✨"Legends in their own lunchtime": Things Get Wacky (But Stay Insightful) on This Week's Podcast✨
Plus, Laurie Elizabeth Flynn helps get you ready to write a book in a month, a Q&A with Jennifer Whiteford, and it's bonus episode time again with Marissa Stapley, Amy Shoenthal and Frances White!
Happy Friday, writing friends!
Queries and rhinos and bears—oh my! We hope you’ve set aside some time to listen to the podcast this week, because (in addition to all the usual great advice about plot paragraphs, avoiding over-writing and the like) things with our hosts get positively unhinged (Editor’s note: I think there’s a strong possibility they got into the cooking sherry that day…). Tune in for an example of great interiority, to find out how to successfully share your characters’ biographical details, and to learn why CeCe should never be left unsupervised in nature. 📝🦏🐻
It’s also bonus episode time again, and this month Bianca gets to chat with three authors about three very different books. Have a listen and learn what Marissa Stapley (The Lightning Bottles), Amy Shoenthal (The Setback Cycle) and Frances White (Voyage of the Damned) have to offer on topics including the challenges of writing a book after experiencing major success, preparing to talk about yourself as an author, world-building and, our old favourite, persevering in the face of rejection. Plus, Emilie Sommer from East City Book Shop is back to answer all your comp requests!
Also back is Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, who shares the second in her series of articles designed to help you get ready to write a book in just one month. Not planning on subjecting yourself to such pressure? Read it anyway—her advice on writing a query letter before even starting on your novel may seem odd at first, but if you’re someone who struggles with things like outlines or synopses, this might just be a way to come at it from a different angle.
Next up is our Author Q&A with Jennifer Whiteford who, among other things, shares the one piece of writing advice that absolutely did NOT resonate with her and how following it as an emerging writer held her back until she decided it was time to ignore it. You should definitely pay attention and learn from Jennifer’s experience—her debut, Make Me A Mixtape, comes out next week!
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading! ❤️
The Shit No One Tells You About Writing Team
P.S. Still not sure about upgrading to paid? Check out our Tuesday Teaser below to see what you’re missing!
This Week’s Podcast✨🎙️✨
This week on the podcast (listen to it here!), Bianca, Carly, and CeCe critique a family saga submission and a psychological thriller. They discuss:
Whether there's a need for personalization at the top of your query;
The importance of having POV information at the beginning of your letter;
Being concise;
Ensuring you illustrate how your multiple POV characters connect through plot and theme;
Ensuring your metaphors don't take your reader out of the pages;
The importance of reading your work aloud;
Ensuring your plot paragraphs speak to each other;
Making sure your character's behaviours are plausible; and
Balancing scene work and interiority.
“In my experience, only good things come from personalization. Because if I'm going to read hundreds of thousands of queries over the course of a long period of time, I'm going to want to read something that addresses me specifically and explains why I specifically am getting this query letter.”
— Carly
Bumper September Bonus Episode
In this September’s bonus episode, Bianca interviews Reese's book pick and best-selling author Marissa Stapley, to discuss her latest, The Lightning Bottles. They chat about the genesis of the novel; taking your time writing and the beauty that lies in the process of creating; the inspiration behind Marissa's protagonist; why she chose specific characters as POV characters; how Marissa managed to work in a prologue that was from a younger person's perspective without it reading like YA; the challenges of writing a book after experiencing major success; working with multiple editors at the same time; and advice for when a manuscript just isn't working.
After which, Bianca chats with Amy Shoenthal, author of the non-fiction work, The Setback Cycle. They discuss the journey to publication as a collection of setbacks; getting a book deal without having a huge platform; persevering despite rejections and learning from them; how to market yourself amidst insecurities; Amy's thought process and research for her work; the process of working with and interviewing experts; how Amy came up with the idea and key ideas for her work; the differences between writing journalistic pieces versus writing a book; being prepared to talk about yourself as an author; and how Amy marketed herself and her book.
Bianca then interviews Frances White, author of the adult fantasy novel, Voyage of the Damned. They discuss Frances's journey to publication and the manuscripts that didn't quite make it there; writing for yourself rather than ticking boxes for publishers; the world-building that Frances did for her novel; working with a large cast of characters; the importance of representation and using sensitivity readers; the crossover potential of Frances's novel; and writing the voicey-ness of the main character.
Finally, Emilie Sommer from East City Book Shop answers all your comp requests!
