But most of all...I'm so thankful that I get to help authors share their stories with the world. It literally never gets old. 📚❤️

The books you see on the shelves have gone through many iterations to get them to that point. And your book will get there, too!

Your WIP is a caterpillar, so don't compare it to a butterfly. The caterpillar is beautiful and essential in its own right and is the critical 1st stage of the process.

In today’s interview, Jessica shares her approach to a productive writing day, how she made time for writing with a new baby, and the best feedback she ever received.

Link in bio!

From author Jessica Francis Kane: "When I embraced the idea that I could make a productive day out of walking, reading, going to a museum, seeing a play, etc., it took so much pressure off, and I actually started writing more."

👉 Don't try to perfect your first drafts — first drafts are meant to be messy!
👉 Reward yourself. What better motivation than to promise yourself a favorite treat or activity once you reach "the end"?

Which of these strategies are you implementing to finish your draft?

👉 Make writing a habit that you incorporate into your routine (after breakfast, after walking the dog)
👉 Break your writing goals into smaller milestones. Aim for weekly chapter goals or smaller daily word count targets rather than focusing on an 80,000-word target

And don't let the solution just fall into your characters' laps. Make them work for it!

Tell me: what's your story's external and internal conflict?

☑️ 3. Ensure it's hard to resolve

The second that you resolve the conflict, all your story's tension dies. We start to wonder: why am I still here? What am I reading for?

So make sure there’s something unresolved and uncomfortable pulling us through the rest of the story.

Great example: Arrival.

The external conflict: navigating humans' first contact with aliens

The internal conflict: Louise grieving the daughter she will have and lose

Internal conflict is what your protagonist is battling inside their own mind—their most painful memories, their biggest regrets, or their deepest fears.

If your plot only contains external conflict, your story is only halfway there. The best stories also incorporate strong internal conflict.

☑️ 2. Include both internal and external conflict

External conflict is what we think about first when we're creating a plot. This involves any outside forces that are out of your protagonist's control, like losing a job, battling a war, or confronting a bully.

Bad example: Your protagonist, who's engaged, suddenly revealing they've had a secret boyfriend for years (who has never been mentioned).

Good example: Your protagonist's mother vehemently disapproving of her fiancé, making her question whether they're right for each other.

Conflict should never feel like a random plot twist thrown in just to spice things up. It should always be rooted in who your characters are, the environment they’re in, and the choices they’ve made.

☑️ 1. Make it believable

If your conflict comes out of nowhere, readers are going to check out and lose trust in your storytelling. The conflict should feel organic, something the plot has been building to.

Instead, they:
✅ Connect with other writers
✅ Take a break from their story to come back with fresh eyes
✅ Change up their routine to kickstart creativity again
✅ Read something new

And the biggest thing...they KEEP WRITING.

You've got this.

Even highly established authors feel periods of writer’s block or waning motivation for writing. Periods where they doubt themselves and their story.

It's part of being a writer. But the ones who make it don't let these obstacles stop them.