The Shit No One Tells You About Writing

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

In this BONUS episode, Carly is joined by her client and indie author, Kiersten Modglin,  to chat about what it takes to be a successful indie author. Carly and Kiersten discuss why an indie author would need an agent; using social media effectively; why persistence pays off; how to get comfortable with TikTok; building an author brand and being consistent with it; interacting with your readers; building buzz as an indie author; running your own business, and capitalizing on the audiobook market. 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 giving your characters the opportunity to react to big events; only including what's essential to intrigue an agent in the query letter; not giving away spoilers; and not counting on backstory and secrets to do the heavy lifting in dual timeline narratives. After which, Bianca chats with Anne Bogel (author, the creator of the blog Modern Mrs. Darcy, and host of What Should I Read Next? podcast) about what writers can learn about the craft through reading. 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

Bianca Marais, finishes her discussion with Lisa Cron, author of Story Genius and Wired for Story. In this second of two episodes, Lisa unpacks her approach to backstory. Weighing in with an opposing view, is bestselling author, Karen Dionne (The Marsh King's Daughter and The Wicked Sister) with her advice of how to work in backstory without dragging your story backwards. Be prepared to pick sides!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 quiet plots; using the #MeToo hashtag; deciding what kind of author you want to be; plausibility in fiction; the 'looking back' vibe; and how comps intersect and are in conversation with one another. After which, Bianca chats with Mary Kole, founder and executive editor at Good Story Company, about pitches, loglines and queries; the premise of a story; and the meat of a query. 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

Bianca Marais, chats with Lisa Cron, author of Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel (Before You Waste Three Years Writing 327 Pages That Go Nowhere) and Wired for Story: The Writer's Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence. In this first of two episodes, Lisa discusses the biggest mistake writers make, discovering your character's misbelief, the myth of plotting, and why character profiles don't work. Bianca and Lisa also disagree about backstory! This episode will be continued next week.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