You can purchase The Lightning Bottles, The Setback Cycle, and Voyage of the Damned on our Bookshop.org affiliate page. 📚❤️
NanoWriMo Series: Part Two
By Laurie Elizabeth Flynn
October: Preparation
Hello again, NaNoWriMo-ers! We’re only a month away from the starting line, how do you feel? I’ve had several different NaNo experiences: success stories, but also (and just as importantly), books that didn’t end up going anywhere. Like many writers, I have books in the proverbial “drawer” that will never see the light of day. And that’s okay, because it’s all part of the creative process! Still, over the years, I’ve been able to get a better sense of how to set myself up for success for NaNo, and I hope these tips help you as well.
Often, staring down a blank page is the most intimidating part of the drafting process. Some writers are plotters, some are pantsers, and others fall somewhere in the middle. I’ve largely been a pantser throughout my career, but what that doesn’t mean is that I can just sit down at my laptop and hope a story pours out. I’ve learned that, unfortunately, that’s rarely the case, although I wish it was. Regardless of your process—a detailed outline, a synopsis, bullet-point notes—there are certain things I recommend for any writer preparing to start a new book. Starting with…
Know your hook
This is my most valuable piece of advice in my own process. The test of how well you know the book you’re about to write: can you condense it to a one-sentence elevator pitch that would make someone reading or listening desperate to know more? Your hook needs to be strong and unique, and offer up an irresistible question for your future readers. If you’re unsure of what your hook is, your pages will reflect that uncertainty. Sometimes it takes a bit of time to nail down, but it’s only October, and we have time! Play around with your hook and bounce it off critique partners or trusted family and friends. Once you have that set…
Write a query letter
No matter what stage you’re at with your writing—maybe you’re hoping to get an agent, or already agented but unpublished, or published and embarking on a new project—this is a hugely helpful preparatory step, and one I undertake prior to starting anything new. I write a short query letter, akin to the back copy blurb you’d see on a published novel. This will capture the essence of your hook, along with your central characters, conflict, and theme. Even for the books I haven’t plotted at all, I’ve written query letters before beginning even a single word of the draft. This is yet another way you can come to know your novel well before writing it—and later, if you find yourself meandering in the pages and losing the plot, you can go back to the query and remind yourself of the questions you’re supposed to be answering.
Seek out craft books
If you’re not sure how to plot or structure your novel, craft books are hugely helpful resources. A very popular one is Save the Cat, which will help you create a three-act structure for your novel. You might not know exactly what’s going to happen and when, and that’s fine! But trying to fit your main plot beats into a Save the Cat structure is a worthwhile exercise to make sure you have what you need in terms of conflict, plot, and character development. You can also look at fiction books you love—and ones you don’t—to determine exactly what worked for you, and what didn’t. Reading analytically like this might help you notice a common theme emerging that can assist you with your own work.
Outlining, or not
Some writers swear by their outlines, and others feel hemmed in by them. Lately, what I’ve done with my writing is start with an outline, and inevitably deviate from it as the characters come to life and make me do what they want. (They’re stubborn, just like their author.) Still, it’s never a bad idea to have a general sense of what might happen and when. A strategy I like to use is the chapter outline—I try to make a list of chapters, and jot down a bullet point or two of what might happen, knowing things could change and being open to that.
Calendar goals
Something that’s very important to my writing process, whether I’m NaNo-ing or not, is setting goals. Before NaNo begins, I’d recommend figuring out what your life is going to look like in November, and making a writing schedule around it that feels achievable. If you write each day, breaking down 50,000 words into a daily word count of 1,666 feels much more manageable. But perhaps you can’t write every day, due to a day job or children or life circumstances, so account for this when you make yourself a schedule. Say you don’t write on weekends—count up your writing days and adjust your goal accordingly. Once you have a sense of this, try to further break down your day. Will you write early in the morning? At night? Throughout the day, in a few different sessions? If 1,666 feels like too high a goal, break it into manageable chunks, and motivate yourself by checking off a box or putting a sticker on your calendar when you reach your goal. (I keep a physical calendar typed out, and it is very motivational to me to check off a box each time I hit a 250 word increment.) There’s no right or wrong way to do this, but the point is to set yourself up for success however you can!
Now you have a solid idea, perhaps an outline, and a schedule. I’d say you’re ready for November! See you all next month at the NaNo starting line!
Laurie Elizabeth Flynn is a former model who lives in London, Ontario with her husband and their four children.
Her adult fiction debut, The Girls Are All So Nice Here, was named a USA Today Best Book of 2021, sold in 11 territories worldwide, and became an instant bestseller in Canada. Her second novel for adults, Till Death Do Us Part, was an instant USA Today and national Canadian bestseller, and a Good Morning America Buzz Pick. She is also the author of three young adult novels: Firsts, Last Girl Lied To, and All Eyes On Her, under the name L.E. Flynn.
