Dear Inky,
I need you to help me write a great pitch. Everyone says you need one, and I'm really failing at writing one that's intriguing.
Help,
Lifeless.
Heh. It's funny how topics go through cycles on the internet, and how some weeks it seems like everyone is asking the same thing. This week, it's pitches. The good news is, the basic elements of a pitch are dead easy, and if you've been reading this blog long enough, you already know them, because they're the same elements you use to create a sizzling Sentence.
So, the answer.
Without knowing anything about the story itself, here are the ingredients you need:
Protagonist and their driving need
Antagonist and their driving need
Compelling conflict, arising from the clash of needs
Interesting setting (as in, just include the interesting bits; the setting itself doesn't necessarily have to be fascinating; but what are the things that make it relevant to this story, that mean the story couldn't be told elsewhere?)
Twist - for the novel as a whole, this is kind of your climax - it's the key change that makes the story worth telling, the reason the end is different from the end, etc. For a pitch, though, you probably don't want to give away your ending necessarily, so it's pretty common to use your inciting incident here for this.
The inciting incident is the 'everything changes' moment, the one event that kicks the protag into action and forces them into the story.
Of course, there is one other thing that a great pitch needs that a good pitch doesn't have: voice. The pitch has to sound like the story, somehow. It needs to convey the same tone and mood as the novel so people know what to expect - and so it's not just a lifeless description on the page.
And the exciting news is, a great pitch can actually work to get you and your writing places - a friend I know just had requests for pages from an agent AND an editor, based solely on the pitch she delivered during her five minute pitch session at a conference.
And of course, these days, it's more and more common for authors to have input into their back cover copy - and if you've got a stellar pitch for the novel all polished and ready to go, what better place to start?
Pitching. It's not just for baseball ;)
Showing posts with label agents. Show all posts
Showing posts with label agents. Show all posts
27 July 2010
30 December 2009
Christmas Repost: Writing Across Genres
Reposted from June 12 2009.
I don't know about you, but I'm a bit of a genre-whore ;)
*double checks that Mum doesn't read this blog* No? Okay. Good. O:)
Yup, definitely a genre-whore. I'll read pretty much anything and everything, and mostly enjoy it, too. And this extends to my writing.
Sure, I don't write in quite as many genres as I read, but my work does run the whole gamut from MG to adult, from fast-paced paranormal to nearly-epic fantasy. Some stories might even be classed as science fantasy.
Two things have made me think about this today: first of all, this article by Lauren Baratz-Logsted on the Query Tracker blog (although it was posted a while ago, I only read it yesterday), and second of all, this post on Authoress's blog.
The first article I find interesting because it's a direct contradiction of everything we've ever heard from agents - or is it?
On the whole, the message from agents (and other sources) seems to be: pick the genre you love most and concentrate on that. Don't waste effort trying to write across genres unless you're going to treat it like building two careers; remember that these days your branding as an author plays a major role in attracting sales; writing across genres can dilute your genre.
It's all sound advice, I suppose. It's logical. But the first article seems to suggest that not only is the opposite possible, it can also be successful. Lauren attributes the fact that she is able to write full time (after a comparatively short period of time since she decided to write seriously) to the fact that she has written across multiple genres. To date, she's published in adult comedy; historical suspense; chick lit; serious YA; humorous YA; tween; and MG. That's quite a range.
But there is also one other key factor, I think: by the end of 2009, Lauren will have published 15 books in 6 years. Fifteen. In SIX years. Now that's prolific. And I can't help but wonder if perhaps that's part of it; you can write everything you like if you do it quick enough that readers only following one of your strands will still get their yearly fix. Hmm. Read the article yourself and tell me what you think.
The second article is the other side of the writing-in-multiple-genres coin that we don't often think about, or hear spoken about: Authoress, coming to the end of her current novel, is thinking agents - and thinking genres. She refuses to give up on her MG fantasy that she's currently editing/shopping; she's determined to see the new novel, YA dystopic fantasy, sell too. But targetting only agents to which both projects will appeal... Well, that's going to limit her options quite a bit. And what if none of them bite?
It's an interesting consideration, and one that I can see I'm going to have to consider myself in years (months?) to come. I am going to write adult and YA; I know that. I know that's possible, too, since I know quite a few fantasy authors off-hand that do so. I also know it's possible to write across the whole gamut of fantasy/science fiction; Orson Scott Card is one that springs to mind. Is it, however, possible to do both? And, most importantly - with the same agent?
Questions, questions. It will be interesting to see the eventual results.
In the meantime - tell me. I'd like to get to know my readers more. Those of you I know, surprise me with your closet stories. Lurkers, consider this your official de-lurk invitation. Jump in the comments and tell me: what genre/s do you write?
I don't know about you, but I'm a bit of a genre-whore ;)
*double checks that Mum doesn't read this blog* No? Okay. Good. O:)
Yup, definitely a genre-whore. I'll read pretty much anything and everything, and mostly enjoy it, too. And this extends to my writing.
Sure, I don't write in quite as many genres as I read, but my work does run the whole gamut from MG to adult, from fast-paced paranormal to nearly-epic fantasy. Some stories might even be classed as science fantasy.
Two things have made me think about this today: first of all, this article by Lauren Baratz-Logsted on the Query Tracker blog (although it was posted a while ago, I only read it yesterday), and second of all, this post on Authoress's blog.
The first article I find interesting because it's a direct contradiction of everything we've ever heard from agents - or is it?
On the whole, the message from agents (and other sources) seems to be: pick the genre you love most and concentrate on that. Don't waste effort trying to write across genres unless you're going to treat it like building two careers; remember that these days your branding as an author plays a major role in attracting sales; writing across genres can dilute your genre.
It's all sound advice, I suppose. It's logical. But the first article seems to suggest that not only is the opposite possible, it can also be successful. Lauren attributes the fact that she is able to write full time (after a comparatively short period of time since she decided to write seriously) to the fact that she has written across multiple genres. To date, she's published in adult comedy; historical suspense; chick lit; serious YA; humorous YA; tween; and MG. That's quite a range.
But there is also one other key factor, I think: by the end of 2009, Lauren will have published 15 books in 6 years. Fifteen. In SIX years. Now that's prolific. And I can't help but wonder if perhaps that's part of it; you can write everything you like if you do it quick enough that readers only following one of your strands will still get their yearly fix. Hmm. Read the article yourself and tell me what you think.
The second article is the other side of the writing-in-multiple-genres coin that we don't often think about, or hear spoken about: Authoress, coming to the end of her current novel, is thinking agents - and thinking genres. She refuses to give up on her MG fantasy that she's currently editing/shopping; she's determined to see the new novel, YA dystopic fantasy, sell too. But targetting only agents to which both projects will appeal... Well, that's going to limit her options quite a bit. And what if none of them bite?
It's an interesting consideration, and one that I can see I'm going to have to consider myself in years (months?) to come. I am going to write adult and YA; I know that. I know that's possible, too, since I know quite a few fantasy authors off-hand that do so. I also know it's possible to write across the whole gamut of fantasy/science fiction; Orson Scott Card is one that springs to mind. Is it, however, possible to do both? And, most importantly - with the same agent?
Questions, questions. It will be interesting to see the eventual results.
In the meantime - tell me. I'd like to get to know my readers more. Those of you I know, surprise me with your closet stories. Lurkers, consider this your official de-lurk invitation. Jump in the comments and tell me: what genre/s do you write?
12 June 2009
Writing Across Genres
I don't know about you, but I'm a bit of a genre-whore ;)
*double checks that Mum doesn't read this blog* No? Okay. Good. O:)
Yup, definitely a genre-whore. I'll read pretty much anything and everything, and mostly enjoy it, too. And this extends to my writing.
Sure, I don't write in quite as many genres as I read, but my work does run the whole gamut from MG to adult, from fast-paced paranormal to nearly-epic fantasy. Some stories might even be classed as science fantasy.
Two things have made me think about this today: first of all, this article by Lauren Baratz-Logsted on the Query Tracker blog (although it was posted a while ago, I only read it yesterday), and second of all, this post on Authoress's blog.
The first article I find interesting because it's a direct contradiction of everything we've ever heard from agents - or is it?
