March Contest Winners

March was a great month for contests here on the Critique Sisters Corner. First we want to shout out a huge thank you to our new followers. We are excited to get to know all of you better and look forward to entertaining and helping you with our posts. Now for the winners!

The winner of first giveaway, The Clearing by Anne Riley, is: Kari of Under The Fairy Dust! Yay Kari! I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did. Please leave us a comment and we'll get that sent off to you.

The winner of the Critique Sisters Corner portion of Carolina's Agent Signing Mega giveaway is Kristi! Kristi has not yet emailed us back to let us know whether she chose 2011 Guide To Literary Agents or Writing The Breakout Novel by Donald Maass but we know she'll enjoy either one!

The Dreaded Query Letter

If you're like me you'd almost rather have a root canal than write a query letter. I have a little secret for you though. It doesn't have to be painful. Think of this post as your Novocain. Query letters are so much harder because they aren't writing so much as they are selling. A query letter is more akin to a sales pitch than a novel. But there are a few keys to making them easier.

Try to write your query letter in your character's voice. Not from their point of view, but with the flavor that is particular to them. This will make it feel less like you're talking about yourself and more like they're talking about their own story. I've found this helps a lot because it's the talking about myself part that I don’t like. However, when it comes time for the bio paragraph you need to switch to your own voice.

A good standard to follow for a query letter is this: Some kind of personal greeting saying why you chose to query this particular agent (their interests, blog, clients, whatever drew you to them), a logline or one sentence pitch (though this isn't necessary), one to two short paragraphs that cover the basics of your novel, a paragraph about yourself (include publishing credits, awards, writing organizations you belong to, author mentors), then a closing sentence. At the end don't forget to include your email address and phone number.
Tips:

*Be confident and polite, not apologetic or pleading.
*Never query for a rough draft, only a thoroughly revised novel.
*Revise your query letter as much as you revised your novel.
*Do your research and choose agents carefully.
*Don't 'blanket' query a standard letter to every agent.
*Take your time on each submission.
*Keep track of the queries you send out.
*Read guidelines thoroughly and follow them.

This month the wonderfully peeps at WriteOnCon are hosting three fantastic opportunities for you to have your query letter critiqued by an agent. YA Fantasy Guide is also doing a contest where the winner will receive a query letter critique from agent Tamar Rydzinski. My friend Shelley Watters is doing a one line pitch contest where the winner receives an entire manuscript request from agent Suzie Townsend! Check back here next week when I'll be posting my query letter for my new novel so my Sisters, and you, can critique it. Now get clicking on those contests!

The Short Synopsis

It's conference season again, and for those of you madly putting together marketing materials to use in your follow-ups to agent and editor requests, I thought I'd pull out my notes on writing a short synopsis from last year's PNWA (Pacific Northwest Writers Associaiton) Conference.  The advice comes from three excellent sources:  two best-selling novelists, Bob Mayer and Robert Dugoni, and an outstanding fiction editor, Elizabeth Lyon.  Dugoni and Mayer made presentations on the subject.  Lyon's suggestions are from her book, A Writer's Guide to Fiction.  Here are their guidelines for assembling your short synopsis:

Mayer:
1.  Main story arc from beginning to end.
2.  Only three names on the page:  protagonist, antagonist and one major supporting character.
3.  Give the ending
4.  Goal:  get the reader to know it's a good story so they want to turn the page to the rest of the submission.  If they don't, your novel will never get seen by them.


Dugoni:
Broad Strokes
1.  Don't overpopulate it. Take the main plot and main character and run with that.
2.  Almsot everything relates to the physical journey of the protagonist, but keep in mind the emotional journey and the through-line, as well.
3.  Best way to write it is to use story structure—beginning, middle, end (but use this as a guide, not a rule). Use five main questions (also addressed in query letter) to fill in the story structure:
a) who is the protagonist?
b) what is the protagonist?
c) where is the protagonist?
d) what is the protagonist's goal?
e) what is the protagonist's obstacle?

Application
4.  Beginning:  open with the call to adventure/refusal of the call. What happened? Why does the protagonist resist, but have to do whatever has to be done herself or himself?
5.  Middle:  identify the tests/obstacles that show up—1, 2, 3, 4 or more. these are the sequences of events. They should never be the same or show the same strengths of the protagonist.
6.  End:  the result of it all:  the quest will go beyond whatever the external goal was, and the protagonist may find previously unrealized inner strength as his/her own truths are revealed.