When she’s not writing, you can likely find her hiking in the woods, perusing thrift stores for vintage dresses, or bingeing on reality TV dating shows.
You can purchase Laurie’s books on our Bookshop.org affiliate page here.❤️ Buying books through this link supports a local indie bookstore, as well as The Shit No One Tells You About Writing 📚❤️
Author Q&A with Jennifer Whiteford
Jennifer Whiteford (she/her) lives in Ottawa, Ontario with her partner, children, dog, and record collection. Her debut contemporary romance novel MAKE ME A MIXTAPE will be published by Doubleday Canada in October 2024. She also writes about music, punk culture, and parenting for Razorcake. You can also find Jennifer’s writing in This Magazine, 68 to 05, and in the Good Mom on Paper anthology (Book*Hug Press, 2022).
Jennifer is a book reviewer on the CBC All in a Day monthly book panel on CBC Radio Ottawa.
TSNOTYAW: Were you ever close to giving up on writing and, if so, what stopped you?
Jennifer Whiteford: After years of trying to write a serious literary novel and failing, I decided that I was giving up on novel writing. I stopped torturing myself with the process and the stress of feeling like I SHOULD be writing a novel. And then a few years later I started doing stand up comedy, which requires more writing than I think people realize. If you think fiction writers are obsessed with line-level writing, you should meet some comedians. Having that community of comedy writers around me made me constantly work to become a better writer. I started to think that I could maybe try writing a novel again. But I knew I wanted it to be a fun and funny novel that I'd want to read. So I abandoned my deep literary fiction ambitions and started writing romance instead. Best decision I ever made.
What one piece of advice (craft- or publishing industry-related) has always resonated with you?
I have a poster in my kitchen that says "Work Hard and Be Nice to People" and that is basically the best advice for a writing career that I could imagine. The "work hard" part is the "butt in the chair" aspect of writing. You just have to do it. And it's hard. New notebooks and writing courses and specialty software can all be inspiring and helpful, but the key thing is to do the work. The "be nice to people" part really resonates when it comes to dealing with agents and editors and publishing people and readers. It's not like you want to be a doormat, you have to have boundaries and standards. But being courteous, grateful, and reasonable goes a long way.
How do you ensure you have enough time to write amidst so many obligations competing for your time?
Give up hobbies? Have a messy house? Get less sleep? I honestly wish I had a better answer to this question, but the truth is, it's just hard. I'm a tired lady with a messy house and few hobbies. I have two kids who thankfully now are old enough to manage some aspects of their life without direct supervision, so that has helped a lot. I have a partner who takes my writing career seriously and is happy to make sure I have as much space and time as we can manage, but it's still a struggle sometimes. And the dog does not care if I am writing or not. She indignantly insists that we walk twice a day, regardless. But when I feel overwhelmed by everything I think about what my life would be like without writing, and that seems miserable, so it's worth it to just try to balance the unbalanceable.
What's one writing "rule" or commonly followed piece of advice that you decidedly break?
When I was an eager teenager, dying to become a writer, I went to a writing workshop taught by an older male writer who told us all that we should never share our story ideas with anyone before we finished writing because telling the story out loud would make us not want to write it down. I held on to that advice as gospel for years, even though it never worked for me. I had a lot of writing friends (mostly guys) who really treated their writing as something secretive, so I did the same. But it never really made me want to write. Only when I started sharing my ideas and my work with my writing community (mostly women) and with beta readers and friends did I really gain momentum. Turns out sharing my work lifted me up and gave me the confidence to be serious about it.
Writer’s block: myth or unfortunate reality? If you experience it, how do you overcome it?
I think it's real! Maybe not in the classic "reclusive genius writes one great book and then is driven mad by writer's block for decades" way, but I definitely get stuck when I'm working on longer projects. I have two close friends who will listen to me talk through plots. They ask questions, offer suggestions, and will honestly tell me if something is not working. Not everyone wants to hear you talk through the entire complicated plot of your book, so I am so grateful for them. The other technique I have is the thing I do whenever anything in my life is tough- make a playlist. Can't figure out where this book is going? Make a playlist. Don't want to do the dishes? Make a playlist. Feeling nervous about something? Make a playlist. Works every time.
How did you get your literary agent? What was the querying process like for you?
