Archetype Writing Blog

Nonfiction:
The official contract is all signed, so now I can tell you more about the deal.  *Big grin*

Now I'm working on connecting with someone who has spent time working in a state institution, because there's a difference between private hospitals and state-funded institutions.  Because you know how much money goes toward mental health care in our communities?  Not much.

Here's a picture of the old insane asylum that used to stand in Columbus, Ohio.  I believe the date on the picture is 11-7-1909.  According to some accounts, this was the largest asylum in the world at one point, with 1,300 beds.  It seems to me that Bedlam must have been bigger, but it's still an interesting bit of trivia.


Fiction
My friend Mary brutalized my ToM manuscript, and I can't believe I couldn't see some of the problems until she pointed them out.  Can I just tell you how valuable honest, trustworthy crits are?  I always feel a little (and sometimes a lot) embarrassed by my manuscript's shortcomings, but I am SO thankful when someone I trust cares enough to really be honest and give it to me straight.  I've been doing major rewrites.

My other projects -- SW and my NaNo novel -- are taking a breather while I work on this.

Want more info on this whole WIP Weds thing?  Here's Kate's original post.

How are your projects coming?

Nonfiction Project

The Project: I am writing a book based on the same idea as the Archetype site: a guide to help writers get the psychology right in their fiction! The book will have far greater breadth than the site, and go into much more depth to help you get the details right in your stories.

The Update: I am currently working on a chapter about psychological emergencies like suicidality (being a danger to yourself) and homicidality (being a danger to others). The chapter includes information on what it's like to be hospitalized. Since I'm not currently working inpatient, I'm meeting with the director of a psych unit on Monday to make sure all my facts are up to date. That means now is the time to let me know if you have questions (or just want me to be sure to cover something particular) about suicidality, homicidality, or hospitals! 

Fiction

ToM: My friend Mary spent the last few days reading the the manuscript and tells me she was liberal with the red pen, so I'm awaiting her first round of edits. (*Gnaws fingernails*)  This is the one I'm going to send back to the agent who suggested I do some rewrites and then get back to her.  I'm having some trouble nailing down the genre with this one. I think it's contemporary fantasy.  It has magicians and swords and a heroine who's afraid all this fantasy in her reality means she's crazy.

I was thinking it was paranormal romance, but there isn't a lot of detailed sex, so maybe not so much.  And it's not urban fantasy (my heroine doesn't throw kick ass, throw knives, or wear leather pants, and there's nary a vampire or werewolf in sight).  And it's not dark enough to be dark fantasy.  So...contemporary fantasy.  But not Charles deLint contemporary fantasy -- more Kay Hooper's Wizard of Seattle.  (Which is a paranormal romance.  Le sigh.  Can anybody think of novels that sound like what I'm describing?)

SW: I also pulled out another novel that needs work.  Going to buckle down with it as soon as I'm finished with the one above and see if I can whip it into agent-ready shape.  I think this one is science fantasy -- does anybody say "science fantasy" anymore?  It could also be called future fiction, which is something set in the not-so-distant future, but you rarely hear that as a genre designation.  Hey, are you getting the feeling genre is really an issue for me?  'Cos it is!

S: Which means that I put my NaNo novel on the back burner for right now. I have the feeling the story may become longer than it is right now, and maybe if I spend some stewage time I'll figure out why I feel that way.  At least, that is what I'm hoping will happen!  (PS - This one is either a paranormal romance or an urban fantasy.)

So, dear reader -- where are you with your WIPs?

If someone could please explain to me how benefit thinks this ad is appealing, I'd appreciate it, because I'm stumped.

Nonfiction: 

I can't stand it anymore, I have to tell you what I'm working on.  I am writing a book based on the same idea as the Archetype site: a guide to help writers get the psychology right in their fiction! The book will have far greater breadth than the site, and go into much more depth to help you get the details right in your stories.  I don't have a publication date for you yet, but I do have a due date from the publisher, so I'm working hard to get it ready!

