Tag: advice

How To Save a Fizzled First Draft

Last year, I ‘won’ NaNoWriMo, but my story had veered off course. I tried to push through to an ending, but by the end of March, it was so far off from where I wanted it to be, I knew I was fighting a losing battle.

Now, not all stories that go off course are wrong. Sometimes the story takes the lead and brings you to better things than you ever expected.

But, for me? This wasn’t the story I wanted to tell.

So, I set it aside, polished some rough drafted short stories, beta-read for some friends, and read a lot of books. I gave my story breathing room to percolate in my head and I waited til now to pull this technique out of my toolbox.

#37 Query Corner – “The Light’s Guardians”

Time for a new Query Corner! Where I take other people’s queries and help them tweak them until they’re agent-worthy!

Veteran Graham Sharris thought he knew the risks of guarding the monsters in the labs. His partner, recruit Soko, (don’t ask her her birth name) has already managed to earn Sharris’s guarded respect. But when one of the monsters escapes, the pair are dragged into an ancient war for the very soul of the multiverse.

Today, we’re discussing the struggle for finding a “good” set of comps.

#amquerying

#36 Query Corner – “The Holy Shuriken” (And a discussion about Content Warnings)

Time for a new Query Corner! Where I take other people’s queries and help them tweak them until they’re agent-worthy!

When 16yo Renee Ballard is rescued from demonic armadillos by ninja Jesuit priests, her first night studying abroad, she believes God is calling her to stop human trafficking. [Language and mature themes]

Today, we’re discussing if there’s a place for content warnings in query letters.

#amquerying

#35 Query Corner – Alisha in the Sundarbans

Time for a new Query Corner! Where I take other people’s queries and help them tweak them until they’re agent-worthy!

In this Alice in Wonderland meets The Jungle Book, Alisha follows a talking tiger to a world run by a gigantic phoenix dragon — who wants to keep her as a pet.

See the finishing touches that get this query focused and ready for agents.

#amquerying