On the whole, the message from agents (and other sources) seems to be: pick the genre you love most and concentrate on that. Don't waste effort trying to write across genres unless you're going to treat it like building two careers; remember that these days your branding as an author plays a major role in attracting sales; writing across genres can dilute your genre.
It's all sound advice, I suppose. It's logical. But the first article seems to suggest that not only is the opposite possible, it can also be successful. Lauren attributes the fact that she is able to write full time (after a comparatively short period of time since she decided to write seriously) to the fact that she has written across multiple genres. To date, she's published in adult comedy; historical suspense; chick lit; serious YA; humorous YA; tween; and MG. That's quite a range.
But there is also one other key factor, I think: by the end of 2009, Lauren will have published 15 books in 6 years. Fifteen. In SIX years. Now that's prolific. And I can't help but wonder if perhaps that's part of it; you can write everything you like if you do it quick enough that readers only following one of your strands will still get their yearly fix. Hmm. Read the article yourself and tell me what you think.
The second article is the other side of the writing-in-multiple-genres coin that we don't often think about, or hear spoken about: Authoress, coming to the end of her current novel, is thinking agents - and thinking genres. She refuses to give up on her MG fantasy that she's currently editing/shopping; she's determined to see the new novel, YA dystopic fantasy, sell too. But targetting only agents to which both projects will appeal... Well, that's going to limit her options quite a bit. And what if none of them bite?
It's an interesting consideration, and one that I can see I'm going to have to consider myself in years (months?) to come. I am going to write adult and YA; I know that. I know that's possible, too, since I know quite a few fantasy authors off-hand that do so. I also know it's possible to write across the whole gamut of fantasy/science fiction; Orson Scott Card is one that springs to mind. Is it, however, possible to do both? And, most importantly - with the same agent?
Questions, questions. It will be interesting to see the eventual results.
In the meantime - tell me. I'd like to get to know my readers more. Those of you I know, surprise me with your closet stories. Lurkers, consider this your official de-lurk invitation. Jump in the comments and tell me: what genre/s do you write?
*double checks that Mum doesn't read this blog* No? Okay. Good. O:)
Yup, definitely a genre-whore. I'll read pretty much anything and everything, and mostly enjoy it, too. And this extends to my writing.
Sure, I don't write in quite as many genres as I read, but my work does run the whole gamut from MG to adult, from fast-paced paranormal to nearly-epic fantasy. Some stories might even be classed as science fantasy.
Two things have made me think about this today: first of all, this article by Lauren Baratz-Logsted on the Query Tracker blog (although it was posted a while ago, I only read it yesterday), and second of all, this post on Authoress's blog.
The first article I find interesting because it's a direct contradiction of everything we've ever heard from agents - or is it?
On the whole, the message from agents (and other sources) seems to be: pick the genre you love most and concentrate on that. Don't waste effort trying to write across genres unless you're going to treat it like building two careers; remember that these days your branding as an author plays a major role in attracting sales; writing across genres can dilute your genre.
It's all sound advice, I suppose. It's logical. But the first article seems to suggest that not only is the opposite possible, it can also be successful. Lauren attributes the fact that she is able to write full time (after a comparatively short period of time since she decided to write seriously) to the fact that she has written across multiple genres. To date, she's published in adult comedy; historical suspense; chick lit; serious YA; humorous YA; tween; and MG. That's quite a range.
But there is also one other key factor, I think: by the end of 2009, Lauren will have published 15 books in 6 years. Fifteen. In SIX years. Now that's prolific. And I can't help but wonder if perhaps that's part of it; you can write everything you like if you do it quick enough that readers only following one of your strands will still get their yearly fix. Hmm. Read the article yourself and tell me what you think.
The second article is the other side of the writing-in-multiple-genres coin that we don't often think about, or hear spoken about: Authoress, coming to the end of her current novel, is thinking agents - and thinking genres. She refuses to give up on her MG fantasy that she's currently editing/shopping; she's determined to see the new novel, YA dystopic fantasy, sell too. But targetting only agents to which both projects will appeal... Well, that's going to limit her options quite a bit. And what if none of them bite?
It's an interesting consideration, and one that I can see I'm going to have to consider myself in years (months?) to come. I am going to write adult and YA; I know that. I know that's possible, too, since I know quite a few fantasy authors off-hand that do so. I also know it's possible to write across the whole gamut of fantasy/science fiction; Orson Scott Card is one that springs to mind. Is it, however, possible to do both? And, most importantly - with the same agent?
Questions, questions. It will be interesting to see the eventual results.
In the meantime - tell me. I'd like to get to know my readers more. Those of you I know, surprise me with your closet stories. Lurkers, consider this your official de-lurk invitation. Jump in the comments and tell me: what genre/s do you write?
29 April 2009
High Concept: What, Why and How?
When I first heard the term 'high concept', my first thought was 'literary'. I assumed, because of the word 'high', that high concept novels were those outstanding literary-style (although they may be genre fic too) books that go on to win prizes, that talk about the deep and meaningful of life, that everyone loves and adores because they matter - the books that become 'literary classics'.
In a way, I was right.
But in another, bigger way, I was wrong. Because the sister assumption to my definition assumption was that there was no way I could write high concept fiction. Not yet. Not without learning a whole lot more about life and people and literature.
Beep. Wrong!
I, as I am right now, and you, as you are right now, can write high concept fiction. Because it isn't actually as complicated as it sounds.
But first, why do we want to write high concept fiction? Never mind what it is - why do we have to care? Well, morals and creative impulses and desire to matter and all that aside, here's one very good reason why you want to write high concept fiction:
Because it's what agents are looking for.
Seriously. It's true. Everyone wants something high concept, because high concept sells.
So, what is high concept fiction? Basically, it boils down to this:
"Story ideas, treatments and screenplays can all have High Concept premises. But only High Concept projects can be sold from a pitch because they are pitch driven. Non-High Concept projects can’t be sold from a pitch because they are execution driven. They have to be read to be appreciated and their appeal isn’t obvious by merely running a logline past someone."
It's instantly obvious, reading this, that high concept is what agents want, and what can make your story stand out to the agents who read your queries. The gang over at Murderati put it this way, in what is perhaps the single best explanation of it that I've ever read, the one that made all these nebulous ideas I had about it click into place:
"If you can tell your story in one line and everyone who hears it can see exactly what the movie or book is - AND a majority of people who hear it will want to see it or read it - that’s high concept. ... Here’s another indicator. When you get the reaction: “Wow, I wish I’d thought of that!” or even better, “I’m going to have to kill you” - you’ve got a high-concept premise."
Isn't that exactly the reaction we all want from agents, editors, publishers and readers?
So, how do we learn which ideas are the ones that will illicit this reaction? How do we learn what a high concept idea looks like? One word.
Practice.
If you read through the rest of that article on Murderati, you'll see that the author learned high concept in a script-writing course where students had to come up with a pitch a week, which they presented to the class. For every pitch that was made, the pitcher added a dollar to the prize jar, and the pitch the class voted as the winner received the prize.
With that kind of motivation you learn pretty quickly what works and what doesn't.
So, as of today, I'm giving us all an opportunity to practice coming up with high concept pitches. If you look over in the sidebar, you'll see there's a poll. Those are this week's sentences: three pitches for three brand new ideas I invented off the top of my head this week, just for this purpose.
Each week there will be a new three sentences, and every forth week I'll post the three previous winners to come up with a 'grand winner' for each almost-month.
How does this help you learn? Well, you can learn simply by observing which sentences win - but I'm also giving you the chance to participate. At any time, you can email me at blot.of.ink(@)gmail(.)com with a pitch - or several - and I'll put it in the queue of sentences to appear :) Please include the word 'pitch' in your subject heading - and remember, a pitch is one or two sentences only!