Right now I am working on a chapter that includes details on therapist training and ethics.  Might not sound crucial at first glance, but a lot of writers get tripped up by these areas -- especially ethics.  I recently read The Reach by horror author Nate Kenyon, and he does a really good job writing about one main character's diagnosis and institutionalization; unfortunately, he doesn't do such a good job writing about his therapist-in-training.  Students progress through school and therapy training in steps that are pretty consistent from school to school, but nobody in the book pays any heed to those steps.  Worse, nobody in the book seems disturbed by some pretty flagrant violations of the normal training process and ethical code.  The problem, of course, is that the author didn't understand the steps most therapists follow as they're trained, or (in many cases) when he was portraying ethical violations.

If you have any thoughts or questions about training or ethics, now would be great time to ask -- your questions will help me make sure I cover the information you need for your story.  (Feel free to ask questions or make comments on other areas you'd like to see covered as well.)

Some people have asked me about the process for selling nonfiction, so I'm going to tell you just a little bit about it.

Selling Nonfiction

In most cases, when you want to sell a nonfiction book, you write a proposal rather than completing the full manuscript, the way you do for fiction. A proposal introduces the agent or editor to the book idea, compares it to books currently on the market, and sells the reader on the idea that this new book is needed. Because author involvement is crucial in today's book market, the proposal includes a marketing section explaining what the author plans to do to build publicity. Finally, the bulk of the proposal is made up of a chapter-by-chapter outline.

I have several books on proposal writing, but the ones I found most helpful were How to Write a Book Proposal and Write the Perfect Book Proposal: 10 That Sold and Why. (Other people swear by Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody can Write and The Fast Track Course on How to Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal.)

Fiction:

I'm pretty discouraged with my NaNo project. If I were going for a paranormal romance, heavy on the romance, I might be okay, but I want there to be more to it than that.  I'm kind of bored with it at that level.  It's slowly becoming clearer to me that I need more tension, higher stakes, and probably more angst.  So I think I need to develop some darker backstories for my characters.

It's so frustrating.  I've never had a novel come in such fits and starts and give me such fits in the process.  Anybody had any experience having to go back in and build dark backstories?  I'm sure some advice would help me!

More gunfire, and both of the front tires burst, dropping the SUV onto its axle. Metal screamed against asphalt, and a shower of sparks hissed past my open door.

Example: The angular planes of his face turned the soft light into a study in contrasts, and in that context, what might have been a sensual mouth merely looked hard. His cheekbones were high, angry slashes, a sentiment echoed by the frown between his brows.

He sprawled against the far wall, the exposed flesh of his chest bronzed and glistening in the heat. A gold piece lay at the end of the chain around his neck.

Had she been forced to describe him without using licentious language, she would have said that the lines of his face were aristocratic. In the uneven light, his eyes appeared black, but their intensity, not their color, was what fascinated her.

For this round of the chain gang, Heather asked,

What plans do YOU have to market your novel? How will you make sure the public finds your work?

Now, I’m an oddball when it comes to this marketing stuff. I think it’s fun. I’m looking forward to it. And I see my willingness and ability to market my work as the number-one thing that can make or break book sales, so I take it very seriously.

Astonishingly, the best book out there on marketing for writers has gone out of print. You can still get it through Amazon.com, though: Guerrilla Marketing for Writers : 100 Weapons to Help You Sell Your Work. I don't often say you must buy a book, but if you're serious about marketing yourself well, you should run, not walk, to get this book.

The other book I've found helpful is Plug Your Book! Online Book Marketing for Authors, Book Publicity through Social Networking.

So what are my strategies for marketing my novel?  Here are just a few:

• Creating an author website -- I really believe websites are crucial these days.  Right now I am using archetypewriting.com and archetypewriting.blogspot.com, but I do intend to create a site that's a presskit for me as a writer when I get a little closer to having a book out there on the shelves.  (If you're wanting a website for yourself and can't code, consider Purple Squirrel Web Design, a company that QueryTracker  and RallyStorm  programmer Pat McDonald and I recently created.  We offer affordable custom designs as well as hosting packages, and soon we'll have up some ultra-affordable U-Design templates that let you pick a site design and customize it to meet your needs.)
  
• Putting information about my book in my email and message board signatures.
• Letting everyone in my social networks know all about the book
• Letting visitors to the websites I currently run know about my book
• Including links on each of those sites to major online retailers who carry the book, such as Amazon.com, bn.com, etc.
  