I was querying my first romance novel (which never made it past the submission process) right when things opened up after the pandemic shut downs. Agents were swamped! Everyone seemed to have written books while on lockdown and that plus the backlog meant that it was just a wild time to try to get any attention. I got almost exclusively form rejections with the exception of three full requests. Two of those requests were from agents that writer friends had referred me to, which was so kind of them. It really helped me get my work in front of those agents, who were just as overloaded as everyone else at the time. I queried 50 different agents over six months. One night I was out with a friend complaining about how the rejection was getting to me and saying I might give up on the novel and query again when I'd finished something new. He encouraged me to keep going. When I was walking home that night I looked at my email on my phone and I had a message from Sam Haywood, who eventually became my agent, saying she'd loved the manuscript and wanted to have a call. The process was a real roller coaster and felt like it took forever, but looking back on it, especially with publishing timelines in mind, it actually went fairly quickly.
What is something you’ve learned about yourself later in your writing career that would have surprised your younger self?
That I love writing romance. I've always enjoyed reading commercial fiction, and I've been reading a broad variety of books since I was kid, but Younger Jennifer would have been shocked to know that romance novels were what unlocked my ability to really focus on novel writing as a career.
You can pre-order Make Me A Mixtape on our Bookshop.org affiliate page here.❤️ Buying books through this link supports a local indie bookstore, as well as The Shit No One Tells You About Writing 📚❤️
Tuesday Teaser 😉
Next week’s newsletter exclusively for our paid members will be of particular interest to anyone tackling more serious topics in their work. Author Lauren Seal tackles the question of how to write not just sensitively, but without causing actual harm, in an essay that uses the writing of her upcoming novel-in-verse based on her experience with anorexia as an example. It’s really thoughtful stuff.
Erin Quinn-Kong lightens the mood with her answers to our Author Q&A, which includes some absolutely memorable character names (as well as her process for coming up with them). Erin also shares about her successful group, has some solid advice on carving out writing time, and more!
And, of course, our fabulous hosts’ written critiques for the queries reviewed on this week’s podcast!
Not yet a member? For just $8USD a month or $80USD a year you get:
an exclusive newsletter on Tuesdays featuring bonus author Q&As and other exclusive content from industry experts
weekly access to Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra’s written notes on queries from the podcast’s Books With Hooks feature
monthly bonus podcast episodes, AND
regular Ask Me Anythings / Q&As with Carly, CeCe, and Bianca Marais.
If that doesn’t kickstart your writing journey, we don’t know what will!
Hacking Writing on a Line Level📝
No matter what genre you write in, knowing how to elevate your writing on a line level is an essential skill. But what does strong writing on a line level look like exactly? Are there rules and/or techniques that can help storytellers elevate their writing? And how can writers know if they’re improving this element of the craft? Join CeCe not just to unpack strong writing on a line level, but to learn how to *hack* it! This class will be jam packed with real-world examples of writing on a line level that work—and that don’t. All examples, all the time. For the first time ever, we're meeting for 3 days! November 7th at 8pm ET: First Craft Session November 11th at 8pm ET: Second Craft Session November 26th at 8pm ET: Live, cozy Q&A session (attendees will have the option of turning on their cameras and interacting with CeCe)
Come prepared to take lots of notes!
If you’ve taken this class before, then the First Craft Session on November 7th will feel familiar to you, but the Second Craft Session will include new techniques and workshops! Don’t worry if you have to leave early or if you can’t attend one (or more) sessions live: all sessions will be recorded and each recording will be emailed to everyone who is registered 24 hours later. Recordings will be available to the viewer for a limited time.
Be Part of Carly’s Masterclass 😍📝
Carly’s class includes 10+ hours of writing and publishing video lessons you have lifetime access to, monthly Q&A sessions, and fresh content every quarter.
Did we mention there’s an app, too? You can keep learning on the go. Don’t miss a minute of Carly’s top career advice for aspiring, emerging and published writers. Get the writing career you’ve always dreamed of.
That’s all for this week’s news! If you enjoyed it, why not share the love? 🥰
Tune in again next week for more invaluable wisdom from our wonderful hosts! Until then, happy writing! 😍
❤️ The Shit No One Tells You About Writing Team
Our work takes place on land now known as Toronto and Ottawa and we acknowledge that these are the traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat Peoples as well as the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation. Toronto is covered under Treaty 13 and the Williams Treaties. We respect and affirm the inherent and Treaty Rights of all Indigenous Peoples across this land and acknowledge the historical oppression of lands, cultures, languages, and the original Peoples in what we now know as Canada. We invite you to learn more about the land you inhabit, the history of that land, and how to actively be part of a better future going forward together at Native Land or Whose Land.
Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra are literary agents at P.S. Literary Agency, but their work in this newsletter is not affiliated with the agency, and the views expressed by Carly and CeCe in this newsletter are solely that of themselves and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of P.S. Literary Agency.
Have you stopped the email newsletters? I seem to not get them anymore.