As an interesting addendum, while I was creating these sentences I learned something very important: like creating The Sentence (a very similar concept to the logline, only a bit stricter in its parameters), it's not just the idea, it's how you phrase it. Take the first sentence for example. The original version was:
A newly orphaned girl sets out to determine whether she belongs to the tribe of the ocean or the age-old forest, but discovers the answer is much larger than either.
which I think we can all agree is a lot more boring. Why? Because the focus is on a passive conflict, not an active one. The key verbs are determine and discovers. However, in the new version:
At her father's funeral the people of the sea and the creatures of the forest both arrive to claim the newly orphaned girl for their own - and neither side is willing to let her get away.
the focus switches from her decision (totally internal, potentially very boring, and at the very least cliched) to the fight between the clans for her (external, potentially exciting, a lot less cliched; after all, not every girl is fought over by the ocean and the forest ;)).
Here's to high concept pitching, and to learning how to grab agents' attention! :)
PS - Love this quote from an excellent related article:
"Forgive me as I shrink a few inches, apply some lipstick, don a print dress and look at you from over my glasses as I mix a bowl of cookie dough. Yes, I have become your mother, in order to say this: 'It's just as easy to fall in love with a rich man as a poor man.'
Meaning: It's just as easy to be passionate about a story with some known elements as it is to be passionate about a story with no known elements."
What do you think? Should we be choosey about which ideas we fall in love with? Or is it art for arts' sake?
In a way, I was right.
But in another, bigger way, I was wrong. Because the sister assumption to my definition assumption was that there was no way I could write high concept fiction. Not yet. Not without learning a whole lot more about life and people and literature.
Beep. Wrong!
I, as I am right now, and you, as you are right now, can write high concept fiction. Because it isn't actually as complicated as it sounds.
But first, why do we want to write high concept fiction? Never mind what it is - why do we have to care? Well, morals and creative impulses and desire to matter and all that aside, here's one very good reason why you want to write high concept fiction:
Because it's what agents are looking for.
Seriously. It's true. Everyone wants something high concept, because high concept sells.
So, what is high concept fiction? Basically, it boils down to this:
"Story ideas, treatments and screenplays can all have High Concept premises. But only High Concept projects can be sold from a pitch because they are pitch driven. Non-High Concept projects can’t be sold from a pitch because they are execution driven. They have to be read to be appreciated and their appeal isn’t obvious by merely running a logline past someone."
It's instantly obvious, reading this, that high concept is what agents want, and what can make your story stand out to the agents who read your queries. The gang over at Murderati put it this way, in what is perhaps the single best explanation of it that I've ever read, the one that made all these nebulous ideas I had about it click into place:
"If you can tell your story in one line and everyone who hears it can see exactly what the movie or book is - AND a majority of people who hear it will want to see it or read it - that’s high concept. ... Here’s another indicator. When you get the reaction: “Wow, I wish I’d thought of that!” or even better, “I’m going to have to kill you” - you’ve got a high-concept premise."
Isn't that exactly the reaction we all want from agents, editors, publishers and readers?
So, how do we learn which ideas are the ones that will illicit this reaction? How do we learn what a high concept idea looks like? One word.
Practice.
If you read through the rest of that article on Murderati, you'll see that the author learned high concept in a script-writing course where students had to come up with a pitch a week, which they presented to the class. For every pitch that was made, the pitcher added a dollar to the prize jar, and the pitch the class voted as the winner received the prize.
With that kind of motivation you learn pretty quickly what works and what doesn't.
So, as of today, I'm giving us all an opportunity to practice coming up with high concept pitches. If you look over in the sidebar, you'll see there's a poll. Those are this week's sentences: three pitches for three brand new ideas I invented off the top of my head this week, just for this purpose.
Each week there will be a new three sentences, and every forth week I'll post the three previous winners to come up with a 'grand winner' for each almost-month.
How does this help you learn? Well, you can learn simply by observing which sentences win - but I'm also giving you the chance to participate. At any time, you can email me at blot.of.ink(@)gmail(.)com with a pitch - or several - and I'll put it in the queue of sentences to appear :) Please include the word 'pitch' in your subject heading - and remember, a pitch is one or two sentences only!
As an interesting addendum, while I was creating these sentences I learned something very important: like creating The Sentence (a very similar concept to the logline, only a bit stricter in its parameters), it's not just the idea, it's how you phrase it. Take the first sentence for example. The original version was:
A newly orphaned girl sets out to determine whether she belongs to the tribe of the ocean or the age-old forest, but discovers the answer is much larger than either.
which I think we can all agree is a lot more boring. Why? Because the focus is on a passive conflict, not an active one. The key verbs are determine and discovers. However, in the new version:
At her father's funeral the people of the sea and the creatures of the forest both arrive to claim the newly orphaned girl for their own - and neither side is willing to let her get away.
the focus switches from her decision (totally internal, potentially very boring, and at the very least cliched) to the fight between the clans for her (external, potentially exciting, a lot less cliched; after all, not every girl is fought over by the ocean and the forest ;)).
Here's to high concept pitching, and to learning how to grab agents' attention! :)
PS - Love this quote from an excellent related article:
"Forgive me as I shrink a few inches, apply some lipstick, don a print dress and look at you from over my glasses as I mix a bowl of cookie dough. Yes, I have become your mother, in order to say this: 'It's just as easy to fall in love with a rich man as a poor man.'
Meaning: It's just as easy to be passionate about a story with some known elements as it is to be passionate about a story with no known elements."
What do you think? Should we be choosey about which ideas we fall in love with? Or is it art for arts' sake?
21 April 2009
Queries and Character Tweets
First up, my characters now have a Twitter profile! You can follow them here, at InkysCharacters. Jessana Peakes, MC of my WIP Jesscapades, has been the first to speak so far :)
Now, on to queries. I apologise for this being late, but I had to delay my analysis of the queries because I ended up being out of town on the weekend, and spent yesterday and the day before (very thrillingly) catching up on uni work. Blech!
Sadly, I missed the deadline to post my comments on my final picks on Nathan's blog, which I feel bad about... So I haven't actually picked my top 5 yet. But that's okay: I can do that as I analyse here, and you'll get to see my thoughts as I think them! Oh, hoorah!
*eyebrow* Stop looking at me like that. You know this will be fun. Really.
#20 In The Driver's Seat
I liked the honesty behind this one. I could see it being an interesting, fresh memoir. But ultimately there's not enough sense of voice here to outweigh things like the newbie mistakes in the final paragraph, and to compete against some of the other queries.
#22 Star Fragments
This one had hints of a great snarky voice, but ultimately the topic's just too cliched in my mind compared to some of the others. Also, 88k is rather long for YA. Pass.
#28 Long Shot Lost
In the end, this is an example of having to reject because something's not right for me. I can see that this might have potential as a solid sci fi novel, but without the familiarity with the genre that a real sci fi lover would have, I can't say whether it's cliche or just... standard. Either way, there's nothing here that zings that makes me reach for the yes button.
#26 Glyph
Pretty much, this is a terrible query. More than half of it isn't even about the story, it makes all sorts of unsubstantiated claims (tell us it's got dark humour in it? why not just show us?), I have no idea who the MC is or what the core conflict is - but I held onto this one in the hopes it might improve miraculously, because both the title and the fact that it's modern mythology and a thriller/mystery really grabs me. But in the end, pass.
#33 Beneath The Heart of Beauty
Good premise with lots of potential, but the query doesn't really flow, which makes me assume the novel wouldn't either. Thus, rejection.
It's at this point that you begin to realise the real importance of a good query letter (although an imperfect letter can still receive requests, if the right things show through - see Nathan's summary posts); it might be totally unfair of me to dismiss #33 on the basis of a clunky query. In actual fact, the novel might be gorgeous - but when it's up against 13 others, and I'm only allowed to pick 5, I'm looking for things I can use to narrow down my options, and it's just not worth taking a risk that the novel might be better than the query for anything less than an outstanding premise.
Lesson here: make sure your query letter is professional, and reads like someone with an excellent command of the English language wrote it. Not just a competent command - an excellent command.
#30 XLI
I'm so torn on this one. On the one hand, it's packed full of squee - the MC is just FABulous - but on the other, 136k seems long to begin with, and when I read the sample pages, I found out why: the writing really needs trimming. If the first few pages are anything to go by, this could easily be cut back to 110k. So, I guess that's my answer: Dear Author, cut 20k and requery me :D
Another lesson: You REALLY want to make sure those first few pages sparkle.