• Use AmazonConnect to personalize the book listing and connect with readers who view it on Amazon.com
  
• Providing opportunities for readers to purchase personalized, autographed copies directly from me.
  
• Create a discussion group on rallystorm.com for readers to discuss the book
  

Your turn, dear Reader -- how will you market your book?  What are your ideas, plans, and hopes?

Nonfiction project
I now have the first drafts of three chapters almost written.  And coming soon -- exciting information about my nonfiction project -- plus, ways you can help me with it!  (I know, that would be more exciting if you knew what it was.  Don't worry, more info soon.  Stay tuned!)

Contemporary fantasy/paranormal romance
I'm starting to get antsy about not having sent my manuscript back to the agent who requested the rewrites.    The agent requested rewrites back in January; I wrote frantically in January and February, and then started finding readers to help me out. Elana's edits helped me a great deal, and now I am anxiously awaiting two other readers' thoughts to see if I got the characterization and so forth working again.

Do you think I should be getting antsy, or am I just being paranoid that too much time is passing?

NaNo novel
I've been slowly editing my NaNo novel, and I have the feeling I know what part of my problem is.  My characters are fairly healthy, angst-free people.  They have problems, sure, but their problems are external.  These are not characters tormented by things they are or have done. 

What do you think I should do?  Start creating tortured backstories?  The characters do get...well, mistreated as the story goes on, so I think it's going to gain momentum for me.  Maybe I should wait and see if that happens before I get out the thumbscrews.  Try something new and all that...

So dear Reader, what are you working on?  Are you using psychology in your project?  I'd love to hear about it, either way!

I'm really curious about what people are looking for when they visit the Archetype site, so I thought I'd ask. If you often come looking for more than one thing, either pick the thing that is most important to you or write about the other things in the Comments section for this blog entry.  Please also leave feedback in the Comments section about  whether you find what you need, what you'd like to see, etc.

A couple of people have asked me recently about the now-defunct newsletter.  I decided some time ago that a monthly newsletter served little purpose when I could post updates and news as often as I like on the blog.  Therefore, I gave up the newsletter in favor of the blog.

I felt the site itself was getting a little unwieldy, so I recently reorganized parts of it, including the Real Psychology and Resources areas.  I also sorted through and pruned some areas that weren't being used very often.  If you find that something you think was really important is now gone, just let me know.

Thanks!

Kate started doing this, and then Elana took up the torch, and then I caught Annie doing it too.  So what the heck, right?  We'll see what happens.

I usually have several works in progress at any given time.  So here's the tally at present:

Contemporary fantasy/paranormal romance (can't decide) that I'm waiting for some friends to finish reading so I can make appropriate changes and send the rewrites out.  (Elana, have I mentioned yet today how much your editing helped? ;-)

NaNo Novel is at about 65,000 words, which is obviously much too short.  I was feeling pretty apathetic about it.  Not sure why.  These are the least angst-ridden characters I've ever created.  Could that have something to do with it?  Or perhaps I was writing so fast during NaNo that I never had the chance to really get the colors and flavors of each scene, and now I'm still having trouble doing that.  I did switch the novel over from third person to first person, and that seems to be helping, at least with my feelings of apathy, at least somewhat.  I am also hoping that as I get farther into the novel I'll feel more enthused.

Nonfiction project - I've gotten the first drafts of two chapters mostly written.  Since writing is harder than editing for me, I'm trying to write several chapters at a time.

Now let me talk about my very serious, very GINORMOUS problem when it comes to my WIPs.  The Internet.  I knew when the internet went wireless that I was in trouble.  Before, I'd sit down with my laptop, play a couple of games of solitaire, and then be good to go.  Now I'll get out my WIP.  And then I have to check my email.  And then I have to check Facebook.  And then I have to check RallyStorm.  And then I have to check my email again.  And then I wonder why I never get anything done.

I need one of these:

  Ugh.  What do you guys do to deal with the siren call of the internet?

This time's blog chain question was asked by Leah Clifford, who recently accepted representation for her novel Reapers!  Kate shared her take on the topic in the post before mine, and Michelle will explore her dark side in the next post. Leah's challenge was:

Show me your dark side...What do you do to amp up the conflict?  What pins do you stick in the little voodoo dolls? How do you torture your characters???  

