Bumper Edition: April Bonus Episode

The Shit No One Tells You About Writing

Bianca Marais, Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra

How To, Books, Education, Fiction, Arts

4.8 • 733 Ratings

🗓️ 24 April 2023

⏱️ 162 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In today's bumper Bonus Episode, in an incredibly emotional interview, Bianca talks with Carol Major, author of the memoir The Asparagus Wars, about the difference between cerebral writing and visceral writing; the reliability of memory; the importance of being intentional; allowing the reader to become a part of the story; creating meaning for the reader (not just the memoirist); why people read memoirs; the journey of finding the meaning of your story while writing it; dealing with the potential fallout after publishing a memoir; writing with integrity; and the awards Carol has won.

Carly and CeCe are joined by Andrea Guevara, an author branding expert, to take your questions, and in the process discussing acceptable word count; social media presence; the concept of stakes; querying for feedback; examples of novels that excel in interiority; red flags for agents; the journey to publication; defining your genre; and pen names.

Bianca chats with Patti Callahan Henry, bestselling author of Surviving Savannah, Becoming Mrs. Lewis, and The Secret Book of Flora Lea, about how much heavy lifting the first line, paragraph, and pages need to do; omniscient POV in the opening chapter; knowing how to open a book; drawing on myths and legends to spark a story; writing on a line level; the gardening vs architecture of writing a story; ensuring both past and present timelines have a story-forward plot; and writing a book within a book.

Finally, Bianca chats with Emilie Sommer from East City Book Shop and RJ Witherow of Parnassus Books as they give comps recommendations.

Find us on our socials:

Twitter: @TSNOTYAW @BiancaM_author @carlywatters @ceciliaclyra

Instagram: @biancamarais_author @carlywatters @cece_lyra_agent @ the_shit_about_writing

Facebook: @tsnotyaw

Websites: www.theshitaboutwriting.com, www.biancamarais.com, www.carlywatters.com and www.cecilialyra.com

Carol can be found at https://www.writingtable.space/

Andrea can be found on Instagram at @brand.strength and @theandreaguevara

Patti can be found at https://www.patticallahanhenry.com/ She's on Twitter @pcalhenry and Instagram @pattichenry.

Parnassus Books can be found at www.parnassusbooks.net and on Instagram at @parnassusbooks

Emilie can be found at @emiliegsommer on Instagram and East City Book Shop can be found at www.eastcitybookshop.com.

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Acorns: https://acorns.com/TSNOTYAW
* Check out Acorns: https://acorns.com/TSNOTYAW

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's a new year and time to get fresh eyes on your work in progress.
0:04.8	Are you looking for beta readers, some of whom might potentially become writing group members
0:09.2	down the line?
0:10.2	Are you wanting to be matched up with those writing in a similar genre and or time
0:15.0	zone so they can critique your work as you critique theirs at the same time?
0:19.5	Your manuscript doesn't have to be complete to sign up
0:22.1	for this 3,000 word evaluation. This matchup will be open to registrations from now until the
0:28.5	2nd of March with the matchup emails going out on the 3rd of March. Always such an exciting day.
0:35.4	For more information and to register, go to Bianca Moray.com and go to
0:39.7	the beta reader matchup tab. And please spread the word, even if you aren't joining the matchup this
0:45.7	time. The more writers we have signed up, the better the matches will be. Hello from CC.
0:52.6	I'm so excited to announce an all new class called Starting It
0:56.4	Right, which is all about how to begin your story in the best place and in the best way. Now,
1:01.6	this is going to be a four-day class, so come prepared to take lots of notes. We'll cover the different
1:06.9	types of beginnings and how to choose the best one for your story, how to frame your
1:11.6	inciting incident in a compelling way, common mistakes writers make when starting a story,
1:17.3	how to balance exposition and mystery, how to make readers connect with your protagonist, and how
1:23.6	to make the reader want to turn to the next chapter and so much more.
1:28.3	And guess what?
1:29.3	For the first time ever, there will be an interactive component to my class.
1:34.3	Everyone who is registered will have the option of sending in the opening scene of their work
1:40.3	for a chance to be critiqued during the webinar.
	...

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