The Shit No One Tells You About Writing Bianca Marais, Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra

In today's Books with Hooks, Bianca, Carly and CeCe critique two listener query letters, one fantasy and one middle-grade fiction. During which, they discuss the need for characters to physically move around and the idea that a lack of movement might mean too much interiority and not enough plot; the need for interiority to match point of view; Bianca gives line level writing advice about phrasing;  the idea of your protagonist being the 'sun' in your novel and other characters the 'planets'; the difference between specificity and spoilers in a query; and comparison as a way to build character.
 After which, Bianca interviews Jillian Cantor, author of The Fiction Writer. The two discuss the freedom and ability to write across genres; the importance of finding the right agent for you; what writing different genres can teach you as a writer; writing retellings; how the prologue of Jillian's latest novel came to be; using epistolary elements; and Jillian's advice for writers trying to break into the industry.
 Find us on our socials:
Twitter: @TSNOTYAW @BiancaM_author @carlywatters @ceciliaclyra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_shit_about_writing/
https://www.instagram.com/biancamarais_author/
https://www.instagram.com/carlywatters/ https://www.instagram.com/cece_lyra_agent/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/TSNOTYAW
Websites: www.theshitaboutwriting.com, www.biancamarais.com, www.carlywatters.com and www.cecilialyra.com
Bookshop.org affiliate page: https://bookshop.org/shop/theshitnoonetellsyouaboutwriting
More information about Jillian can be found at: https://www.jilliancantor.com/
She is also on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/jilliancantor/?hl=en


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In today's Bumper November Bonus Episode, Emilie Sommer of East City Bookshop kicks us off with suggested comp titles.
 After which, Bianca is joined by Uzma Jalaluddin and Marissa Stapley, co-authors of Three Holidays and a Wedding. They discuss the differences in approach in writing a collaborative project rather than a solo one; the benefits of writing genre-fiction when it comes to creating an outline, and the importance of an outline in a collaborative process; the idea of tackling hard subjects, but with the promise of a 'happily ever after'; and the shift in the tone and subject matter of romance novels and rom-coms in recent times.
 CeCe then chats with her client, Dr. Tracy Dalgleish, about her book, I Didn’t Sign Up for This. They also discuss how they met and decided to work together; why Tracy wrote this book the way she did; how we learn through stories and how psychological tools can be useful when
writing fiction; the parallels between relationship challenges and writing; the emotional challenges that come with the intention of being traditionally published; practicing self-care while going through the phases of writing and publishing; and there’s a special giveaway for listeners!
Finally, in the Q&A segment, Carly and CeCe answer all your
burning questions!
Find us on our socials:
Twitter: @TSNOTYAW @BiancaM_author @carlywatters @ceciliaclyra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_shit_about_writing/
https://www.instagram.com/biancamarais_author/
https://www.instagram.com/carlywatters/ https://www.instagram.com/cece_lyra_agent/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/TSNOTYAW
Websites: www.theshitaboutwriting.com, www.biancamarais.com, www.carlywatters.com and www.cecilialyra.com
Bookshop.org affiliate page: https://bookshop.org/shop/theshitnoonetellsyouaboutwriting
To connect with Emilie Sommer go to https://www.instagram.com/emiliegsommer/ and you can find East City Bookshop at https://www.instagram.com/eastcitybookshop/
More information about Uzma can be found at: https://uzmajalaluddin.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/uzmajalaluddin/
More information about Marissa can be found at: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/authors/2242840/marissa-stapley and https://www.instagram.com/marissastapley/
More information about Dr. Tracy can be found at: https://www.drtracyd.com/. She’s on Instagram @drtracyd, and
Facebook @DrTracyD.


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In today's Books with Hooks, Bianca, Carly, and CeCe are joined by Nicole to discuss her query submission. They discuss the introduction of characters in a query letter to avoid overwhelming the reader; avoiding 'hopping' around in time and switching tenses in a query; ideas to up the stakes within the relationship of Nicole's main characters; examples of how Nicole successfully described a character's appearance using first person POV; advice on how to avoid common turns of phrase; and how to make unlikeable or grumpy characters more likeable.
 After which, Bianca chats with Erin Pepler about her collection of essays, Send Me Into the Woods Alone: Essays on Motherhood. They discuss how writing essays can help with marketing and publicity as a novelist; the process of putting an essay collection together; selling a collection to a publisher; the power of a single essay; how being specific is often what makes stories feel universal; an essay vs an article vs a longer piece of nonfiction (i.e., a memoir); essays that go viral; and showing vs telling in essays.
Find us on our socials:
Twitter: @TSNOTYAW @BiancaM_author @carlywatters @ceciliaclyra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_shit_about_writing/
https://www.instagram.com/biancamarais_author/
https://www.instagram.com/carlywatters/ https://www.instagram.com/cece_lyra_agent/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/TSNOTYAW
Websites: www.theshitaboutwriting.com, www.biancamarais.com, www.carlywatters.com and www.cecilialyra.com
Bookshop.org affiliate page: https://bookshop.org/shop/theshitnoonetellsyouaboutwriting
More information about Erin can be found at erinpepler.com.
She’s on Twitter @erinpepler, Instagram @erinpepler, and Facebook @erinpeplerwriter.