Have you ever seen the TV show nip/tuck?  It's unusual show, because you're watching along, and they imply that something really edgy is going to happen.  A main character is feeling kind of turned on by the super-expensive sex doll modeled after his business partner's ex-girlfriend. A (male) main character is in danger of being raped...by another man. A patient character has threatened to perform her own mastectomy.  Most writers would turn away, getting their characters out just in the nick of time. Of the few writers who decided to go all the way, most of them would never show the actual event. In nip/tuck, they Go There.  All the way.  And they show all of it. The sex with the doll. The rape. The woman who does the mastectomy on herself with an electric carving knife in the doctors' waiting room. And then they show the fallout. These characters never get a break.

Going There is what intrigues me.  Not what happens when the hero gets there in the nick of time, but when the worst the hero can possibly imagine happens. And then sometimes...that's not all. Next come a few things the hero couldn't possibly have imagined in his worst nightmares.  And then, of course, there's the fallout.  Shattered relationships. Grief. Nightmares. Depression. Post-traumatic stress disorder.  Suicidality. And the humiliation of having had all those reactions in front of other people.

Maybe it's having been on the frontlines and counseled people who have had things worse than they could ever imagine happen to them. Maybe it's just having lived through a few things in my own life.  But I Go There in my fiction.  A lot.

I don't see it as torturing my characters. I see it like this: Life can really, truly be that ugly.  Human beings do horrible things to other human beings, and sometimes they even do them intentionally.  I don't pretend otherwise when I tell a story.

One of the best ways to learn about the dark side of life is to be willing to be open, and to listen. Everyone has suffered indignities, and some have suffered horrors.  But those things are invisible unless you're open and willing to other people, including the really nasty, awful bits.  Like Mary said, the people who seem the most benign are often the ones who hide the most.  Because they've had to learn to seem benign to be accepted by a world too horrified by the realities of their lives.

The same thing is true with your characters.  You have to be willing to really listen to them, and if they have to Go There, you need to be brave enough to go with them.  Carl Jung talked about how we all have a dark side to our personalities, but only a few of us are willing to confront that side and integrate it into the Self.  I've always believed that part of what makes Stephen King so great is that he faces his own shadow and then writes about what he finds.

So how do you do that , avoid giving in to the urge to look away from the dark stuff?

Years ago, when I was learning to write, I came across an article that said the most important word in your story is NO. Whatever your character wants or needs, the answer must always be NO.  Once in a while, it may seem that the character is getting a yes, but in reality that yes must ultimately drive them farther from what they want or need. I believe strongly in the NO.  It always leads to a better story.

Have you ever seen Cool Hand Luke?  No matter how many times they drag Luke back to the chain gang, he always takes off again. He can't seem to help it. After the second time he escapes, the boss makes him dig a trench.  Then fill the trench.  Then dig the trench.  Then fill the trench. Over and over and over, until Luke finally breaks down, half dead, and begs to be allowed to stop.  But they keep pushing him. The other inmates turn away, horrified by what's left of this free spirit they all admired.

Still, later in the film, Luke escapes again, this time with another inmate.  The friend laughs, crowing that Luke's groveling was so convincing that "They didn't know you was foolin!"  And Luke says "Foolin, huh? You can't fool them about somethin like that.  They broke me."

So forget a little spilled milk, a few broken eggs. For me the real question is...what does it take to break your character, and what happens to him after he's broken?

On Wednesday, I attended a talk and book signing by career coach, syndicated newspaper columnist, and book author Andrea Kay. Andrea was talking about her new book, Work's a Bitch and Then You Make It Work: 6 Steps to Go from Pissed Off to Powerful.
Although the book is ostensibly geared toward the corporate professional, Andrea talks a lot about choosing to have a positive attitude about your work and finding ways to make sure that work is noticed, even in an economy in recession. Though writers might appreciate the book's advice to help them keep (and even move up in) their day jobs, they can also benefit from her advice with regards to their writing careers.

