✨Query Critiques Inside! Also: Is Your Truth Stranger Than Fiction? Christine Murphy's Tips for Writing from Lived Experience✨

Plus, a thought-provoking Q&A with novelist Michael Amherst, memoirist Marianna Marlowe's break-through editing hack, and a link to CeCe's awesome Ask Me Anything video !

Happy Tuesday, writing friends!

Last week was 📕Books with Hooks 🪝week on the podcast, so you can find Carly and CeCe’s written query critiques below! But that’s not all (of course!). We’ve also got a great Q&A, essay and video for you packed with helpful advice and insights on everything from editing hacks and the best way to get feedback that’s actually useful, to avoiding the “truth is stranger than fiction” trap.

First up, is our Q&A with debut novelist Michael Amherst (The Boyhood of Cain), who reassuringly (for all you pantsers out there, at least) name-drops some literary greats who also just so happened to like living their writing life on the edge. He also shares his take on sharing—are you Team “Get As Much Feedback As Possible From As Many People As Possible” or Team “Find the Right Reader for What You’re Writing”? Michael has some strong feelings on the subject. Keep reading to learn if they follow the advice you’ve been given before, or are a new way of looking at things… 👖✍🏽

Next we’ve got this week’s essay from memoirist Marianna Marlowe, who shares the break-through editing hack that changed her approach to writing—and led to publication of her memoir (Portrait of a Feminist, out now)! It's simple, it's free, and it's absolutely worth trying. Want to know what it is? Here’s a hint! 📢 😉

If you’ve ever taken a writing workshop, odds are good you’ve been witness to one of those exchanges that goes something along the lines of:

“That’s totally not believable” (said the rude workshop participant who hasn’t yet got the hang of giving feedback)

“But that’s how it really happened!” (said the author of the piece being critiqued who’s always been told at parties what a good storyteller they are)

In today’s video feature, debut novelist Christine Murphy (Notes on Surviving the Fire), gives her advice for avoiding this kind of scenario. Christine advises against taking that old writing advice chestnut “Write what you know” too literally, sharing her tips for transforming your lived experience into something that make sense within a fictional narrative. 📹📚

Also this week, registration continues for CeCe’s latest course offering. Starting It Right is one of the most difficult things to learn how to do, but this four-session course will equip you with tools that will help you know if the beginning of your WIP is actually the start of your story. More details below!

And speaking of CeCe…The recording of her Ask Me Anything zoom earlier this month is up now and available here until March 16th. Access it with the passcode: Askc3c3@nything 💻

Finally, don’t forget that you still have time to sign up for Bianca’s Great Beta Reader Match-Up!

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading! ❤️

❤️ The Shit No One Tells You About Writing Team