#37 Secluded Alleys
In the end, this is reject, though the idea/premise has a lot of possibility. The query is just too messy for me to make real sense of the plot.
#40 Becoming Emily Novak
This is a well-written query, which is what got it into my final list, but rereading it in light of trying to pick only 5, it just doesn't sizzle at me the way some of them do. I guess it's mostly a matter of just not my genre.
#1 Watcher's Web
I so wanted to like this one, since it has a promising premise, but in the end I'm rejecting because the only two paragraphs in the query that discuss the book a) outline the girl's powers and b) tell us she's caught between two forces, blah blah, cliche. There isn't really a strong sense of plot at all, nor of the central conflict. So, reject :(
#38 Birthright
It's right about now that I'm feeling the pinch of only being allowed to ask for 5 partials. Can't I have 6? Please? No? Drat. In which case, this one gets rejected because the query is a bit difficult to follow, and it's mostly tell, not show. Drat.
#27 Ghostland
Again, with the wanting-to-request. HOWEVER, on really really close scrutiny, I discover that although this has a super-shiny idea, nothing about the voice captures me, and I'm not too sure if the central conflict (that the MC isn't allowed to love) does either. Regretful rejection.
#43 The Lion's Mane
This is the complete opposite to #28 for me. While the query isn't especially elegant - it's a lot more tell than show, simply listing events - I know enough about the fantasy genre to see that this story could work, and work well. Partial request from me.
#36 Rosie's Child
I'm not 100% sure what it is about this one that draws me to it. The query isn't the best, but there's a quiet sense of mystery about it that I like. It's a solid concept, and I just... *waves hands* I dunno. This one's a gut request :D
#9 If It Ain't Broke
Unique premise, promise of a good solid voice, neat and tidy query with a solid conflict = request for partial. Yay :)
And finally, there's the fifteenth in my list, the query that had me hitting 'request' even before I'd finished reading the other queries:
#17 Inugami
The sheer squee value of the premise had me hitting 'request' before I even remembered that I could only request 5. Looking at it now, the query itself isn't especially noteworthy: it tells rather than shows, and while it's technically correct there isn't actually that much of a sense of voice. So I guess this is an instance of the subject matter winning out for me.
You'll notice in the end I only picked four to request, because I really can't narrow it down between 38 and 27 (though the writing in 38 is stronger, so I'd probably go with that?).
And now, a quick summary of What We've Learned:
And that's it! Just in case you're not satiated by today's laaaarge discussion on queries, check out these great links:
Nathan Bransford on the query letter formula; the anatomy of a query letter; more on the anatomy; and Kristen Nelson has links to a whole bunch of queries that worked for her in the sidebar, about halfway down. There's also the Query Shark :)
So, who of you participated in agent for a day? What did you learn? And to everyone - is the stuff I've pulled out here useful? Did you know this kind of thing already, or is this new for you?
And the big question, do you actually plan to query one day?
Now, on to queries. I apologise for this being late, but I had to delay my analysis of the queries because I ended up being out of town on the weekend, and spent yesterday and the day before (very thrillingly) catching up on uni work. Blech!
Sadly, I missed the deadline to post my comments on my final picks on Nathan's blog, which I feel bad about... So I haven't actually picked my top 5 yet. But that's okay: I can do that as I analyse here, and you'll get to see my thoughts as I think them! Oh, hoorah!
*eyebrow* Stop looking at me like that. You know this will be fun. Really.
#20 In The Driver's Seat
I liked the honesty behind this one. I could see it being an interesting, fresh memoir. But ultimately there's not enough sense of voice here to outweigh things like the newbie mistakes in the final paragraph, and to compete against some of the other queries.
#22 Star Fragments
This one had hints of a great snarky voice, but ultimately the topic's just too cliched in my mind compared to some of the others. Also, 88k is rather long for YA. Pass.
#28 Long Shot Lost
In the end, this is an example of having to reject because something's not right for me. I can see that this might have potential as a solid sci fi novel, but without the familiarity with the genre that a real sci fi lover would have, I can't say whether it's cliche or just... standard. Either way, there's nothing here that zings that makes me reach for the yes button.
#26 Glyph
Pretty much, this is a terrible query. More than half of it isn't even about the story, it makes all sorts of unsubstantiated claims (tell us it's got dark humour in it? why not just show us?), I have no idea who the MC is or what the core conflict is - but I held onto this one in the hopes it might improve miraculously, because both the title and the fact that it's modern mythology and a thriller/mystery really grabs me. But in the end, pass.
#33 Beneath The Heart of Beauty
Good premise with lots of potential, but the query doesn't really flow, which makes me assume the novel wouldn't either. Thus, rejection.
It's at this point that you begin to realise the real importance of a good query letter (although an imperfect letter can still receive requests, if the right things show through - see Nathan's summary posts); it might be totally unfair of me to dismiss #33 on the basis of a clunky query. In actual fact, the novel might be gorgeous - but when it's up against 13 others, and I'm only allowed to pick 5, I'm looking for things I can use to narrow down my options, and it's just not worth taking a risk that the novel might be better than the query for anything less than an outstanding premise.
Lesson here: make sure your query letter is professional, and reads like someone with an excellent command of the English language wrote it. Not just a competent command - an excellent command.
#30 XLI
I'm so torn on this one. On the one hand, it's packed full of squee - the MC is just FABulous - but on the other, 136k seems long to begin with, and when I read the sample pages, I found out why: the writing really needs trimming. If the first few pages are anything to go by, this could easily be cut back to 110k. So, I guess that's my answer: Dear Author, cut 20k and requery me :D
Another lesson: You REALLY want to make sure those first few pages sparkle.
#37 Secluded Alleys
In the end, this is reject, though the idea/premise has a lot of possibility. The query is just too messy for me to make real sense of the plot.
#40 Becoming Emily Novak
This is a well-written query, which is what got it into my final list, but rereading it in light of trying to pick only 5, it just doesn't sizzle at me the way some of them do. I guess it's mostly a matter of just not my genre.
#1 Watcher's Web
I so wanted to like this one, since it has a promising premise, but in the end I'm rejecting because the only two paragraphs in the query that discuss the book a) outline the girl's powers and b) tell us she's caught between two forces, blah blah, cliche. There isn't really a strong sense of plot at all, nor of the central conflict. So, reject :(
#38 Birthright
It's right about now that I'm feeling the pinch of only being allowed to ask for 5 partials. Can't I have 6? Please? No? Drat. In which case, this one gets rejected because the query is a bit difficult to follow, and it's mostly tell, not show. Drat.
#27 Ghostland
Again, with the wanting-to-request. HOWEVER, on really really close scrutiny, I discover that although this has a super-shiny idea, nothing about the voice captures me, and I'm not too sure if the central conflict (that the MC isn't allowed to love) does either. Regretful rejection.
#43 The Lion's Mane
This is the complete opposite to #28 for me. While the query isn't especially elegant - it's a lot more tell than show, simply listing events - I know enough about the fantasy genre to see that this story could work, and work well. Partial request from me.
#36 Rosie's Child
I'm not 100% sure what it is about this one that draws me to it. The query isn't the best, but there's a quiet sense of mystery about it that I like. It's a solid concept, and I just... *waves hands* I dunno. This one's a gut request :D
#9 If It Ain't Broke
Unique premise, promise of a good solid voice, neat and tidy query with a solid conflict = request for partial. Yay :)
And finally, there's the fifteenth in my list, the query that had me hitting 'request' even before I'd finished reading the other queries:
#17 Inugami
The sheer squee value of the premise had me hitting 'request' before I even remembered that I could only request 5. Looking at it now, the query itself isn't especially noteworthy: it tells rather than shows, and while it's technically correct there isn't actually that much of a sense of voice. So I guess this is an instance of the subject matter winning out for me.
You'll notice in the end I only picked four to request, because I really can't narrow it down between 38 and 27 (though the writing in 38 is stronger, so I'd probably go with that?).
And now, a quick summary of What We've Learned:
- Make sure your work is up to scratch before you query. You don't want to come across as a newbie, and you want to know basic things like how to punctuate, how to spell, and you want to be able to write with some degree of finesse.
