Concrete vs. Abstract Curiosity

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

🗓️ 29 May 2025

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this special episode of Books with Hooks, author Kate Visser joins hosts Bianca, Carly and CeCe to share insights about her query letter for her YA fantasy novel, 'Stage of Shadows.' Carly and Cece dissect the strengths and weaknesses of Kate’s pitch, particularly focusing on character arcs, world-building, and the complexities of dual POV narratives. Carly and Cece provide constructive feedback, emphasizing the importance of clarity in storytelling and the need for the protagonist’s character arc to evolve throughout the narrative. The episode highlights the challenges of balancing ambitious concepts with reader engagement, offering valuable lessons for aspiring writers. Throughout the episode Kate offers insight into her character arcs, moral dilemmas, and the challenges of writing a compelling prologue. The hosts provide feedback on the emotional depth of her writing and the balance between abstract and concrete curiosity in storytelling.

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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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, listeners, this is Cece. I am so excited to announce my next course, Writing Emotion and Relationships,
0:08.4	an all-new mashup of two of my most popular classes revamped with fresh content starting on June 19th.
0:16.6	This is going to be a four-day event, so come prepared to take lots of notes.
0:22.1	We'll cover active versus passive emotions, how to effectively show versus tell,
0:27.7	most common mistakes in writing emotions and relationships, and obviously how to get it right,
0:33.8	types of relationships and how to leverage each one in a story,
0:39.1	emotional and relational makeups and arcs for protagonists and other characters, how to create chemistry between characters,
0:46.5	different genre expectations, and so much more.
0:50.2	Oh, and did I mention there is an interactive component.
0:54.0	That's right, everyone who is registered will have the option of sending an excerpt of their work for a chance to have it critiqued live during the webinar.
1:04.0	Writers of all categories and genres are invited to attend.
1:09.0	There are limited spots though, so if you're interested,
1:11.6	sign up now. And don't worry, if you can't attend one or more sessions live, the recording
1:17.0	will be sent to everyone who's registered 24 hours after each class. Once again, this is a four-day
1:24.7	class writing emotion and relationships beginning on June 19th.
1:29.6	For more details, check out the link on my Instagram bio or head over to the podcast's website.
1:36.2	I hope to see you there.
1:46.9	Hi there and welcome to our show.
1:49.7	The Ship No One Tells You About Writing.
1:57.2	I'm Bianca Murray and I'm joined by Carly Waters and Cici Lira from PS Literary Agency.
1:58.5	Hi everyone.
2:03.3	Welcome back to another Books with Hooks. It's a special one today because we have the author joining us. Welcome, Kate Visser. I am so excited to be here. Hi, everyone. Hi, and thank you for
	...

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