Choosing How to Frame Certain Aspects of Your Work
May 30, 2024
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Listener Kelly Fuller receives critique on her book club fiction submission, discussing comps, query writing, stakes, agent selection, causality in plot, character vs plot development, and making unlikeable characters relatable. Playwright Vanessa Walters talks about themes in her novel, The Lagos Wife, choosing dual timelines, framing motherhood, and offering advice to aspiring writers.
Choose comps that match your genre when pitching your book.
Ensure high stakes in your plot to engage readers effectively.
Frame character development intentionally to make unlikeable characters relatable.
Infuse glamour and setting details to enhance your narrative and plot.
Deep dives
Introduction to the Podcast Episode
The podcast episode involves discussions about writing and publishing, offering a course called the 'Author's Publishing Playbook' by a senior literary agent, Carly Waters, with 15 years of experience. It provides insights into preparing, pitching, publishing, and promoting books, targeting aspiring and published authors.
Overview of the Query Letter Reading
The episode features a query letter read by author Kelly Fuller, presenting a novel involving a former president and first lady, Josh and Annie, facing marital challenges. The query letter highlights the complexity of their relationship with a blend of past memories and current struggles, showcasing a unique plot intertwining their personal and professional lives.
Feedback and Critiques on Josh's Characterization
The feedback revolves around Josh's character portrayal, emphasizing the need for more vulnerability and self-awareness to engage readers effectively. Suggestions include showing internal conflicts, emotional depth, and adding layers to his personality to balance his unlikable traits and potential for character growth.
Exploration of Starting with Annie's Perspective
Discussions on potentially starting the story from Annie's perspective to provide a stronger emotional connection and balance. Suggestions touch on beginning with pivotal moments from Annie's past, creating suspense with big decisions, and offering glimpses into her memoir to drive curiosity and engagement.
Implementation of Glamour and Setting Details
Recommendations to infuse glamour and setting details to enhance the narrative and elevate the story's cinematic potential. Insights include incorporating elements of luxury, security details, and estate descriptions to emphasize the characters' elite status and lifestyle, adding depth and visual appeal to the plot.
Closing Comments and Recommendations
Concluding with positive remarks on the story's potential, emphasizing the importance of considering historical context, character arcs, and immersive storytelling techniques. The episode highlights the critical elements of character development, narrative structure, and setting enhancements for a compelling and engaging reading experience.
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Exploring Interiority in Storytelling with Vanessa Walters on 'The Lagos Wife'
Vanessa Walters, author of 'The Lagos Wife,' delves into the significance of interiority in storytelling. The novel unfolds around the disappearance of a woman, Nicole, who marries a Nigerian man, highlighting the mystery through Nicole's perspective and her aunt's search. This intricately weaves themes of family trauma and cultural exploration, shedding light on generational experiences. By blending feminism, patriarchy, and colonialism into a compelling thriller narrative, 'The Lagos Wife' offers a fresh perspective on societal issues in a gripping storytelling format.
In today's Books with Hooks, Bianca, Carly, and CeCe are joined by listener, Kelly Fuller, as they critique her book club fiction submission. They discuss picking comps that match the genre you're writing in; using your query to discuss the plot of the book rather than backstory about your characters; ensuring your stakes are high enough; pitching the right agent for your book based on its content; the need for plot that showcases causality in your query; writing a book that's as long as it needs to be; balancing plot development and character development; being mindful of intentionally writing an unlikeable character; tips for making a character more relatable; and how readers attach themselves to whoever the opener is in a multiple POV work.
After which, Carly interviews Vanessa Walters, playwright and author of The Lagos Wife. The two discuss the themes in Vanessa's latest novel; what inspired it; Vanessa's ability to comment on specific social and political issues without being heavy handed; the novel's title and cover changes; why Vanessa chose a dual timeline for her work; why she framed motherhood in a specific way; and Vanessa's advice to aspiring writers.
Note: Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra are literary agents at P.S. Literary Agency, but their work on this podcast is not affiliated with the agency, and the views expressed by Carly and CeCe on this podcast are solely that of them as podcast co-hosts and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of P.S. Literary Agency.
Carly's course for writers, The Author's Publishing Playbook, is available at carlywatters.com/course. If you haven't grabbed it yet, podcast listeners can use discount code POD15