- Know your lengths! Know what the acceptable lengths for your genre are, and stick to them!
- Have voice, whether it's funny or snarky or lyrical or quirky. Yes, it's a business letter, but that doesn't mean bland, dry and boring.
- Know what it is that's fresh about your work; know what's different in your story to others in your genre, and let the agent know this too!
- Make sure your query clearly mentions the central conflict of the plot (the inciting incident, often), the hook, and the key theme. If you can, SHOW these rather than telling them (see links below). Give us plot, give us conflict!
- Make sure your query is easy to read and understand; if an agent has to read it twice to figure out the twists you're describing, you better hope everything else is fantastic enough to prevent a rejection.
- High concept: this is such a difficult thing to define, but what it means in this context for me is make sure your conflict is a worthy one, something people will actually care about - not just, will I find raisins for my breakfast or not? That sort of thing ;)
And that's it! Just in case you're not satiated by today's laaaarge discussion on queries, check out these great links:
Nathan Bransford on the query letter formula; the anatomy of a query letter; more on the anatomy; and Kristen Nelson has links to a whole bunch of queries that worked for her in the sidebar, about halfway down. There's also the Query Shark :)
So, who of you participated in agent for a day? What did you learn? And to everyone - is the stuff I've pulled out here useful? Did you know this kind of thing already, or is this new for you?
And the big question, do you actually plan to query one day?
11 February 2009
Link-a-bet Soup, Slackerly Edition Plus A Tribute
Yes, that's right: slackerly. I'm moving in exactly a week, and my brain is a little awol. Hence, see me be slackerly O:)
Though in unslackerly news, I'm finally back at the novel! Yay! After a somewhat enforced break from fiction writing for two months, I am finally, finally writing again. I finished an entire chapter yesterday, even :)
Now, on to the links:
To this, I declare most emphatically: YES!! We must have change in our characters!
Though in unslackerly news, I'm finally back at the novel! Yay! After a somewhat enforced break from fiction writing for two months, I am finally, finally writing again. I finished an entire chapter yesterday, even :)
Now, on to the links:
To this, I declare most emphatically: YES!! We must have change in our characters!
It's not who you know, it's what you write. And once your brilliant writing has snagged you an agent, here are 10 Ways To Be A Dream Client.... But in order to get there, you'll need to know how to defeat your inner critic. Don't forget to read part two.
And this is what I have against Disney, romcoms, and the romance genre in general. And yes, I love romcoms. O:)
And in absolutely, totally random news, raisins are a snack, not a toy.... I laugh. I laugh muchly.
Finally, a sober note. Hopefully most of you will be aware of the horrendous fires currently blazing in the southeastern corner of Australia. The death toll is 173 and rising. Volunteer firefighters are doing an amazing job, putting their lives on the line to stop these blazes that were set by arsons - but the terror that people are living through still brings tears to my eyes. Listen all the way to the end and see if it doesn't affect you too :P
07 January 2009
A Bit Of A Ramble To Kick Off The New Year...
So, it is Wednesday. Yes, uh huh, it is. And I was supposed to post on Monday.
...
I did, didn't I? Can't you all see that lovely book review down there, saying it was posted on Monday? O:)
Well, it's the 7th already: an entire week into the New Year. How exciting. How tremulous. How... odd. I've been thinking about 2009 for so long now that it's strange to think I'm now actually here. This year will be a very different year for me: I've got a new job, and am supervising people (scary but good), I'm starting a new uni course at a new uni (hoorah, I'm nearly done!), my mum and baby sister are moving away (sniff, tears) - and I plan to query.
Yes, that's right. It's 2009, the year in which I intend to make my query debut. Hoorah! Ideally I would like to start doing this mid-year. It will depend on how busy the new uni course ends up being, and consequently how much time I will have to write - a lot more now I have the new job!
Writing for the last month has been nearly non-existent. I mean, I did write a 10,000+ word play, and add about 3k to the 33dogs book, but nothing on any novel. I'm absolutely itching to get back to Jesscapades - but alack, that shall have to wait until February. This month the 33dogs book is due, the play is being performed (in a week and a half, argh-argh!), I'm going away for 8 days without internet access (during which I'll be directing the play and helping run a banquet). I have to create about 40 characters with profile and motives and goals for a murder mystery night, keep the house in a saleable condition (hoorah, open day on Saturday!), help my Mum move, and create Dad's birthday present which is now only 1.5 months late :S
Argh. This month is going to be insane.
I'll do my best to keep up with blogging, but consider this forewarning: you might be getting a disproportionately large number of book review posts O:)
On Friday I'll recap what I achieved officially last year, and ponder on what goals I'll be setting for the coming year.
Thanks to all of you who regularly read Inkfever - it's truly heartwarming to watch my little visitor counter at the bottom of the page slowly ticking its way towards 2,000 :) The blog is now officially one year and one month old, and I know a couple of you have been following it right from the beginning.
To readers old and new, to readers writerly or not - thank you for sharing in my life, my dreams, my goals and my opinions. May 2009 be good for you (yes, good for you, not kind to you - sadly, two very different things ;)), and may you blossom through all adversity.
Here's to making our way through another year, and celebrating once again at the end :)
~Inky
...
I did, didn't I? Can't you all see that lovely book review down there, saying it was posted on Monday? O:)
Well, it's the 7th already: an entire week into the New Year. How exciting. How tremulous. How... odd. I've been thinking about 2009 for so long now that it's strange to think I'm now actually here. This year will be a very different year for me: I've got a new job, and am supervising people (scary but good), I'm starting a new uni course at a new uni (hoorah, I'm nearly done!), my mum and baby sister are moving away (sniff, tears) - and I plan to query.
Yes, that's right. It's 2009, the year in which I intend to make my query debut. Hoorah! Ideally I would like to start doing this mid-year. It will depend on how busy the new uni course ends up being, and consequently how much time I will have to write - a lot more now I have the new job!
Writing for the last month has been nearly non-existent. I mean, I did write a 10,000+ word play, and add about 3k to the 33dogs book, but nothing on any novel. I'm absolutely itching to get back to Jesscapades - but alack, that shall have to wait until February. This month the 33dogs book is due, the play is being performed (in a week and a half, argh-argh!), I'm going away for 8 days without internet access (during which I'll be directing the play and helping run a banquet). I have to create about 40 characters with profile and motives and goals for a murder mystery night, keep the house in a saleable condition (hoorah, open day on Saturday!), help my Mum move, and create Dad's birthday present which is now only 1.5 months late :S
Argh. This month is going to be insane.
I'll do my best to keep up with blogging, but consider this forewarning: you might be getting a disproportionately large number of book review posts O:)
On Friday I'll recap what I achieved officially last year, and ponder on what goals I'll be setting for the coming year.
Thanks to all of you who regularly read Inkfever - it's truly heartwarming to watch my little visitor counter at the bottom of the page slowly ticking its way towards 2,000 :) The blog is now officially one year and one month old, and I know a couple of you have been following it right from the beginning.
To readers old and new, to readers writerly or not - thank you for sharing in my life, my dreams, my goals and my opinions. May 2009 be good for you (yes, good for you, not kind to you - sadly, two very different things ;)), and may you blossom through all adversity.
Here's to making our way through another year, and celebrating once again at the end :)
~Inky
03 October 2008
Welcome to my Sidebar: Miss Snark's First Victim
A blog for aspiring authors...
Who: Miss Snark's First Victim is Authoress, an aspiring author. She devotes a large chunk of time to running this spiffy blog, and does an absolutely fabulous job of it :)
What: This is a blog dedicated to writers and writing. It's full of great information, both in the posts and in the comments; some really great discussions have been hosted on this blog. And, something which has attracted a lot of new subscribers of late, the contests! The most popular ones are the Secret Agent contests, where Authoress engages a real live agent to judge the first pages of the entrants' work. The first one of these contests attracted over 100 entrants!
