Stage Directions, Opening and How to Avoid Them

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

🗓️ 3 April 2025

⏱️ 38 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode of Books with Hooks, hosts Bianca, Carly, and CeCe discuss the importance of clarity in storytelling, character development, and the need for emotional depth in writing. The conversation emphasizes the significance of engaging openings and the necessity of establishing strong connections between plot points. They also offer great tips like avoiding starting with stage directions in the opening line and that a strong opening scene should have a disruption.

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	You've heard me say it all the time on the podcast that you need to circle the building of your work
0:04.8	to find the best entry point into it. But this process doesn't just ensure strong opening pages.
0:10.8	It allows you to navigate the whole building with confidence, knowing which doors to throw wide open
0:16.4	and which ones to keep locked, which walls to smash down and which ones to reinforce, as you create a
0:22.5	space you'd like to live inside. In my circling the building of your work webinar, I'll guide you
0:28.1	through the transformation of my latest work in progress, showing you examples of my constantly
0:33.4	evolving pages in my quest to find the best way into a story I've always wanted to tell.
0:39.6	In doing so, I'll highlight the intentionality you need to bring to your decision-making,
0:44.7	how to play around a point of view, structure, timeline, voice and other essential elements of
0:49.7	craft, how to frame a narrative and choose the lens through which you'd like to view it,
0:54.8	the questions you'll need to ask yourself throughout the process, how to frame a narrative and choose the lens through which you'd like to view it, the questions you'll need to ask yourself throughout the process, how to circle back from false starts,
0:59.4	and how rewarding the entire process can be. You'll also be assigned to other delegates to
1:04.0	work with after the webinar to gain objectivity, input and fresh perspectives as you circle
1:09.7	the building of your own work in progress.
1:12.4	This course will be run on the 13th of May from 7 to 10 p.m. Eastern Time.
1:16.8	For more information and to register, go to Bianca Murray and look for the courses tab.
1:30.9	Hi there and welcome to our show.
1:33.7	The Ship No One Tells You About Writing.
1:41.2	I'm Bianca Murray and I'm joined by Carly Waters and Cici Lira from PS Literary Agency.
1:42.5	Hi everyone.
1:44.9	Welcome back to another Books with Hux.
1:47.8	As per usual, we are diving straight in.
	...

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