A lot of writers feel depressed or pissed off when they receive yet another rejection, especially in light of a struggling publishing market. Andrea argues that some changes in the way you approach things --putting yourself out there, knowing your strengths, and deciding not to be a victim of a bad economy-- can make all the difference between failure and success.

I do have a bias about the book, since I'm quoted in it and because I often work with Andrea, but I was really inspired by her talk on Wednesday, and wanted to pass along some hope that you do have power over your destiny as a writer. Check the book out on Amazon or the next time you visit your local bookseller. If you happen to be living in Dayton, Ohio, you can catch her talk next week at Books & Co. at the Greene:

New Q&A: Domestic Violence: How would a psychological professional respond to a woman who goaded an ex-boyfriend into hitting her?

Query Letters: Ten Ways to Hook a Literary Agent by Lisa Silverman
Here are ten query letter tips--some dos, some don'ts--to get you on track toward the representation and publication of your manuscript.

Holly Lisle's Bring Your Novel to Life article series:
You've read through what you've written, and you've discovered that your words don't move you. They don't make you want to keep reading. They don't make you laugh or cry. This series will help you fix that.

• Bring Your Novel to Life: Does Your Novel Have A Heartbeat? (part 1)
• Bring Your Novel to Life: How To Find Your Novel's Pulse (part 2) 
• Bring Your Novel to Life: Burying Your Novel's Message (part 3) 
• Bring Your Novel to Life: Playing Chicken with Your Story (part 4)
• Bring Your Novel to Life: Dig Deeper With Your Novel's Subthemes (part 5) 
• Bring Your Novel to Life: Interweaving Your Novel's Themes And Subthemes (part 6) 
• Bring Your Novel to Life: Planning A Heart-Stopping Story (part 7)
• Bring Your Novel to Life: Life, Passion... Deadline (part 8) 

Novel Synopsis Basics (part 1) and Writing a Novel Synopsis That Rocks (part 2) by HL Dyer

Yep, it's blog chain time again. Terri asked a question similar -- yet different -- from Elana's question about getting out of a writing funk. While some of the other blog chainers are tackling that question, I'm going to go with the alternative one:

Do you brainstorm with a friend when you are plotting, or do you prefer to be the only one who knows what your characters are going to do?

It's kind of funny the way Terri worded her question: "...do you prefer to be the only one who knows what your characters are going to do?" I generally don't know what my characters are going to do until they do it -- that's the problem!  *grin*

I only recently discovered the magic of brainstorming with buddies.  (Or...most likely in all actuality torturing said buddies with my confusion and indecision.)

It's hard for me to talk about where I'm going with a novel, because if I talk in any detail about something I haven't written yet, I can't write it.  The magic is just...gone.  But I tried writing up to the point at which I got stuck and then hurling myself on my friends' mercy during NaNoWriMo, and it was helpful.  My favorite was when people would just start extrapolating from what had happened so far in my novel.  "What if this happened next?"  "What if that got in the way?"  Anything that forces me out of my mental set (ie my normal way of thinking) is welcome. In fact, I kept wishing people would extrapolate more wildly and really jar me.

I view being stuck as an inability to see options for my story when options always exist.  Thanks to my thinking patterns (which normally work for me), I have trouble seeing alternatives for my characters -- perhaps because many of those alternatives are actions that I, personally, might never take.  I see brainstorming buddies as people with different perspectives and approaches and blind spots, and my hope is that they will show me different possibilities and open my eyes to fresh alternatives.  Once I've been pushed out of my mental set, the wheels usually start turning.

I'm curious, dear reader -- what kinds of things do your brainstorming buddies do to jar you out of your stuckness?  What is most helpful to you?

Just a reminder that submissions for ABNA begin tomorrow, February 2nd, and will only be open for a week. Here's ABNA's cheat sheet on what, when, and where.

Recently, Amazon.com and Penguin Group (USA) announced the second annual Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA), an international competition seeking fresh new writing voices. One Grand Prize winner will receive a full publishing contract with Penguin including a $25,000 advance. Contest details are listed below, and further information and official rules can be found at www.amazon.com/abna.