Where: Here, or here: http://misssnarksfirstvictim.blogspot.com/
Why: You mean the Secret Agent competitions haven't sent you scurrying over to check it out already? O:)
When: A few times a week, definitely on Fridays :)
Who: Miss Snark's First Victim is Authoress, an aspiring author. She devotes a large chunk of time to running this spiffy blog, and does an absolutely fabulous job of it :)
What: This is a blog dedicated to writers and writing. It's full of great information, both in the posts and in the comments; some really great discussions have been hosted on this blog. And, something which has attracted a lot of new subscribers of late, the contests! The most popular ones are the Secret Agent contests, where Authoress engages a real live agent to judge the first pages of the entrants' work. The first one of these contests attracted over 100 entrants!
Where: Here, or here: http://misssnarksfirstvictim.blogspot.com/
Why: You mean the Secret Agent competitions haven't sent you scurrying over to check it out already? O:)
When: A few times a week, definitely on Fridays :)
03 September 2008
Welcome to my Sidebar: Miss Snark
Where Miss Snark vented her wrath on the hapless world of writers and crushed them to sand beneath her T.Rexual heels of stiletto snark. The blog is dark--no further updates after 5/20/2007.
Who: Miss Snark is/was a snarky anonymous agent who loved both George Clooney and poodles. Her sense of wit is second to none.
What: As an agent, Miss Snark was uniquely placed to offer 'insider' tidbits to hapless writers - and she did. I have an impression that she was one of the very first agents to begin blogging; she was certainly the first to call for submissions to her 'Crap-o-meter', where she offered critiques of people's query letters :) This site is incredible. Her sense of - er, humour - will have you snorting outloud, while the information her site houses is a must-read, must-know for anyone wishing to enter into the scary world of publishing.
Where: Here, or here: http://misssnark.blogspot.com/
Why: Because this blog is a veritable goldmine of information concerning the publishing industry. If there's something you're not sure about, I can almost guarantee that Miss Snark has answered a similar query at some time or another.
When: As mentioned in the tag line, this blog is now 'dark', meaning there will be no more posts. However, I still highly recommend it since it is an unparalleled source of information :)
Who: Miss Snark is/was a snarky anonymous agent who loved both George Clooney and poodles. Her sense of wit is second to none.
What: As an agent, Miss Snark was uniquely placed to offer 'insider' tidbits to hapless writers - and she did. I have an impression that she was one of the very first agents to begin blogging; she was certainly the first to call for submissions to her 'Crap-o-meter', where she offered critiques of people's query letters :) This site is incredible. Her sense of - er, humour - will have you snorting outloud, while the information her site houses is a must-read, must-know for anyone wishing to enter into the scary world of publishing.
Where: Here, or here: http://misssnark.blogspot.com/
Why: Because this blog is a veritable goldmine of information concerning the publishing industry. If there's something you're not sure about, I can almost guarantee that Miss Snark has answered a similar query at some time or another.
When: As mentioned in the tag line, this blog is now 'dark', meaning there will be no more posts. However, I still highly recommend it since it is an unparalleled source of information :)
13 August 2008
WorldCon and Fantasy Comments
Dear Sparky, contributor on The Toasted Scimitar and author of Waiting for Antlers (formerly Iridescent Defenestration) has just returned from Worldcon, and is chock full of shinily awesome information. She's in the process of transcribing her notes - and they're awfully interesting. If you're interested, the first one is here.
:)
:)
29 July 2008
Analysis of Openings
Meant to do this at the end of last week, but alas, it is week two of uni and already I have an essay due. But better late than never.
The format I'm using here is totally theived from Liana Brooks over at Write or Right? - with her permission, naturally ;)
This was my opening:
"Heather, you have something of mine."
I stared at my brother. I had no idea what he meant.
He stared back in silence. The years hadn't been kind to him, that much was certain. I pursed my lips at his dark, sunken eyes, unkempt hair, and too-skinny frame. Dirt clung to his shirt, and his shoes were scuffed and nearly worn through at the toes.
I frowned. "Really, Andrew. It's nice to see you and all, but" – I glanced up and down the perfectly manicured street – "did you have to show up like this?"
He shrugged and maintained his stare. "You have something of mine."
I suppressed a sigh. Better let him in before the neighbours see. I stepped aside and jerked my head.
His eyes widened briefly, but he stepped inside eagerly enough. I wondered how long it had been since he'd been somewhere warm – his hands were mottled with cold.
He hovered in the hallway, and I stepped past him and led the way to the kitchen. "Drink?"
He nodded. "Something warm would be great."
He slid onto one of the stools that edged the bench, and I turned away to rummage for the mugs and hot chocolate. "So," I said, trying to keep my voice casual. "What brings you here?" I hadn't seen him in what, ten? Eleven years, now? As I turned, mugs in hand, I caught his eye. I inhaled, hit by the intensity of his gaze.
"You have something of mine."
Comments: 26, if we discount my two :)
Hooked? 24 plus one maybe. Hoorah, there is hope! :)
Problems Cited By Critters:
* Brother is more interesting that Heather
* Lots of people wobbled at the 'hands mottled with cold' bit
* Lots of sentences start with 'he'
* Issues with Heather's actions - why does she invite him in instead of just asking what he thinks she has?
* Too many repetitions of "You have something of mine." - makes him sound robotic.
What I Can Fix:
* Both characters need a major overhaul. I know this.
* The cold hands can easily go, and sentences can be reworded to avoid 'he'
What Won't Change:
* I seriously doubt she'll just confront him on the doorstep. I still don't know her very well, but I know enough to know that that's a conversation she's NOT going to have in public ;) Besides, if she did, it would ruin the plot %-)
So, the biggest thing that needs working on here is the characterisation, which ought to iron out interest issues and also quirks in their mannerisms, such as Heather inviting him in, and him being so repetitious (or not, depending on how his character turns out).
For a long time I've been a character-focused writer, and have struggle a LOT with plot and structure. When I started writing this, it was an exercise in Making Things Happen - in plot. Consequently, the characterisation is very hazy - it seems that at the moment I can work on one or the other, but not both.
But that's okay. I can clear that up in revisions, and this novel is teaching me a whole new way of writing - and that I /can/ plot, and structure, and have coherency result :)
Overall, I'm pretty stoked with the high proportion of positive comments, and can't wait to finish this dang draft so I can get to revising.
Of course, the fact that I discovered some rather interesting details about Heather and Andrew's past two days ago has nothing to do with it O:)
The format I'm using here is totally theived from Liana Brooks over at Write or Right? - with her permission, naturally ;)
This was my opening:
"Heather, you have something of mine."
I stared at my brother. I had no idea what he meant.
He stared back in silence. The years hadn't been kind to him, that much was certain. I pursed my lips at his dark, sunken eyes, unkempt hair, and too-skinny frame. Dirt clung to his shirt, and his shoes were scuffed and nearly worn through at the toes.
I frowned. "Really, Andrew. It's nice to see you and all, but" – I glanced up and down the perfectly manicured street – "did you have to show up like this?"
He shrugged and maintained his stare. "You have something of mine."
I suppressed a sigh. Better let him in before the neighbours see. I stepped aside and jerked my head.
His eyes widened briefly, but he stepped inside eagerly enough. I wondered how long it had been since he'd been somewhere warm – his hands were mottled with cold.
He hovered in the hallway, and I stepped past him and led the way to the kitchen. "Drink?"
He nodded. "Something warm would be great."
He slid onto one of the stools that edged the bench, and I turned away to rummage for the mugs and hot chocolate. "So," I said, trying to keep my voice casual. "What brings you here?" I hadn't seen him in what, ten? Eleven years, now? As I turned, mugs in hand, I caught his eye. I inhaled, hit by the intensity of his gaze.
"You have something of mine."
Comments: 26, if we discount my two :)
Hooked? 24 plus one maybe. Hoorah, there is hope! :)
Problems Cited By Critters:
* Brother is more interesting that Heather
* Lots of people wobbled at the 'hands mottled with cold' bit
* Lots of sentences start with 'he'
* Issues with Heather's actions - why does she invite him in instead of just asking what he thinks she has?
* Too many repetitions of "You have something of mine." - makes him sound robotic.
What I Can Fix:
* Both characters need a major overhaul. I know this.