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In today's Books with Hooks, Bianca, Carly and CeCe critique two query letters. They discuss a good example of the concept of 'curiosity seeds'; the importance of expedience when getting a character from point A to point B; the creation of immediacy through present tense; how to give specifics in the query letter without ruining the curiosity seeds you want to plant in the pages; how the discussion of money in pages allow for various opportunities to reveal details about a character; and the need for a balance between interiority and emotionality.
After which, Bianca chats with Rosemary Hennigan, author of The Favorites. They discuss framing the narrative by doing heavy lifting in the opening pages; having your character make the reader ask some big questions; stories that both entertain and intellectually nourish readers; not giving the reader all the information; choosing a specific historical backdrop to mirror themes in the book; how whatever’s happening in politics in that timeframe affect your character’s emotions and decisions; and the subjectivity of the industry.
 Find us on our socials:
Twitter: @TSNOTYAW @BiancaM_author @carlywatters @ceciliaclyra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_shit_about_writing/
https://www.instagram.com/biancamarais_author/ https://www.instagram.com/carlywatters/ https://www.instagram.com/cece_lyra_agent/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/TSNOTYAW
Websites: www.theshitaboutwriting.com, www.biancamarais.com, www.carlywatters.com and www.cecilialyra.com
Bookshop.org affiliate page: https://bookshop.org/shop/theshitnoonetellsyouaboutwriting
To ask a question, go to: https://sayhi.chat/TSNOTYAW
More information about Rosemary can be found at www.rosemaryhennigan.com. She is on Instagram @rosiehennigan.


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In today's Books with Hooks, Bianca, Carly and CeCe are joined by guest agent, Dana Murphy. The four discuss the need for specificity in a query letter; whittling at larger ideas to hone them and make them clearer; internal logic within a scene; the necessity of 'upfront' world building; being clear with stakes in a query letter; the difficulty of pitching something as 'humorous'; the issue with a character’s intuition that is proven correct; and the need to trust your reader through showing rather than telling.
After which, Bianca chats with Jean Kwok about her book, The Leftover Woman. They discuss Jean’s journey to publication; the importance of choosing an agent who thinks of you as a star; how rejections can be doorways; imposter syndrome; preserving your integrity; intentionality behind POV choices; reverse outlining your favourite books; and the two timelines of every successful book.
Find us on our socials:
Twitter: @TSNOTYAW @BiancaM_author @carlywatters @ceciliaclyra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_shit_about_writing/
https://www.instagram.com/biancamarais_author/
https://www.instagram.com/carlywatters/ https://www.instagram.com/cece_lyra_agent/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/TSNOTYAW
Websites: www.theshitaboutwriting.com, www.biancamarais.com, www.carlywatters.com and www.cecilialyra.com
Bookshop.org affiliate page: https://bookshop.org/shop/theshitnoonetellsyouaboutwriting
To ask a question, go to: https://sayhi.chat/TSNOTYAW
More information about Jean can be found at jeankwok.com. She’s on Twitter @JeanKwok, Instagram @jeankwokauthor, and Facebook @jeankwokauthor.


Our Sponsors:
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In today's Books with Hooks, Carly and CeCe critique two query letters. During which, they discuss how specificity can make your novel seem more realistic; the challenges with switching between different types of narration; a prologue that CeCe likes; the depth that interiority adds to dialogue; and the difficulty with relying on a character's memory to create a plot.
After which, Bianca interviews Nicolas DiDomizio, author of Burn it All Down and The Gay Best Friend. The two discuss the story behind James Patterson blurbing Nicolas' debut novel and how that helped a book with zero comps get published; the marketing strategy for The Gay Best Friend; what Nick learned from adapting his latest novel to a screenplay; how he took a crash course in screenplay writing; deciding what scenes from the novel had to be kept or removed from the screenplay; and the differences in writing a screenplay versus a novel.
Find us on our socials:
Twitter: @TSNOTYAW @BiancaM_author @carlywatters @ceciliaclyra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_shit_about_writing/
https://www.instagram.com/biancamarais_author/
https://www.instagram.com/carlywatters/ https://www.instagram.com/cece_lyra_agent/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/TSNOTYAW
Websites: www.theshitaboutwriting.com, www.biancamarais.com, www.carlywatters.com and www.cecilialyra.com
Bookshop.org affiliate page: https://bookshop.org/shop/theshitnoonetellsyouaboutwriting
To ask a question, go to: https://sayhi.chat/TSNOTYAW
More information about Nicolas can be found at: https://nicolasdidomizio.com/
He is also on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/nicdidomiziobooks/?hl=en


Our Sponsors:
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