What is the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award?
The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award is an opportunity for emerging fiction writers to join a community of authors on Amazon.com, showcase their work and compete for a chance to get published. Sponsored in partnership with Penguin Group (USA) and CreateSpace, the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award first launched in October 2007 and received more than 5,000 initial entries. In the inaugural contest, Amazon customers voted and named Bill Loehfelm the winner with his novel, “Fresh Kills.” Several of the other Top 10 finalists also received publishing deals with Penguin.

What is the grand prize?
A full publishing contract with Penguin to market and distribute the Grand Prize winner's winning manuscript as a published book, including promotion for the book on Amazon.com and a $25,000 advance.

How do interested authors enter?
Contest submission period begins February 2nd, 2009 at 12:01 a.m. (U.S. Eastern Standard Time) and ends February 8th, 2009 at 11:59 p.m. (U.S. Eastern Standard Time), or when the first 10,000 entries have been received, whichever is earlier.

How do interested authors get more information about the contest?
Visit www.amazon.com/abna to sign up to receive contest updates, get tips on how to enter, participate on the ABNA message boards as well as find full contest rules.

For this blog chain, Elana has a question and a demand ;-)

Not sure what the Pool of Writing Funk is? Maybe you've heard of the Lake of Self-Doubt. No? The Ocean of What-the-heck-am-I-doing? Or maybe each rain drop in your life seems to whisper, "You're not good enough." These all contribute to the pool.

So...what do I do? Well, first, I use denial. Seriously. See, I don't really believe in Writer's Block. I believe there is always a project you can be working on, so there's really no excuse to not write. If I'm completely stymied by a current project, I pull out an old one and edit away. (It helps that I enjoy editing.) Plus, if I'm plagued by thoughts like "I'm not good enough" and "What was I thinking?", editing helps. After all, I'm working to make my stuff better.

Another trick: I take a break. Now, I write each and every day, for the most part, and I have for years. I always have some set-aside time at the end of the day. But once in a while I'm just too tired, or I'm feeling stressed and overworked. In those situations, I'll sometimes deliberately take a day or two off. After two days, I'm usually ready to dive back in. I believe it's important to give yourself permission from time to time to set aside even writing. I even did this during NaNoWriMo. Just don't set your work aside for more than a couple days, or you'll get out of the habit of writing. And don't take too many "vacations" from your writing because you're in a funk. A few times a month (think like 1-3) is plenty.

As for when I just feel wholly inadequate and like I'm never going to make it as a writer...well, that kind of solves itself. I never really became a writer; I just realized I was a writer. If I ever really tried to convince myself I was going to quit writing, I think I'd have a panic attack. For me writing is like breathing -- a necessary, life-sustaining act.

So while I sometimes throw myself on the proverbial floor and wallow in a funk of self-pity, I do try to limit the time I spend there. After two or three days, it's time to pick myself up and figure out what I'm going to do about the problem. I have some great books on writing, so sometimes I pull those out and learn how to be a better writer. Or maybe I gather information on local writing conferences. Or read some agents' blogs so I can better understand the publishing biz.

Sometimes it also helps to help someone else with their writing. For example, I go check out the Query Review area over on the QueryTracker.net Forum. A lot of times there's someone just starting out with a query, and I can help them see a different approach. That also reminds me that I have a lot to offer others; that is, I'm an accomplished enough writer that I believe my help is useful

I want your favorite funny and/or thing that makes you happy.

All right, you can laugh at this if you like, but the thing that always makes me happy, no matter what, is my pets. One really likes to watch TV with me, so sometimes we'll curl up with a good movie or an episode of a television show I truly adore (which pretty much means Farscape or Supernatural), and for an hour or two I'm engrossed in something else and also spending time with my pet. (Research actually shows that petting your resident furball reduces stress and even produces physiological benefits like lowered blood pressure.)

I also have some places I can go online that are pretty much guaranteed to crack me up. icanhascheezburger.com is one; failblog.org is another.


As always, be sure to check out Kate's post (before mine) and Michelle's post (after mine), as well as the other posts in the chain!

New Articles on the Archetype Site!

Writing the Query Letter Part 1 - The Hook by Elana Johnson
There are literally hundreds of websites where you can go to find out how to write a query letter. But the fact is, you don't want just a query letter. You want a great query letter--one that sets yours above the others.