* The cold hands can easily go, and sentences can be reworded to avoid 'he'
What Won't Change:
* I seriously doubt she'll just confront him on the doorstep. I still don't know her very well, but I know enough to know that that's a conversation she's NOT going to have in public ;) Besides, if she did, it would ruin the plot %-)
So, the biggest thing that needs working on here is the characterisation, which ought to iron out interest issues and also quirks in their mannerisms, such as Heather inviting him in, and him being so repetitious (or not, depending on how his character turns out).
For a long time I've been a character-focused writer, and have struggle a LOT with plot and structure. When I started writing this, it was an exercise in Making Things Happen - in plot. Consequently, the characterisation is very hazy - it seems that at the moment I can work on one or the other, but not both.
But that's okay. I can clear that up in revisions, and this novel is teaching me a whole new way of writing - and that I /can/ plot, and structure, and have coherency result :)
Overall, I'm pretty stoked with the high proportion of positive comments, and can't wait to finish this dang draft so I can get to revising.
Of course, the fact that I discovered some rather interesting details about Heather and Andrew's past two days ago has nothing to do with it O:)
22 July 2008
Absent Because of Beginnings
Today's title is somewhat non-sensical, but I like the sound of it, so it's staying :P As it suggests, I have been a little absent from the blog this past weekend because of beginnings - one hundred and fifteen first pages, to be precise, as posted over on Miss Snark's First Victim. I'm proud to say that I've read and commented on every one, and also read what no-longer-secret agent Holly Root had to say about them all. And I'm especially proud because with the ones that I commented on before she did, we agreed on nearly every one ;)
Why is this worthy of a post, you ask? Well, my good friend and Twin of Darkness and Good, who goes by the name Liana Brooks, posted a couple of days ago about which openings she liked and why. Which made me think I ought to do a similar post, since similar thoughts have been coruscating throughout my brain for the last few days. (Yes, coruscating. They're very shiny thoughts.) I'm amazed by how much this competition has taught me, and I know that once again my own writing will be made stronger because of it.
So, what struck me about the openings that I loved, versus the openings that were just so-so? Firstly, and mostly, voice. Stories that opened with a unique, identifiable voice that was in some way quirky had me immediately. It almost didn't matter what the subject of the story actually was, if the voice was great, I was hooked. (I say almost because there was this one that had a great voice, but was about a visit to the dentist... Others liked it, but I just couldn't feel that interested. Probably because I've never had a negative experience with a dentist, I'd say.)
And this is something that I know I need to work on for TP - Heather's characterisation is still all OVER the place, and she needs a solid character with a great voice to really make the book sing. But it has potential, and I'm glad of that much :)
Other things I noticed:
* Big paragraphs of description really suck. I skim. That even relates to paragraphs that may not actually be description, but look long and dense. Hoorah for small paragraphs!
* Punctuation, grammar, and spelling really, really, really count. Especially comma slices. (Death to splices! *waves pitchfork*)
And finally, the other biggie: conflict. You may recall that I wrote an article on conflict a while back, basically saying that there are lots of types and that it's the meat and bread of a story. Beginnings are no different. Even if the beginning has a good voice, is clear of mistakes and has nice sized paras, there has to be conflict. And more, the conflict has to be relevant. There has to be a sense that the conflict portrayed matters somehow within the context of the story.
So, personal checklist for beginnings: voice, conflict, bite-sized paragraphs, and no errors. Easy! :D
Why is this worthy of a post, you ask? Well, my good friend and Twin of Darkness and Good, who goes by the name Liana Brooks, posted a couple of days ago about which openings she liked and why. Which made me think I ought to do a similar post, since similar thoughts have been coruscating throughout my brain for the last few days. (Yes, coruscating. They're very shiny thoughts.) I'm amazed by how much this competition has taught me, and I know that once again my own writing will be made stronger because of it.
So, what struck me about the openings that I loved, versus the openings that were just so-so? Firstly, and mostly, voice. Stories that opened with a unique, identifiable voice that was in some way quirky had me immediately. It almost didn't matter what the subject of the story actually was, if the voice was great, I was hooked. (I say almost because there was this one that had a great voice, but was about a visit to the dentist... Others liked it, but I just couldn't feel that interested. Probably because I've never had a negative experience with a dentist, I'd say.)
And this is something that I know I need to work on for TP - Heather's characterisation is still all OVER the place, and she needs a solid character with a great voice to really make the book sing. But it has potential, and I'm glad of that much :)
Other things I noticed:
* Big paragraphs of description really suck. I skim. That even relates to paragraphs that may not actually be description, but look long and dense. Hoorah for small paragraphs!
* Punctuation, grammar, and spelling really, really, really count. Especially comma slices. (Death to splices! *waves pitchfork*)
And finally, the other biggie: conflict. You may recall that I wrote an article on conflict a while back, basically saying that there are lots of types and that it's the meat and bread of a story. Beginnings are no different. Even if the beginning has a good voice, is clear of mistakes and has nice sized paras, there has to be conflict. And more, the conflict has to be relevant. There has to be a sense that the conflict portrayed matters somehow within the context of the story.
So, personal checklist for beginnings: voice, conflict, bite-sized paragraphs, and no errors. Easy! :D
18 July 2008
And A Slight Hyperventilation Of My Own...
The Are You Hooked? contest over at Miss Snark's First Victim is well and truly up and running, with an astounding 113 entries! If you have a spare second to pop over and comment even on one or two, I'm sure everyone would be greatly appreciative. All you have to do is say whether the beginning hooked you or not, and, if you're feeling verbose, why :)
Meanwhile, I'm having a bit of a 'squee' moment of my own. This is what Secret Agent had to say about my opening:
"Yes. I might tighten a few spots (strike second line, cut to "The years hadn't been kind to my brother, that much..."; lose the second line about his clothes) but I'd want to see where this is headed."
*bounces up and down* Words cannot describe how floatily excited I am right now :D
Meanwhile, I'm having a bit of a 'squee' moment of my own. This is what Secret Agent had to say about my opening:
"Yes. I might tighten a few spots (strike second line, cut to "The years hadn't been kind to my brother, that much..."; lose the second line about his clothes) but I'd want to see where this is headed."
*bounces up and down* Words cannot describe how floatily excited I am right now :D
Super Largely Huge Congratulations...
... to my good friend Windsong, who's just received a request for a partial on her first novel after only two queries! And from a very well-known agency, too! :D
Fingers, hair, toes and eyes are all crossed for you, girlie! Rah rah!
Fingers, hair, toes and eyes are all crossed for you, girlie! Rah rah!
08 July 2008
Random Post of the Week: Link Salad
So, I spent yesterday afternoon procrastinating, but it was at least useful procrastination - I trawled the web, reading interesting articles on writing and following linkies till I was lost amid the maze of the internet and up to my ears in opinions, thoughts and advice.
To celebrate, I thought I'd offer you a sampling of my link salad.
I have discovered an awesome blog by a fellow Australian - what's not to love? ;) - by the name of Justine Larbalestier. The name is a mouthful, but the site is lots of fun - opinions, insights, and randomicity in roughly equal proportions.
Some sad news for those of us hoping to finance our lives from writing - according to Tobias Buckell's Author Advance Survey the average advance for science fiction or fantasy is $5000 for a first timer, rising to about $12,500 after 5-7 years. When you're writing one book a year - see the comments especially in Nathan Bransford's post - well, you do the math...
Elizabeth Bear discusses the 'you're-good-but-not-great' stage of the writing career, where you're getting personalised rejections with encouraging comments... but they're still rejecions.
And finally, I discovered Storytellers Unplugged, which has an awesome array of tasty articles, not least of which these on layering reality and writing serial characters.
Have fun!
To celebrate, I thought I'd offer you a sampling of my link salad.
I have discovered an awesome blog by a fellow Australian - what's not to love? ;) - by the name of Justine Larbalestier. The name is a mouthful, but the site is lots of fun - opinions, insights, and randomicity in roughly equal proportions.
Some sad news for those of us hoping to finance our lives from writing - according to Tobias Buckell's Author Advance Survey the average advance for science fiction or fantasy is $5000 for a first timer, rising to about $12,500 after 5-7 years. When you're writing one book a year - see the comments especially in Nathan Bransford's post - well, you do the math...
