever hear that song "Valley Girl" by Frank Zappa? Not THAT bad, but she does do the "like" thing, and other younger teen-isms, like using overblown language, and sometimes getting whiney But I'm trying now in this draft to distinguish the different voices more from one another. One of my beta readers said she could always tell it was definitely Stephen or Victoria talking, but not as much with Adam and Kayla--they didn't have unique voicing--and I think that's going to contribute to rounding them as characters. 7. Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees mom, the main plot is the romance...sigh...but that's really just a conduit for getting the whole family where it needs to go, and the other subplots do contribute to this, too, and also contribute to how they variously cope with where they're going, and why, and how. Stephen's also got the side-romance with Olivia, so that's a thing, and they're still together at the start of the second book, which makes sense, because book two picks up a week after where book one leaves. I have the four main plots of the siblings, but then I want Jeremy in there to round off the corners. As to his voicing, by the way, I FEEL it's distinct, because, again, when he's alone, he's very melancholic. Not whiney, not mopey, more...introspective? He's a deep thinker, like Stephen. Or like Stephen is when he's not an abject mess. And nooooooooooooooooooo-OOOOOOOOOOO, this is not me saying people with chronic depression are chronic messes. NOR am I saying, by the way, that they are intrinsically deep thinkers. Both Jeremy and Stephen just are by nature. What I AM saying is that Stephen's going through some shit in this book. Quite a lot of it, actually. 8. I just realized that my book is more towards the older style of writing where the climax is in the middle, not at the end, but I do quite literally get bones breaking in that scene. And in the very first scene, actually, but different people for different reasons. I don't feel bad for Adam, because, and I can't emphasize this enough, DISABILITY IS NOT A BAD THING...but I do feel bad for Vicky, because, umm...what happens to her should not happen to anyone. But it's not until the very last book in the series that you see just HOW bad that situation is for all parties involved, namely her parents, in this case. So it's a slow burn. 9. The lowest point for all parties actually comes immediately after the climax. Vicky's in hospital, Adam's being a dingus, Stephen is quite literally suicidal, but never gets he chance to do anything about it--thankfully, because I need him alive--and Kayla's...well, she's not suicidal, but her whole life has just been uprooted, and she's only 14. Too young for all this crap. And then Jeremy, I do love him, but my freaking martyr, is blaming himself for EVERYTHING, and Vicky (eventually) has to (figuratively) smack him around a bit to make him see any kind of sense. And, again, final book material, but their mother is literally catatonic, and that does not go well. No one ends up dead, but...final book material. 10. Well, through no fault of her own, Vicky almost ends up dead, so does that count? After that, though, because Jeremy's castigating himself, she's just like, "F*ck this, I'm not putting up with his shit," but out loud, anyway, she says to him, "If you blame yourself one more time, I swear we'll have a real fight," or something to that effect. Or even, "I swear I'll hit you," which would be ironic for a number of reasons. Or iconic, even, again, for a number of reasons. She is in love with this man, but she has ALSO never told a man no, she's never put her foot down about anything to do with her own life, she's never done anything to ruffle feathers or risk someone getting angry at her, because, in her experience, anger usually corresponds with someone getting a black eye. This is a "step into your power" moment, because she's actually able to for the first time in her life, and I love it. THIS is what brings her out, and Jeremy correspondingly, from the lowest moment. She HAS a man, but she don't need no man to save her.

My book very brutal like silence of lambs

Second

Does is mean I lack creativity if I literally, rather than metaphorically, broke my hero’s leg?

I must have missed the Zombie episode of My Little Pony 🧐

I want to write action-horror-fantasy comics. Somewhere in between Resident Evil and Devil May Cry. I'm not really trying to scare people and I don't want it to be just a Micheal Bay rip-off. 🤷

#4 is exactly what ruined the Black Widow movie for me. There were so many epic fight scenes back to back that by the time it got to the climax, I was completely numbed to it and bored out of my mind. Sometimes less is more, and that movie would have been a lot more enjoyable if that philosophy had been employed.

Circa Feb 2022 Sweet Tooth: ---- Fuck it. Fresh blood in my mouth, and a headache so bad that I could feel my ancestors shouting insults at me in every foreign language I can't understand. A full can of West Coast Double IPA sits unattempted, warm, staring at me from across the room, a real stinger. Jaw hurts. Stumble into the bathroom, and spit into the sink. Gritty chunks of broken tooth and old fillings, probably mine, least I hope so. Otherwise it would be weird, right? Moral of the story: Don't chew ice cubes, EVER! Especially if you already have bad teeth/enamel, or grind them when you sleep. Teeth grinding should be considered a form of panic attack. If you sleep with someone, make them aware that you do it, also let them know if they do it! It's for safety and we'll being. If not sleeping with someone, more power to you. Record your night sleep on your phone plugged into the charger. You will find out if you're a talker, walker, grinder, thrasher, mower, Magikarp, or a log. Had to use sterilized needle nose pliers to get the sharp molar chunk shit out of my gums because I cracked my tooth during a fucking NIGHTMARE! That was a drama in it's own right. My lovely lady woke up to the sound of my tooth cracking, and tried to wake me. I'm asleep, and she starts slapping/shaking me to wake up cause my mouth is bleeding. The dream I was having at the time was really bad, I thought I was a crab and something was about to crush me. She's 6'0", I'm 5'"8. She's 170, slender, viola playing track star, walks 5+ miles a day, sexy as hell. I'm 220, squat enthusiast, and I do handstand push-ups in the morning before work. She stopped shaking me when I finally came to and she said, "Babe, you're bleeding everywhere! Do you need sugar?!" Lol. I'm a diabetic. Took a few moments for me to understand. She always assumes it's a diabetes thing. Hah! I love her so much. She helped me find a good dentist. Anyways, WRITE YOUR DAMNED BOOK AND STOP READING MY COMMENT? You silly goose!

Lacking verbs, or was/were/is are so boring. There *is* a man on the bench vs There *sat* a man on the bench/There *lounged* a man on the bench/ There *slumped* a man on the bench... see the difference? A lot of people go for the boring was/were/is and stuff like went instead of walked/stepped/stomped etc.

First

Neither Sherlock Holmes nor Agent Pendergast are likable. Nor relatable. Yet they are among the most fascinating in all literature. So ... zup widdat?

Will try to promo my wip here. Look if you guys want to read a story about a demon king and his human wife 😌 Interesteds let me know. Is on Ao3

I've put down a handful of household brand authors because of boring non-stop action. Others, because of pretentious name dropping -- No one cares what brand of shoe you like.