Making Mindful Choices Regarding Characterization

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

🗓️ 19 October 2023

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In today's Books with Hooks, Carly and CeCe critique three query letters. During the segment, they discuss the need for physicality of movement as well as inner life in opening pages; 'wrong shoe theory' to emphasize the importance of making surprising choices as a storyteller; causality when writing about plot points in a query; and the need for character depth.

After which, Bianca interviews Chantel Guertin, author of It Happened One Christmas. The two discuss the various genres in which Chantel writes; how her holiday romcom came about; keeping your characters' perspectives in line with who they are as people; breaking common rom-com genre expectations; tips for balancing genre tropes with putting a unique spin on them; the difference in mindset when writing YA versus an adult novel; and determining whether a novel should be YA or adult fiction.

Find us on our socials:

Twitter: @TSNOTYAW @BiancaM_author @carlywatters @ceciliaclyra

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_shit_about_writing/

https://www.instagram.com/biancamarais_author/

https://www.instagram.com/carlywatters/ https://www.instagram.com/cece_lyra_agent/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TSNOTYAW

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

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

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

More information about Chantel can be found at: https://www.chantelguertin.com/

She's on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/chantelguertin/?hl=en

and TikTok at: https://www.tiktok.com/@chantelguertin

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

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

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hi there and welcome to our show, the shit no one tells you about writing. I'm Bianca
0:12.7	Moray and I'm joined by Carly Waters and Cici Lira from PS Literary Agency. We'll be kicking
0:20.1	off today's episode with our usual Books with Hook segment, after which
0:24.5	we'll go to today's guest.
0:26.8	Welcome everyone to another episode of Books with Hooks.
0:29.9	We have three query letters to get through today, and we're super excited.
0:33.4	Carly, will you kick us off with your letter first?
0:35.7	All right, guys, this is a little bit of a long one. Bear with me. Here we go.
0:41.0	And I'm going to read it exactly as it was written. So here we go.
0:45.6	Dr. Ms. Waters. I'm writing to you seeking representation for my 97,000-word novel, Sweet, Not Lasting,
0:52.9	a work of contemporary fiction, which explores the intricacies
0:56.6	of college-aged female friendships and how they shape our identity in the turbulent and often
1:02.2	painful period that today's women face between youth and adulthood. This novel's penetration
1:07.6	of the harsh complexities of the contemporary female experience through a deeply character-driven lens
1:12.5	echoes themes explored by Dolly Alderton, ghosts, Anna Hope, expectations, and Sally Rooney, normal people.
1:20.7	Margot Mason is exactly where she wants to be, a junior at NYU, hailing from a wealthy Long Island upbringing.
1:27.4	She's not only a successful
1:28.5	business student, well on her way to an early degree and a secure job, but also surrounded by
1:33.4	her carefully curated group of beautiful, successful, and admiration-worthy friends. The only
1:38.0	thing holding her back is the fact that her savings account from high school is reaching
1:41.4	its last dregs and won't sustain her busy social calendar much
1:45.3	longer. On a whim, Margo picks up a side job at a local cafe, which, though more demanding than she
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Bianca Marais, Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Bianca Marais, Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.