Elizabeth Bear discusses the 'you're-good-but-not-great' stage of the writing career, where you're getting personalised rejections with encouraging comments... but they're still rejecions.
And finally, I discovered Storytellers Unplugged, which has an awesome array of tasty articles, not least of which these on layering reality and writing serial characters.
Have fun!
07 July 2008
Welcome to my Sidebar: Folio
"Thinking beyond the page."
Who: This is Folio Literary Management's shiny new blog. Folio represents a wide range of genres. Their author list includes Caitlin Kittredge (Night Life), Garth Stein (The Art of Racing in the Rain) and Melissa Marr (Wicked Lovely). The blog is run by several of the members of the agency.
What: This is a fairly new blog - it's been running since late April - but it looks set to be a winner. Another 'industry' blog, it's crammed full of delicious tidbits about the business side of writing, and those all important, elusive creatures - agents :)
Where: Right here, or here: http://foliolit.blogspot.com/
Why: This blog looks set to be chock full of goodies for the wanna-be writer wanting the inside scoop on agenting. Topics covered so far include query letter tips, the top 5 things writers can do to help their in-house publicist, ten pieces of advice to improve your writer-agent relationship, and how to get the most out of writers conferences. There are also some 'opinion' pieces, such as what gets particular agents going with regards to characters. It may be new, but it's already home to a wealth of information - check it out ;)
When: Looks like once a week :)
Who: This is Folio Literary Management's shiny new blog. Folio represents a wide range of genres. Their author list includes Caitlin Kittredge (Night Life), Garth Stein (The Art of Racing in the Rain) and Melissa Marr (Wicked Lovely). The blog is run by several of the members of the agency.
What: This is a fairly new blog - it's been running since late April - but it looks set to be a winner. Another 'industry' blog, it's crammed full of delicious tidbits about the business side of writing, and those all important, elusive creatures - agents :)
Where: Right here, or here: http://foliolit.blogspot.com/
Why: This blog looks set to be chock full of goodies for the wanna-be writer wanting the inside scoop on agenting. Topics covered so far include query letter tips, the top 5 things writers can do to help their in-house publicist, ten pieces of advice to improve your writer-agent relationship, and how to get the most out of writers conferences. There are also some 'opinion' pieces, such as what gets particular agents going with regards to characters. It may be new, but it's already home to a wealth of information - check it out ;)
When: Looks like once a week :)
03 July 2008
First Lines and Hookability
If you haven't heard of Miss Snark, then you are a deeply deprived person. Go right now and check out her Snarkives which, even though she is no longer actively blogging, contain an absolute treasure trove of information on the writing business.
And although she is no longer blogging, the dear Miss Snark has spawned a great many spin off blogs - one of which belongs to Authoress, owner of the Miss Snark's First Victim blog. Over the next few weeks, she's running a second Are You Hooked? competition - and the rules are easy. When submissions open (circa July 14), email in your first 250 words of any story. Once the entry period is over, each entry will be posted in a separate post, and readers of the blog will comment on each post. As an added bonus, Authoress has managed to snag a real-life, honest-to-goodness agent who will also read and critique each opening.
Entry is free, you don't have to have a complete manuscript to enter, and all that's asked is that you give feedback on everyone else's beginnings if you get feedback on yours. What have you got to lose?
If you're feeling like you need a bit of a warm up, this thread over on Critique Circle is for posting entries to for preliminary help with polishing and feedbacky-ness. And our very own Liana Brooks is hosting a first paragraph 'competition' on her blog as we speak as a warm up for your first 250 words :)
Free feedback, from an agent no less. You can't pass that up every day ;)
And although she is no longer blogging, the dear Miss Snark has spawned a great many spin off blogs - one of which belongs to Authoress, owner of the Miss Snark's First Victim blog. Over the next few weeks, she's running a second Are You Hooked? competition - and the rules are easy. When submissions open (circa July 14), email in your first 250 words of any story. Once the entry period is over, each entry will be posted in a separate post, and readers of the blog will comment on each post. As an added bonus, Authoress has managed to snag a real-life, honest-to-goodness agent who will also read and critique each opening.
Entry is free, you don't have to have a complete manuscript to enter, and all that's asked is that you give feedback on everyone else's beginnings if you get feedback on yours. What have you got to lose?
If you're feeling like you need a bit of a warm up, this thread over on Critique Circle is for posting entries to for preliminary help with polishing and feedbacky-ness. And our very own Liana Brooks is hosting a first paragraph 'competition' on her blog as we speak as a warm up for your first 250 words :)
Free feedback, from an agent no less. You can't pass that up every day ;)
11 June 2008
Welcome to my Sidebar: Pub Rants
Yes, I know, I owe you all a series article. It's coming, I promise. I'm just currently bogged down with chemistry reports, and it's infesting my brain...
"A very nice literary agent indulges in polite rants about queries, writers, and the publishing industry."
Today's blog is agent Kirstin Nelson's blog, Pub Rants. Round of applause, everyone! :D
Who: Kirstin Nelson is the founder of the Nelson Literary Agency, which she founded in 2002. She was an agent for several years before that, and has proven herself a success with a number of her recent representations doing extremely well on the NY Best Sellers lists. She represents women's fiction, romance, literary, fantasy & science fiction, YA and MG, with what seems to be a strong (if unintentional, according to her blog) trend towards spunky female characters, a la Raine Benares from Lisa Shearin's Magic Lost, Trouble Found.
What: Pub Rants is what I call an 'industry blog'. It's chock full of useful information on the publishing industry, as seen by an agent. There are real-live successful query letters, extensive article series on Agenting 101 and Blog Pitching, and posts on every topic remotely connected to the day-to-day business world of an agent.
Where: Here, or here: http://pubrants.blogspot.com/
Why: This is the very first industry blog I began to read regularly. I simply adore the wealth of information that Kirstin divulges in a friendly, easy-to-read, no-nonsense manner. Honestly, if you're even remotely considering publishing, devouring a couple of industry blogs, archive and all, is a must - and this is a fabulous, easy-to-access blog to start with. :)
When: Irregularly, at least twice weekly on weekdays and up to five times a week on weekdays.
"A very nice literary agent indulges in polite rants about queries, writers, and the publishing industry."
Today's blog is agent Kirstin Nelson's blog, Pub Rants. Round of applause, everyone! :D
Who: Kirstin Nelson is the founder of the Nelson Literary Agency, which she founded in 2002. She was an agent for several years before that, and has proven herself a success with a number of her recent representations doing extremely well on the NY Best Sellers lists. She represents women's fiction, romance, literary, fantasy & science fiction, YA and MG, with what seems to be a strong (if unintentional, according to her blog) trend towards spunky female characters, a la Raine Benares from Lisa Shearin's Magic Lost, Trouble Found.
What: Pub Rants is what I call an 'industry blog'. It's chock full of useful information on the publishing industry, as seen by an agent. There are real-live successful query letters, extensive article series on Agenting 101 and Blog Pitching, and posts on every topic remotely connected to the day-to-day business world of an agent.
Where: Here, or here: http://pubrants.blogspot.com/
Why: This is the very first industry blog I began to read regularly. I simply adore the wealth of information that Kirstin divulges in a friendly, easy-to-read, no-nonsense manner. Honestly, if you're even remotely considering publishing, devouring a couple of industry blogs, archive and all, is a must - and this is a fabulous, easy-to-access blog to start with. :)
When: Irregularly, at least twice weekly on weekdays and up to five times a week on weekdays.
05 March 2008
Lisa Shearin on Editing
So, how's this for timing!
Author Lisa Shearin has just started posting a series of articles on her blog about the revision process when an agent and editor are involved. She speaks from personal experience, drawing examples from her first novel, Magic Lost, Trouble Found.
Personally, I found it very interesting to see what kind of things an editor will look at changing in your manuscript. If you think it might be interesting, check out the first article here in the March archives.
Author Lisa Shearin has just started posting a series of articles on her blog about the revision process when an agent and editor are involved. She speaks from personal experience, drawing examples from her first novel, Magic Lost, Trouble Found.
Personally, I found it very interesting to see what kind of things an editor will look at changing in your manuscript. If you think it might be interesting, check out the first article here in the March archives.
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