Untangling Complex Queries: Writing with Clarity Across Timelines
The Shit No One Tells You About Writing
Bianca Marais, Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra
4.8 • 842 Ratings
🗓️ 2 October 2025
⏱️ 46 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of Books with Hooks, Carly and CeCe break down a speculative query that juggles multiple timelines and POVs. They explore the craft challenges of pitching complex narratives, from maintaining clarity to grounding readers in emotional depth. The discussion digs into how to use (or avoid) prologues, strategies for balancing ambition with accessibility, and why organization on the page—and in your query—is key to drawing agents in. With detailed feedback on both the query and opening pages, this episode offers practical insights to strengthen your own submissions.
Note: Cece Lyra is a literary agent at Wendy Sherman Associates. If you’d like to query CeCe, please refer to the submission guidelines at www.wsherman.com. Carly Watters is a literary agent at P.S. Literary Agency, but her work on this podcast is not affiliated with the agency, and the views expressed by Carly on this podcast are solely that of her as a podcast co-host and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of P.S. Literary Agency.
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Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | What's up everyone? This is Cece. If you're a writer, then chances are you've wondered if your story is good enough. |
| 0:07.1 | Maybe you're wondering that right now. I get it. Here's what I can tell you. As long as your story is making the reader curious, you're good. |
| 0:15.3 | Now, I'm not saying you won't have to make edits when working with an agent or publisher. Edits are a part of the game, but I am saying that you will get ahead in your career |
| 0:24.4 | if you know how to make the reader curious. |
| 0:26.9 | The best way to do that, infuse your story with plenty of tension, conflict, and stakes, |
| 0:32.7 | which is why I'm so excited to invite you to join my four-day course, writing tension, creating tension, conflict, |
| 0:39.3 | and stakes in your story. It starts on October 13. My favorite part about this class is that there |
| 0:46.0 | are formulas, yes, formulas, for tension, for conflict, for stakes. And for the first time ever, |
| 0:53.5 | we're having two optional interactive |
| 0:55.8 | components, including a query letter studio and live critiques of select first pages. I'm super |
| 1:03.8 | excited about this new format because I've seen it yield results in writer's works. And it works |
| 1:09.3 | for writers of any genre as long as you're serious about |
| 1:12.6 | improving your work. So if you're ready to take your writing to the next level, join me for |
| 1:18.4 | this four-day course. Don't worry if you can't attend live. The sessions will be recorded. |
| 1:25.3 | For more information, check out my bio on Instagram or the podcast's website. |
| 1:30.5 | I'm looking forward to seeing you there. Have you been sitting on the fence about signing up for |
| 1:35.6 | the beta reader matchup? Or have you signed up before but haven't as yet found your writing soulmates? |
| 1:41.9 | The next matchup is the last one of the year, |
| 1:44.6 | so don't snooze on it. |
| 1:46.4 | Get matched up with those writing in a similar genre |
| 1:49.1 | and or time zone so they can critique your work |
| 1:52.0 | as you critique theirs. |
... |
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