The Shit No One Tells You About Writing

In today's Books with Hooks segment, Carly and CeCe discuss focusing on trauma and conflict rather than the perfect life that came before; not taking up too much space for a set up in a query letter; starting with the inciting incident; the problem with objectivity in omniscient POV; how curiosity comes from active emotion; writing well on a line level; pitching plot rather than feelings; and the golden rule of dialogue. After which, Bianca chats with  Megan Abbott, author of The Turnout, about the themes writers return to; the research that goes into a novel; how you don’t need to just write what you know, but what you’re curious about; the struggle to write authentic movement and gestures as your characters make their way through the world; making the reader do the heavy-lifting; and writing an unreliable narrator.Our Sponsors:* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/tsnotyaw* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

In this BONUS episode, we have the author, Ruth N,  join us to chat about her query and first pages. Carly and CeCe discuss giving the characters more agency; describing the plot rather than the ingredients of a plot; and how a query should focus on your hook, inciting incident, and the escalating stakes. After which, Bianca chats with Sara Nicolas who gives some pro tips on how to navigate the upcoming #PitMad and Pitch Wars Blog Hop. Our Sponsors:* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/tsnotyaw* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

In today's Books with Hooks segment, Carly and CeCe discuss being careful with your verb choices so as not to create misunderstandings; the query letter question test; describing the tone of your book as one thing or the other; being careful not to have characters who just have unrelated drama happening to them; changing locations in opening scenes; what constitutes historical fiction; guarding against overwriting and too much mind wandering; getting to the hook faster, and not repeating what’s in the opening pages in the query letter. After which, Bianca chats with  Caitlin Wahrer, debut author of The Damage, about what needs to be in an opening chapter; hooking the reader with immediate questions; writing dual timelines as opposed to flashbacks in the present day; choosing past tense and then struggling with the tenses during flashbacks; structuring stories in a non linear timeline; writing multiple characters in third person close; working with an agent on a revise and resubmit; why writing a query letter for a novel with multiple POV characters is difficult; and the pros of third person close compared to first person.The query letter can be found on our Ko-fi page: https://ko-fi.com/post/Caitlin-Wahrers-Query-Letter-with-spoilers-remov-T6T65UBFS  Our Sponsors:* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/tsnotyaw* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

In today's Books with Hooks segment, Carly and CeCe discuss not being vague in your query letter; letting us know what’s at stake for a character;  why repetition is your enemy in the first five pages; making the geography and the hook of the novel clearer; inciting specific curiosity; and taking care not to write a hidden protagonist. After which Bianca chats with Julie Carrick Dalton, author of Waiting for the Night Song about how to know when you're ready to query. Julie discusses being in the query trenches, as well as entering writing contests; taking part in literary idol events and charity auctions; doing workshops run by agents and editors; working with Manuscript Academy; asking for scholarships or fee waivers; entering Twitter contents like #pitmad; studying writing; what climate fiction is; and answering why you’re the most qualified person to tell a story.  Our Sponsors:* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/tsnotyaw* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

In this bonus episode, Bianca chats with Andrew Wall of Craft Better Books about everything you need to know about worldbuilding. Whether you write adult fantasy, YA fantasy, dystopian fiction or sci-fi, there are many elements of worldbuilding that you need to consider and incorporate into your work in order to make your fictional world come alive and feel authentic. Andrew guides you through the process and what you need to pay attention to. Our Sponsors:* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/tsnotyaw* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

In today's Books with Hooks segment, Carly and CeCe discuss what an action prologue is and the pitfalls of using it; telling us what characters like rather than what they don’t like; how if you know someone’s problems and passions, you know their life; entertaining rather than explaining in the opening pages; sharing the details of prior representation; and the process of changing agents. After which Bianca chats with author, Andrea Bartz, about coming up with a hook; how everything is potential material; why the sophomore novel is so scary; having energy around the kernel of an idea; choosing the best POV for your story and navigating the limitations for third person; the challenges posed by dual timelines and POVs; and readers' reactions to less likeable narrators.Our Sponsors:* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/tsnotyaw* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Author and host, Bianca Marais, chats with literary agent and author, Cece Lyra, about the 10 harsh truths writers need to know about writing and publishing. In the discussion, Cece drops some truth bombs about the importance of standing out in the market, making a living off of your writing, not being able to please everyone, taking your craft seriously, dealing with rejection and the importance of a platform. Our Sponsors:* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/tsnotyaw* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

In today's Books with Hooks segment, Carly reveals that she's a bionic super agent! CeCe and Carly also discuss mixing up your sentences so they don’t all begin the same way; aiming for the quirky rather than the generic; ensuring there’s an emotional shift in each scene; the importance of getting dialogue right; choosing a setting that reflects the story's conflicts; plausibility and the domino effect; and giving your characters clear goals in each scene. And then we answer more of your questions! Bianca chats with bestselling thriller author, Samantha Downing, about why backstory is bullshit; teasing suspense for as long as you can; writing intuitively without plotting and outlining; learning how to write as you go rather than formally studying writing; not needing any fancy software to write; hiding clues in plain sight; not being predictable; and writing characters that are compelling and relatable.  Our Sponsors:* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/tsnotyaw* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

In today's jam-packed bonus episode, Carly chats with author, Jael Richardson, and HarperCollins Senior Editorial Director, Jennifer Lambert, about the author/editor relationship. They also discuss having an outline to work with to keep you on track and feeling motivated; creating a fully developed dystopian world; working on one thing at a time during each draft; making the world building rules disappear for the reader; informing and entertaining readers; what a writer’s responsibility is to their audience; characters’ upward or downward trajectories; figuring out who your audience is, and whether that shapes the writing process; writing for young adults vs adults; the FOLD (Festival of Literary Diversity); how acquisitions happen in publishing; how important a platform is for nonfiction; and how the publishing industry has changed during Covid. Our Sponsors:* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/tsnotyaw* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

In today's Books with Hooks segment, Carly and CeCe discuss avoiding wordiness in your opening pages; how writing is a dance and you’re leading, but the reader is dancing with you; how important world building is; giving characters emotionality; being careful of writing dialogue of agreement; avoiding repetition and hand holding; the importance of establishing your tone in the opening pages; explaining comps so they clarify things rather than confuse the agent; using active emotions; and listening when a book tells you what it wants to be.After which Bianca chats with bestselling author, Karma Brown, about why eavesdropping  is an essential writing skill; the importance of avoiding info dumps in dialogue; why flamingos are amazing; paying attention to your instincts; the value in waking up at 5am to write; writing across genres; finding time in the day to write when you are less needed; and breaking down your goals into manageable chunks. Our Sponsors:* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/tsnotyaw* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands