Caroline Leavitt’s Insights and Encouragement

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

🗓️ 25 April 2024

⏱️ 70 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In today’s Book with Hooks, Carly and CeCe critique two listener queries, a resubmission and a YA fantasy. They discuss the issue of starting with a protagonist that has a 'simple, stable' life; a great example of an inciting incident; ensuring your major dramatic question is strong enough; good storytelling as the promise of change; making your protagonist the 'sun' of your story; infusing emotion into the information you provide; ensuring that your plot feels like a set of dominos tipping over; taglines in a query; differentiating your novel's tropes from how they're used in other novels in your genre; and making characters' motivations clear in a query.

After which, Bianca interviews award-winning author, Caroline Leavitt. They discuss A Mighty Blaze and its origins; being a good literary citizen; Caroline's key to longevity in the industry; not taking rejections too hard; avoiding writing to the current market; Caroline's latest novel, Days of Wonder; her research process; using universal personal experiences that help connect your readers to your characters; Caroline's reasoning for the settings she chose; how she approaches characterization; and her thoughts on genre.

Note: Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra are literary agents at P.S. Literary Agency, but their work on this podcast is not affiliated with the agency, and the views expressed by Carly and CeCe on this podcast are solely that of them as podcast co-hosts and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of P.S. Literary Agency.

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Twitter: @TSNOTYAW @BiancaM_author @carlywatters @ceciliaclyra

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

To ask a question, go to: https://sayhi.chat/TSNOTYAW

Bookshop.org affiliate page: https://bookshop.org/shop/theshitnoonetellsyouaboutwriting

More information about Caroline can be found at www.carolineleavitt.com

She's also on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Leavittnovelist and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/carolineleavitt and https://www.instagram.com/amightyblaze

To sign up for the All About Memoir webinar on the 11th of May, go to: https://www.biancamarais.com/all-about-memoir.html

Carly's course for writers, The Author's Publishing Playbook, is now available at carlywatters.com/course. If you haven't grabbed it yet, podcast listeners can use discount code POD15

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

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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