Lyon:
Broad Strokes
1.  Synopsis describes how a plot carries out the story promise (fulfillment of unmet issue of human need) by the protagonist, who is driven by the core issue or need.
2.  One-page, single-spaced when sent with a first query letter.
3.  Use active, strong, evocative verbs and concrete, specific nouns.
4.  Contains the entire story:  beginning, middle, end. Include plot points and emotional turning points. Leave out subplots unless understanding the main plot depends on them, then sketch only.

Application
5.  Open with a statement of the story yearning, such as a narrative hook, or by showing it embedded in action. Include the novel's setting, time period, background and situation. Make this dramatic, colorful and brief.
6.  Introduce main characters with a short sketch, beginning with the protagonist and including his/her goal and what's at stake. Indicate the protagonist's fatal flaws (weaknesses stemming from past trauma) and state the character strength that defines his/her heroism. Show how the protagonist is the driving force of the story. Sketch the antagonist and other main characters or integrate them into a plot summary.
7.  End by showing what the protagonist learns or realizes that supports fulfillment of the story yearning or theme. (Implied here is that the protagonist has overcome his/her weakness.)


Best of luck with this important task!  As Bob Dugoni pointed out, it's the hardest thing of all to write.  If you have a friend who's read your book, have them help.   Here's hoping you get through it with panache and have a great time at conferences meeting and getting to know those agents and editors. And if you're not going to a conference, you'll still have a great synopsis to include with your query letters.

~ Linda

Recipe For Hope

Highs and Lows of writing...

Queries. Rejections. Conferences. Agents. Partials. Fulls. Rejection.

We all want our work to be good enough to be published. And when agents aren’t pounding down our door to sign us, we take it personal. Some quit. Some revise. A couple weeks ago I learned that many of us drink wine, eat chocolate, cry, and then we get back to work.

But what happens when we lose hope? 

When we have it we’re Happy, Optimistic, Positive, and have the Energy to accomplish anything. When hope is lost, we have no reason to get our butts out of bed. The world turns a murky shade of grey and the flavor of life is gone. The answer—Don’t lose it. But if you do wake up and it’s gone, you can get it back and I have the recipe.

Recipe for Hope:

·      Two cups of belief.

·      A handful of writer friends.

·      One cup of tears.

·      Three ounces of dedication.

·      1 tbs. of confidence.

·      ½ cup of perseverance.

·      One tsp. of vanilla.

·      One box of chocolate.

·      1 bottle of wine.

In a large bowl pour in belief, then add a handful of writer friends. Toss lightly until thoroughly mixed. In a separate bowl mix dedication, confidence and perseverance, and beat.  When you think you’ve got the lumps out, continue to beat for two additional minutes. Pour the dedication, confidence and perseverance mixture into the belief mixture. Add the cup of tears, and blend with the vanilla.

Pour the entire mixture into the bathtub and add hot water. While the water is running, pour yourself a glass of wine, and open the chocolate. When the tub is full, submerse yourself. Sip your wine. Eat your chocolate. Soak in the essence of hope. And know that you can do anything.

You can have hope anytime you want it. It doesn’t have to go away. Make the choice to be Happy, Optimistic, Positive, and create your own Energy. If not today… tomorrow will be your day. Just believe and bathe in hope. 

Enjoy the Journey! 

~ Karlene

Critique Group Questionaire

Choosing a critique group is not something you should do lightly. Everyone has a differently style and different needs. It's important that you choose a group that works well for you. It is only by trial and error that my critique sisters and I have found one another. It occurred to me that there should be an easier way. From that realization came the critique group questionnaire. These are things you need to know about your fellow critiquers so you may understand one another's needs and expectations better and can get more out of your sessions.

