Jess West

Greetings, loyal subjects of Her Majesty, the Dragoness of Flash! Friday, Ms. Rebekah Postupak. Welcome to my humble page. Should you choose to participate in this week’s melee, and it is my sincerest wish that you do, the following is a list of weapons every minstrel and bard should possess in his or her arsenal.

#1 Know thy characters and thy setting well, that thou can show by virtue and with vigor that which is seen clearly by your own mind’s eye. (I’m a big fan of depth of character and a vivid setting.)

#2 Enthrall me with a tale of astounding odds and astonishing feats the likes of which I’ll never forget. (Conflict. Stories must have conflict.)

#3 Just when I’m certain of the direction of the tale, flip the world over on its protagonist and send my mind reeling. (That “flip the script” moment in the story that allows natural character development to occur. While not strictly necessary, stories that include such eventful moments tend to make a higher emotional impact, in my opinion.)

Remember, brave knights, I am but a humble servant in the court of the Great Dragoness. I look forward to tales that are sure to enchant even the most discerning dragon. Until then, I bid you all a fond adieu.

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A stay-at-home mother of three dragonlings, Jess writes short fiction for her blog, Write This Way, and the occasional guest post for Prose Before Ho Hos. She stalks some of the best writers on Twitter as @West1Jess, and on Goodreads. She pops in at Wattpad from time to time as well.