Writing the Query Letter Part 2 - The Setup by Elana Johnson
Once you've hooked the agent to read your whole query letter, you've got to deliver. You can't just have a hook and then let everything else slide. Following the hook, you need to get to the problem.

Writing the Query Letter Part 3 - The Conflict by Elana Johnson
Now to the part that everyone wants to read—the conflict. Every novel needs it. In fact, the more conflict, the better. In the query letter, you want to highlight the main conflict, not every single one in every single chapter.

Writing the Query Letter Part 4 - The Consequence by Elana Johnson 
In the queries I've read, the consequence is what's lacking the most. The consequence. You've hooked me, set me up, explained the conflict that's keeping me from getting what I want, but…what will happen if I don't solve the conflict? That's the consequence.

Writing the Query Letter Part 5 - Everything Else by Elana Johnson
This part of the series tackles the title and word count, marketing and comparisons, and the bio.

Even if you've followed this series on the QueryTracker.net Blog , you'll want to check out the two links below:

At the bottom of each of Elana's articles is a link to a bonus -- a set of worksheets to help you write your own query letter!

Also be sure to check out Michelle McLean's take on how to write a hook: How To Write A Hook Line Or Logline.
Your hook line, like a logline, takes a story full of complex plotlines and high-concept ideas and breaks it down into a simple sentence that can be quickly and easily conveyed to a wide range of people. Your hook line is your first pitch in getting someone interested in your book. It can be used as the first line in your query letter, to help hook the agent into reading the rest of the letter and requesting information. And it is especially useful for those pitch sessions at conferences or lunches. When a prospective agent or editor asks you what your book is about, your hook line is your answer. Because it is a simple line or two, it is also handy for those family dinner parties when Grandma asks what your book is about.

Also don't miss The Writer's Guide to Research, also by Michelle McLean
As a writer who focuses mainly on historical settings, research is an important part of my writing process. In this article, learn how to research anything online!

Finally, I trimmed my blog post on Angst, Mental Illness, and Creativity into an article by the same name (link goes to the article).

Archetype Site Updates


Visual Prompts area has been updated.

Resources Reorganization

I divided the Writing & Editing into 2 new sections:

1. Writing Essentials (which includes information on Characterization and Genres)
2. Editing & Feedback

The Agents & Publishing area stayed the same.

The Real Psychology area, which used to be a mirror of (you guessed it) the site's Real Psychology section, has been updated and renamed Using Real Psychology.  You will now find articles in that area as well.

The Downloads area stayed the same.

The Research and Oddities section now has a wonderful article called The Writer's Guide to Research.  Keep an eye on this area, because author Michelle McLean is a researching expert (she has a Bachelor's degree in History and a Master's degree in English!), and I suspect we'll be seeing more articles on research from her.

The final two areas, Writing Links and Psych Links, stayed the same.

Carrie’s Analysis of Urban Fantasy Part I: The Formula by Carrie Vaughn

Carrie’s Analysis of Urban Fantasy Part II: When Things Go Wrong by Carrie Vaughn

Carrie’s Analysis of Urban Fantasy Part III: Deconstructing Urban Fantasy by Carrie Vaughn

For this go round with the (blog) chain gang, Abi  asked

Surely with all my raving about how great QueryTracker.net is, you've at least gone to see what all the fuss is about?  (If you haven't and have no idea what I'm talking about, here's a quick explanation I wrote up.)

If you've signed up for the free version to try it out -- or even if you haven't yet -- you might be eyeing the premium membership to decide if it's really as great as we all say it is.  (It is!)  Well, now's your chance to get a full year's premium subscription for free!  There will be weekly winners for as long as the contest runs.

1. The QueryTracker.net Blog (where yours truly is part of the blogging team) is featuring a Link Lottery contest.  Joining in the fun is easy.
2. For every new QueryTracker.net link you add to the internet, you get one chance to win.
3. After you've added the new link/s, you send an email to links@QueryTracker.net to let the site webmaster know where to find them.  Enter as many times as you like.
4. Every Friday, the webmaster will perform a Google search for QueryTracker links and select one of the results at random. The person who created the selected link will receive a year's premium subscription to QT.

If you're not sure how to create a link, visit the contest announcement over on the QT Blog.