The Saturday Slash

Don't be afraid to ask for help with the most critical first step of your writing journey - the query.

I’ve been blogging since 2011 and have critiqued over 200 queries here on the blog using my Hatchet of Death. This is how I edit myself, it is how I edit others. If you think you want to play with me and my hatchet, shoot me an email.

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Tymeria, a kingdom ruled by ignorance and fear. Not a bad hook, but I think you've got a better one in you!

At first glance, Tymeria’s a kingdom of beautiful wineries, fair maidens, and noble knights. But beneath its beautiful word echo here with "beautiful" vineyards is a prison. A prison for the nonhuman races and any human who dares to help them. In Tymeria, the only good elf is a dead elf. This line could almost be your hook! Good world building so far. You've established this is high fantasy, and that something smells in Denmark.

There was a time when nonhumans and peasants had a beacon of hope, the knights in the night: the Knightmares. But eighteen-year-old Jevan knows his comrades aren’t the same free-fighting vigilantes of old. The crusade died; its crusaders reduced to sellswords. It’s not a desirable life – assassinations, theft, a bit of butchery, bodyguard service – but they need to eat. Great so far!

When Jevan accepts a request from a wealthy family to rescue their daughter, he assumes it’s just another job. At first, all goes well. However, the kidnappers they just killed weren’t mercenaries, but members of Tymeria’s religious military organization: the Paladins. And the damsel-in-distress is really part of a rare nonhuman race with the ability to transform into a deadly humanoid wolf creature – a wolfborn.

With vengeful Paladins hunting them, and the wolfborn’s presence generating a moral debate that may tear them apart, the fate of the Knightmares hangs perilously in the balance more than ever. Because they know the facts – it was the Paladins who nearly wiped out the Knightmares long ago, and their extinction is now truly imminent.

Told through four alternating viewpoints, KNIGHTMARE is an Adult Fantasy novel of 95,000 words with a unique twist on the werewolf genre that reimagines them entirely, revitalizing them a race of noble beasts rather than cursed monsters.

Right now, have to say that this is looking really good... the only thing that tripped me up is when I get to the last para, and see that there are four viewpoints. This query only tells me about one character. I can assume that the girl-wolf is another POV, but I have no idea who the other two might be.

This is a great query... but it's focused heavily on the world building, not the characters. My advice is to find a way to condense your world building info down to the opening para, then introduce each of your POV's - and their conflict - in quick, concise para for each.

Annie Sullivan On Re-Inventing A Short Story

Inspiration is a funny thing. It can come to us like a lightning bolt, through the lyrics of a song, or in the fog of a dream. Ask any writer where their stories come from and you’ll get a myriad of answers, and in that vein I created the WHAT (What the Hell Are you Thinking?) interview. Always including in the WHAT is one random question to really dig down into the interviewees mind, and probably supply some illumination into my own as well.

Today’s guest is Annie Sullivan, author of Tiger Queen, a YA-retelling of The Lady or the Tiger features secrets, suitors, thieves, and a fierce princess.

Ideas for our books can come from just about anywhere, and sometimes even we can’t pinpoint exactly how or why. Did you have a specific origin point for your book?

I’ve had ideas come to me in dreams and in things I’ve overheard strangers talking about, but for Tiger Queen, the idea was inspired when I was in 7th grade and reading the short story called “The Lady, or The Tiger.” It’s an infamous short story because it has a cliffhanger ending. As a child, I was incensed that there wasn’t an ending. So I decided to create one for it, and the story just developed from there.

Once the original concept existed, how did you build a plot around it?

Even though I had a short story as a base, my version truly only uses bits and pieces from the original. And the story is extremely short, so I really had to delve deep to develop it. First, I focused on my characters. I like strong female characters, so I developed a hardcore heroine who could not only survive the harsh desert landscape I placed her in, but who could vie for the throne because of her abilities with a sword. From there, the story took on a life of it’s own as I added more characters to the world and discovered their motivations for either helping my main character reach the throne or for wanting to stop her.

Have you ever had the plot firmly in place, only to find it changing as the story moved from your mind to paper?

For better or for worse, I don’t plot out stories beforehand. I don’t know where we’re going until the character arrives there. That way, I’m as excited about what’s going to happen as the reader. I do usually know the ending, but I’m usually pretty firm on how those play out since it’s what I’m aiming for as I write the novel. 

Do story ideas come to you often, or is fresh material hard to come by?

I have so many ideas that I’ll never be able to write them all! I get ideas from watching movies or reading other book. I find inspiration in unique fairytales or creatures I read about as a child. There are ideas everywhere!

How do you choose which story to write next, if you’ve got more than one percolating?

It’s more deciding what am I excited to write about and what do I think would work well in the current YA market. I have to pick the one story just won’t leave me alone.

I have 5 cats (seriously, check my Instagram feed) and I usually have at least one or two snuggling with me when I write. Do you have a writing buddy, or do you find it distracting?

I think I would never get anything done because I’d be too busy petting my dog. So I generally write alone—with no food even (because my keyboard would be a mess!). I might have a cup of tea, a warm blanket, and a carefully selected song playing though! 

Colleen Houck On An Author Being More Than Just A Writer

It’s time for a new interview series… like NOW. No really, actually it’s called NOW (Newly Omniscient Authors). This blog has been publishing since 2011, and some of the earlier posts feel dated. To honor the relaunch of the site, I thought I’d invite some of my past guests to read and ruminate on their answers to questions from oh-so-long-ago to see what’s changed between then and now.

Today’s guest is Colleen Houck, author of the bestselling Tiger’s Curse series. Her latest, The Lantern’s Ember, combines the moodiness of Sleepy Hollow with the romance her fans love her for.

Has how you think (and talk) about writing and publishing changed, further into your career?

You know, it’s an interesting time in the world of publishing. I think it’s harder than it’s ever been to get a book published, even for established authors. I used to think it was just about the writing but in today’s climate an author really needs to be a jack of all trades. If you can’t stay on top of the game or, preferably, ahead of it, you’ll risk falling by the wayside.

Let’s about the balance between the creative versus the business side of the industry. Do you think of yourself as an artiste or are you analyzing every aspect of your story for marketability? Has that changed from your early perspective?

It was easier when I was naïve. Yes, a part of me is always thinking about marketability. Not so much readability. I don’t doubt my material is readable. What I end up doubting is whether or not it’s sellable. That’s not something I can really control. The market changes constantly and that drives editorial purchasing.

The bloom is off the rose… what’s faded for you, this far out from debut?

Sadly, it’s good news. When my agent calls to say we have a nibble on a book or someone is interested in signing up a project for a film, I’m happy but I hold off on celebrating. Each baby step is a step forward but there are a lot of “falling on your bottom” moments when you need to wrestle yourself back to your feet.

Likewise, is there anything you’ve grown to love (or at least accept) that you never thought you would?

I have become slightly more comfortable with the editing process and holding my own. I’ve learned to let go of some things that I clung rigidly to in the past knowing that I can just rework or hold over the material to share with fans at a later date as bonus material. Getting the story out there is the most important thing. I’m not going to be 100% happy with every finished book. It’s just not possible. I guess the bottom line is, I’ve learned not to wince at flaws and past mistakes and see them as steppingstones instead.  

And lastly, what did getting published mean for you and how was it changed (or not changed!) your life? 

My publishing journey has impacted not only my life but every member of my family. We’ve been able to do incredible things and meet so many amazing people because of conferences and book tours. Having said that, I’m fundamentally the same person I’ve always been with the same friends and likes. It’s just drawn my core team closer and empowered us to do some things we otherwise might never have been able to do.