Building Your Core: Internal and External Core Conflicts

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

A strong core leads to a strong novel.

When you're talking about plot, the core conflict is at the center of everything. It's what the novel is about, and the whole reason our characters are putting up with all the terrible things we do to them. It's the conflict in our one-line pitch, and what the focus of our query hook will be.

The core conflict is the story.

What “The Intern” Can Teach Us About Keeping Our Story Promise

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

My husband and I watched the movie, The Intern, the other night. The first half was great—funny, sweet, unexpected. Then it veered off track and turned into a different movie. Not so funny. Not so sweet. Only unexpected in that it made you say, “Whaa? What happened?”

It forgot the story promise it made to its viewers.

Note: Spoilers ahead, as I can’t talk about why this is an issue without giving things away. But it won’t really spoil the ending, because sadly, the ending, spoiled the ending.