Nary a Brave Soul Answered the Call

Which leads me to believe that you avoid the dreaded query letter at every opportunity. Like the plague. Or the license bureau. Or your dentist's office. So, it's time for me to speak to you like a Dutch uncle. You're going to have to get over that fear if you're going to get published.

Without a good query letter, that jewel of a manuscript you've written is never going to see the bookstore shelves. Readers are never going to savor your perfectly chosen words and rejoice with your characters as they overcome the odds to reach their goal. They're never going to experience the fear your hero has rushing through him as the villain gets closer and there's no way out, or feel the tears stinging their eyes when they read the emotional and perfect ending you've labored over. And that's just wrong. The story you've put your heart and soul into needs to be shared and enjoyed. You know it does.

Perhaps this exercise was more work than you had time for. That's understandable. If you've got a WIP (and I hope you do), you need to devote the time to it. But someday soon you're going to have to write that query letter for your opus, and this exercise is one that could have proven extremely valuable in that endeavor. And I'm not going to let you miss that opportunity for improvement without giving it another try. You'll thank me someday.

The driving force behind writing this blog is to help writers realize their dream of becoming authors. Nothing would give me more pleasure than knowing I had been of some help in your journey. It's very important to me that you gain something from this site. So, let me dangle a carrot. It's so important that you make an effort to do this exercise that I'm willing to cough up ten bucks for a Barnes & Noble gift certificate. Even if you don't win, the experience and the effort you put into it will be worth it in the long run. I promise.

So I want you to write the query for the story I posted yesterday (just below this one.) In order to get maximum participation, I'm not going to pick the winner until we have at least 25 entries. There will be no maximum number, but the entry window will close at 11:59 p.m. CST this Sunday, June 6, 2010. I will be judging this one (for the first time ever) so dazzle me. Read the previous post again. Watch the video trailer and get the feel for what the story is about. If you've never seen the movie, you can watch the whole thing in ten installments on YouTube. Just search for Stand by Me. It's all there. Or rent it if you'd prefer. When you're ready, put together that sparkling query and paste it into the comment section directly below this post. I know you don't want to, but you need to do this. And I know you can, because you're a writer. It's what you do.

NOTE: Although you all know that a properly written query includes "Dear Agent Name" and, perhaps, a reason you're submitting your query to them, that's not necessary this time. Also, the title and word count and genre aren't needed on this query. Just start in with the first sentence (and grab me with it) and end before all that closing business about "I would happy to send, blah blah blah." Just give me the body of the query.

Finally, if we don't get 25 entries, I'll let it go. Reluctantly, but I will. I'm climbing down from my soapbox now.

Becoming Stephen King

If you haven't seen this movie, I've included the video trailer to give you an overview so you can participate along with those who've seen it. And, aside from entertainment value, there's a reason I've added it. It will make sense as you read on.

Today we are going to look at the dreaded query letter. I know you hate them. But they’re a necessary stop on your journey from writer to author. We've done some exercises on queries in the past, but today we’re going to discuss them in detail and learn a little more about how to make them effective.

There’s an old saying that form follows function, and that is especially true with the query. I'm going to give you a form that will work effectively a bit later. But first, let's look at the function. The purpose — the only purpose — of your query letter is to create enough interest in the agent’s mind for them to request a sample of your writing. That’s it. It’s a sales tool, nothing more. Nothing less. It must be written in such a compelling manner that it will create interest and sell your product (sample chapters or a full manuscript). And the quicker it does that, the better.

We did an exercise a while back regarding opening paragraphs. We did another writing session on one-sentence pitches. The purpose of those posts was to encourage you to start out with something intriguing, something that made the reader want more. That same tactic is critical when crafting your query. This captivating opening is often referred to as "the hook." If the great writing in your query doesn’t occur until the second paragraph, chances are the agent isn’t going to read it unless the first paragraph makes them want to continue. If your first paragraph is weak or boring, you’re slush pile bound.

After you create that wonderful, grabbing, intriguing, enticing first sentence or first paragraph, you can continue to weave your query and give the reader more info. There are specific things that need to be included in an effective query.You should address these four questions.

1. INCITING INCIDENT: What happens to change the MC’s life?
2. SOLUTION: What can the MC do to fix it, to make things better, or solve the problem?
3. OBSTACLES: What’s standing in the way? What’s stopping him/her?
4. STAKES: What is the MC risking? What happens if the problem isn’t solved or the goal isn’t achieved?

Let’s look at an example. In The Body, by Stephen King, Gordie LaChance, Chris Chambers, Teddy Duchamp and Vern Tessio take off on a hike to find Ray Brower. If you’ve seen Stand by Me, that’s the movie this novella was based on, and you know the story. If we were to write a query for it, we could answer those four questions as follows:

1. INCITING INCIDENT: Vern is under the porch, still trying to find the pennies he buried, when he overhears his brother and a friend discussing Ray Brower. He runs to the tree house to tell his friends, and the boys decide to hike to Back Hollow Road and find the body. If they discover where he is, they might get their names in the newspaper.