1) What type of critiques do you give?
    A. Honest, no holds barred
    B. Constructive criticism, pointing out both good and bad
    C. Praise only
2) What type of critique are you prepared to accept (be totally honest)?
    A. Honest, no holds barred
    B. Constructive criticism, pointing out both good and bad
    C. Praise only
3) Will you be bringing a completed first draft to the sessions or is it a work in progress?
4) Are you comfortable critiquing works in genres other than your own?
5) Are you comfortable receiving critiques from writers who write genres other than your own?
6) What would you most like help with from the group?
    A. Story structure, character development, flow, voice
    B. Grammar, basic sentence structure help, spelling
    C. All of the above
7) What types of books do you read on a recreational basis?
8) What books on the craft of writing have you read?
9) Do you/have you attended conferences, workshops, or writer's retreats?
10) How would you like to exchange material?
     A. email
     B. In person
     C. Through snail mail
11) How often are you prepared to critique and how much at a time?
12) How much of your work do you want critiqued?
      A. Entire novel
      B. Select chapters
      C. Select pages
13) Please suggest a plan for exchanging critiques.
This list should help you not only choose those you will work best with, but it should also help get you started with a critiquing plan. Best of luck creating and maintaining your critique groups!

Writer's Block

Have you ever experienced any of the following?

- staring at the blank page without a clue as to where or how to begin
   writing
- a rejection from an agent or editor/publisher, which throws you into a fit
   of depression
- a critique that rang loud inside your head with the message, not good 
   enough!, even though it actually included much praise and excellent
   suggestions
- an overwhelming sense that the deck is stacked against you, given the odds
   of getting published
- a compulsive need to go back and revise again and again each time you
   learn something new or realize there are imperfections in your manuscript
- dread of the pages full of words that need to be revised
- heart-pounding cold sweats at the thought of pitching your story idea to an
   agent or editor, or of going on a book tour
- nightmares where you are on a book tour and your underwear is showing
- dread of being published and getting one bad review after another, or of
   having nothing left to say

There are more! Nasty little anxiety-provoking events and obsessions. You know them, and you know any one of them can lead you like a lemming into the Dreaded Writer's Block (not to be confused with the Block where the Dreaded Writer lives—more on that in a later post, when I know for sure he's out of town).  No, this is the one where you feel like you've walked into a giant brown paper bag and someone stapled the open end shut. You're stuck. No way out. You can breathe, sort of, if you don't do anything strenuous. Like putting words on paper (you don't have your computer, smart phone, iPad, iTouch or any other technology with you in this scenario, but you do have a pencil, and you're surrounded by brown paper).

Okay, I'm already hearing the howls of protest from certain quarters. "No such thing! Just power through it! Go for a walk!"  Well, I can tell you that if I go for a walk when I'm finding it impossible to write, the breakthrough that happens is that I find out, once again, that I love to walk!  So then, the only thing I can do is give myself a break. Spend some quality time gazing at the sky, followed by more time gazing at the patrons in my favorite coffee shop. Then, to avoid offending people who don't like being stared at, maybe I'll buy a book and start reading an author new to me, one who writes just like I wanted to when I got blocked, but I couldn't get a handle on it.  Hey, this author is a perfect example to emulate!

And there it is. I've finally fought my way out of that paper bag. It's convoluted, but everyone has their process. If you never get writer's block, I bow down to you in admiration and abject envy. If you do get it, though, is there something that helps you get back on the page?

~Linda

Character Development

"You need more character development."

What does that mean? How do you do develop your characters in 90,000 words? Especially when you have a protagonist, an antagonist, and a couple other main characters. 

An additional challenge in my novel is that the entire novel spans the course of a week. One week to show, not tell, that my antagonist is a sociopath.

I've pondered this question for three weeks. Flashback came to mind. I personally don't dislike flashbacks, but I'm thinking not in this particular novel. There has to be a better way.  I came up with a solution yesterday, and rewrote chapter one. Added a new chapter two. Stole the second half of chapter one and made it chapter three. Fun. And I think it works.

What I did was add a cat. Not just any cat, but my protagonist's cat that she's had longer than the husband and kids. I showed the love in chapter one. My protagonist's loving and concerned husband had a disagreement about her working, and he stormed out of the room. My protagonist leaves with the kids to walk them to the school bus. Chapter two, her husband hears the door close, returns to the kitchen and peers out the window. Then he picks up old kitty and puts her in a pink pillow case, ties it closed with a shoe lace from his wife's tennis shoe, and buries her alive in the back yard in his wife's flower bed. Bulbs, waiting to be planted. Can you guess who the antagonist is?

If this doesn't set the stage and show that my antagonist is a sociopath, I'm not sure what will. The reader will know that he's capable of anything. Thoughts?

If you have ideas on character building, we would love to hear them.

Enjoy the journey!

~ Karlene