WRITING 101: THE “HOW THE HELL DID THAT HAPPEN?” METHOD

 

WRITING 101: THE “HOW THE HELL DID THAT HAPPEN?” METHOD

Here it is — The Scarlet Division, my paranormal Third Reich story.

How did it start, you ask?

One night, I’m watching a WWII documentary and out of nowhere I ask myself,

“Where the hell did they get all that red fabric?”

That’s it. That dumb question turned into a full-blown novel.

See, the trick to writing isn’t chasing some divine inspiration — it’s paying attention. Always look at the surroundings. English teachers were right (ugh, I said it):

Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How actually matter.

Write from the onlooker’s perspective. Write like the car mechanic across the street is watching your story unfold. Ask:

• What does a person in another culture see when they read this?
• Why does that dog have green eyes?
• Why are they called apartments when they’re all stuck together?

Push your mind past logic and comfort.

That’s where stories live — in the weird little questions nobody else bothers to ask.

— Wes Jaques

(The guy who turned a “where’d they get the fabric” thought into a Nazi ghost investigation.)