2. SOLUTION: They come up with a plan to tell their parents they’re tenting in the back yard so they can be gone without being missed.

3. OBSTACLES: There are many along the way: Miles Pressman and his killer dog, Chopper (Sic. Balls.), a train that almost runs over them as they’re running across the trestle, the leeches in the pond, and the frightening sounds in the woods when they camp that night. And finally, Ace Merrill and his gang show up and tell the four adventurers that they’re taking the body and claiming the fame. Above it all, is their fear of seeing a dead body and the uncertainty of whether they really should be doing this.

4. STAKES: This is a coming of age story, so the emotional level is high. The boys are afraid, but they’re determined to carry out their plan despite their fear. If they don’t continue and achieve what they've set out to do, they’ll have to live with the shame of their failure. This is especially obvious in the confrontation with Ace when the boys refuse to back down.

So, now that we know the elements, here’s an exercise for you to complete. Pretend you’re Stephen King. You've just finished your final edit on this story and it's ready to send out. Write the query. Be sure to include a dynamic opening paragraph and the four elements listed above. You can either write it directly into the comment section or create it in Word, do a little editing, and paste it in. Make me want to read the book.

It will be interesting to see the different results in each one. Spend some time with that most important opening sentence. I’m looking forward to seeing how you write it.

Nathan Bransford Contest

If you're not familiar with Nathan Bransford, you should be. Nathan is a literary agent with Curtis Brown. And if you're not a subscriber to Nathan's blog, you really should consider it. Seriously. He has one of the best, most informative, well-written blogs on the internet. Highly recommended.

And here's the news. He's having a contest right now that you might want to enter. If you have an action scene or a chase scene in your novel or your WIP, this is for you. Here's the link. Check it out.

NATHAN'S BLOG

Contest Opens Tonight!

Here's a great opportunity for all you middle grade and young adult writers out there. And it's timely, too! Remember the exercise we did a few days ago with the one sentence pitches? Well, my friend Kathleen Ortiz from Lowenstein Associates is judging a contest at Query Tracker, and you've already practiced for it if you participated. How serendipitous, as Wren Remington from Cannibal Island would say.

To enter, you'll need to send a one sentence pitch and your first chapter. Check the Query Tracker blog for the details. It opens at 9:00 EST tonight to the first 100 entries.

Now sharpen those pencils, and good luck!

Now for something completely different

Ever wonder where ideas for stories come from? Have you ever told yourself that you could write a great book if you could just come up with an idea? That's where it all begins. So we're going to do a little writing exercise today that just may spark a totally new idea in your head. And then again, it may not.

I'm going to start things off with an opening paragraph. Then you, gentle readers, will continue the story in whatever direction it may lead. Please read all the comments and then add your paragraph to keep things going. The objective is to add to the story, take it in a different direction if you'd like, but try to maintain the POV and the voice. So here's where we're starting.

My tongue found blood when I licked my upper lip. It wasn't a steady, gushing stream, though. Just a continual trickle from my nose. A salty red nose tear that my tongue couldn't stay away from. My ears burned in response to the giggles from the circle of onlookers surrounding the three of us in the school parking lot. I knew we shouldn't have shown up. We could have have avoided it. Could have gotten ourselves detention so we would have an excuse for backing down. John wanted to, but I told him we couldn't do it. I was tired of running from this guy. I hoped one bloody nose would be the end of it. Conjoined twins aren't the best at street fighting.

So, there you go. Take it from there. The torch is passed.

It's baseball season. Give me a good pitch.

Nathan Bransford has a regular blog post regarding a one-sentence, one-paragraph, two-paragraph pitch. I'm going to tag along on his coattails and post something similar. My apologies to Nathan if I'm stepping on toes.

This could be a very interesting exercise that might be beneficial when you start writing your query for your current WIP. So, here's what we're going to do:

WRITE A ONE-SENTENCE PITCH FOR YOUR CURRENT WIP.
MAXIMUM WORD COUNT IS 50.

Now if you think that's hard, I want you to cut it in half.

WRITE A ONE-SENTENCE PITCH FOR YOUR CURRENT WIP.
MAXIMUM WORD COUNT IS 25.

Post both versions as a comment below this post and let us see what you came up with.

Mouseproof!

Based on your comments, I've decided to go ahead.

MOUSEPROOF is live!

Since I'm still not rich and famous from my writing efforts, I thought this might be a feasible idea and could provide an affordable option for writers needing editing and proofing assistance.

I hope you'll visit and let me know what you think. We'll get back to something more interesting next week. Meanwhile, keep writing as only you can.