Balancing Emotional Depth and Action In Your Story
The Shit No One Tells You About Writing
Bianca Marais, Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra
4.8 • 842 Ratings
🗓️ 16 October 2025
⏱️ 52 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of Books with Hooks, author Judith Jaeger puts her query letter for ‘The Family We Choose’ in the spotlight. Carly and CeCe dig into what makes a query stand out—clear plot points, layered characters, and that all-important balance between heart and momentum.They offer practical feedback on sharpening present-day stakes and tightening narrative structure, before turning to Judith’s opening pages. With plenty of praise for her writing voice, they also share tips to boost reader engagement and plot clarity—lessons any writer can apply to their own work.
Note: Cece Lyra is a literary agent at Wendy Sherman Associates. If you’d like to query CeCe, please refer to the submission guidelines at www.wsherman.com. Carly Watters is a literary agent at P.S. Literary Agency, but her work on this podcast is not affiliated with the agency, and the views expressed by Carly on this podcast are solely that of her as a podcast co-host and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of P.S. Literary Agency.
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It’s Beta Reader Match Up time again where you can be matched up with those writing in a similar genre and/or time zone, so they can critique your work as you critique theirs.
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Writing Tension Creating Tension, Conflict and Stakes in a Story
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You know, I am not exaggerating when I say my coffee is my life. My brain doesn't come online |
| 0:06.1 | until I've had that first amazing cup in the morning. And as writers who spend so much time |
| 0:11.1 | and staring and thinking out of screen, you need that moment of ritual and focus more than |
| 0:16.1 | anyone. For years, I was chasing that perfect cup, but between messy presses and clunky pourover setups, I was spending more time on the brew method than at my desk. And if you haven't tried coffee made with an arrow press yet, you are absolutely in for a treat. The arrow press is a manual coffee maker, kind of like a French press, but frankly, it's just better. It uses completely unique brewing methods that combine the best of all the world, a little French press, a little pourover, and a little espresso. This patented three-in-one technology gives you an exceptionally delicious and unique a cup of classic coffee that you can only get with an arrow press. And here's the coffee secret you need to know. Aeroon-press coffee is less bitter than coffee made with other methods. Because it brews faster, you can actually taste the delicious notes of the coffee you bought, |
| 0:55.2 | things like the roast in the country of origin |
| 0:57.1 | and that flavor profile. |
| 0:58.7 | Instead of bitterness, you get incredibly smooth, |
| 1:01.7 | richness, and body coming through that unmatched. |
| 1:05.3 | This is the ultimate lifestyle hack for a writer, |
| 1:07.5 | because AeroPress was designed to fit your life. |
| 1:10.4 | For the audience who spends hours in front of their computers, here's why the AeroPress was designed to fit your life. For the audience who spends hours |
| 1:11.7 | in front of their computers, here's why the AeroPress Clear model is what you need. First, |
| 1:15.9 | convenience. This is the fastest single cup coffee maker I've ever used. It takes about two minutes |
| 1:20.9 | to brew and clean. That means less time fencing with gear and more time on your pages. Secondly, |
| 1:26.4 | it brings consistently great coffee wherever you are. |
| 1:28.7 | Maybe you're traveling for a conference, seeing a cabin for a writing retreat, or just working out on your deck. The AeroPress is compact, durable, and reliable, and it puts an end to bad coffee when you're on the road. It's the perfect, easy-to-cle solution for the office, your home desk, or anywhere your writing takes you. The AeroPress is shockingly affordable. |
| 1:44.2 | Less than 50 bucks, we've got an incredible offer for our audience. |
| 1:47.2 | Visit AeroPress is shockingly affordable. Less than 50 bucks. We've got an incredible offer for our audience. Visit AeroPress.com. T-S-N-O-T-Y-A-W. that's a E-R-O-P-R-E-S-S dot com slash T-S-N-O-T-Y-A-W and use the promo code T-S-N-N-A-W to save 20% off your order. |
| 2:02.3 | That's AeroPress.com slash T-S-N-N-O-T-Y-A-W and be sure to use the code. T-S-N-O-T-Y-A-W at checkout to save 20%. It's time to ditch the drive-thru, toss the French press, and say yes to better mornings-fueled a better coffee, AeroPress ships to the USA and over 60 countries around the world, and we thank |
| 2:18.8 | AeroPress for sponsoring our show. mornings fueled the better coffee. Aeropress ships to the USA and over 60 countries around the world, |
| 2:18.3 | and we thank Aeroppress for sponsoring our show. Have you been sitting on the fence about signing up |
| 2:23.8 | for the beta reader matchup? Or have you signed up before but haven't as yet found your writing |
... |
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