Ten Things That Every Aspiring Writer Should Know
By Kristen Strassel
I’ve recently participated in a contest called Pitch Wars, which writers seeking agency representation submit their queries and first drafts to published/agented authors. I was so humbled to receive so many amazing submissions! The worst part of the contest was I could only pick two to work with. Two. I don’t have any kids, but my motherly instincts seem to scream the loudest in moshpits and Pitch Wars. I wanted to help everyone.
Since I can’t go through and line edit everyone’s manuscript, the next best thing is to share the most common feedback I gave on the submissions.
Get in your character’s head. Any character can set things down, sigh, look at things. I want to know what makes your character special on every page. I want her thoughts, feelings, and opinions. Make sure only your characters can tell this story.
Stay in the moment. If your character is under attack, she’s not going to notice how her clothes are wrinkling or minute details about her surroundings.
Use description sparingly. Give us just enough to paint the picture, and then get back to the action.
Read current titles in your genre. Pay special attention to the voice and the pace.
We are an ADD culture. Even if I love something, chances are, I’m still somewhat distracted. It’s just how we roll now. You need to grab me immediately, and then keep that pace going.
Read your work out loud. It seems horrifying, but it will help you get rid of clunky prose and bad dialog. We speak differently than we write.
If you’re writing NA or YA, make sure your voice is appropriate for that age group! You need to think like a 16 or a 21 year old, even if you’re old enough to have a 16 or a 21 year old.
Be open to feedback. Anyone who took the time to read your story and tell you their thoughts has your best interests in mind. This is how your characters are coming across on the page.
Trust your gut. If your characters want to do something, let them. Also, once you reach the revision stage, if a change doesn’t feel right to you, don’t do it!
There are many paths to publication. It’s not one size fits all. Do your research, talk to as many people as you can about the process. Don’t rush, make sure you have the best product you can possibly produce. And don’t give up.
We Own the Night by Kristen Strassel
(Night Songs Collection #3)Publication date: September 1st 2014
Genres: New Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Callie Chabot would stop at nothing to save her ex-boyfriend Blade Bennett from the clutches of vampire clan leader Talis de Rancourt, even if means becoming immortal herself. What she doesn’t know is that Blade has already defeated Talis, and he’s waiting for Callie in the afterlife.
Now Callie only has her creator, Tristan Trevosier, to turn to for guidance. But he’s too wrapped up in the debauchery of the Las Vegas rock scene to give a damn about the particulars of being undead. That’s enough to drive Callie crazy on its own, but female vampires are automatic clan leaders.
Not only does Callie have no idea how to wrangle a vampire clan, but her would-be followers have more to gain from her failure. They instead choose to follow Blade—and he’s hell-bent on making Callie pay for her bad decisions. Since he took out the existing clan leader, that automatically puts him at the helm of what should be Callie’s new clan.
That’s when seasoned rogue vampire, Cash Logan, shows up, shrouded in magic and mystery. No one is sure which side Cash is on, but Callie needs to take a chance on the one vampire who is willing to give her the answers she needs, no matter how dark and frightening they may be. Callie must trust her instincts and form alliances that may backfire. Cash shows Callie that playing nice is no longer an option, and that fixing her wrongs won’t always make everything right.
To take control of her clan, Callie must look to her rival to discover exactly what makes her a leader.
THE NIGHT SONGS COLLECTION:
We Own the Night--Available September 1, 2014
“I don’t know what the hell your little bundle of paperwork said, but the lack of respect pisses me off.”
“Tell me about it.” I dropped the lamp, letting it shatter on the floor. Blade let go of me and I sat up. Thank God, because those sheets were rank.
“I play guitar way better than your boyfriend, but I don’t have a rich daddy who can mortgage a hotel. So I don’t get what I want. Then I meet this great girl, but she can’t keep her hands off of the pretty, pretty vampire. And somehow, because of the two of you, I wind up getting kept in a meat locker having the shit kicked out of me every day until they decide to make me like this.”
“This isn’t what I wanted,” I whispered.
“But it’s what you got.” He pushed me back down on the bed, and pressed the weight of his body against mine. He ran his finger against my cheek. “You don’t know how happy it made me to find out that you’re just like me. I’m sure Tristan changed you over so you two could live happily ever after together.”
I opened my mouth to tell him that’s not how it happened, but I shut it without saying anything. He didn’t deserve to know the truth.
Someone kicked at the door. Blade jumped up, but after a few blows, Tristan and the rest of the band were already in the room. Tristan jumped on Blade, looking wilder than I’d ever seen him. He pushed him against the wall, punching him repeatedly. Monkey and Ramsey, the drummer and the singer, pulled me up off the bed and forced me out of the room.
Both of them had to wrestle me into the hallway. Whatever the hell was about to happen could be nothing short of catastrophic. They could tear each other apart. Someone could actually die, and I wasn’t prepared to lose either one of them. I screamed every time I heard something crash against something else, breaking into pieces.
And why the hell was I not stronger than the rest of these vampires? When was I going to get answers?
Damn it.
When I didn’t think I could stand another second of waiting, Tristan came out of the room.
Alone.
He took down Blade.
He shouldn’t have been able to do that.
Open wounds bled on his face. He wiped them clean with his shirt. “We’ve reached an understanding.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “And we should be able to start the show on time."
“Tell me about it.” I dropped the lamp, letting it shatter on the floor. Blade let go of me and I sat up. Thank God, because those sheets were rank.
“I play guitar way better than your boyfriend, but I don’t have a rich daddy who can mortgage a hotel. So I don’t get what I want. Then I meet this great girl, but she can’t keep her hands off of the pretty, pretty vampire. And somehow, because of the two of you, I wind up getting kept in a meat locker having the shit kicked out of me every day until they decide to make me like this.”
“This isn’t what I wanted,” I whispered.
“But it’s what you got.” He pushed me back down on the bed, and pressed the weight of his body against mine. He ran his finger against my cheek. “You don’t know how happy it made me to find out that you’re just like me. I’m sure Tristan changed you over so you two could live happily ever after together.”
I opened my mouth to tell him that’s not how it happened, but I shut it without saying anything. He didn’t deserve to know the truth.
Someone kicked at the door. Blade jumped up, but after a few blows, Tristan and the rest of the band were already in the room. Tristan jumped on Blade, looking wilder than I’d ever seen him. He pushed him against the wall, punching him repeatedly. Monkey and Ramsey, the drummer and the singer, pulled me up off the bed and forced me out of the room.
Both of them had to wrestle me into the hallway. Whatever the hell was about to happen could be nothing short of catastrophic. They could tear each other apart. Someone could actually die, and I wasn’t prepared to lose either one of them. I screamed every time I heard something crash against something else, breaking into pieces.
And why the hell was I not stronger than the rest of these vampires? When was I going to get answers?
Damn it.
When I didn’t think I could stand another second of waiting, Tristan came out of the room.
Alone.
He took down Blade.
He shouldn’t have been able to do that.
Open wounds bled on his face. He wiped them clean with his shirt. “We’ve reached an understanding.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “And we should be able to start the show on time."
Kristen Strassel is the author of The Night Songs Collection, a paranormal romance series about vampire rock stars in Las Vegas. After all, they tell you to write what you know. She is a passionate music fan who also loves football games and diners. Kristen works as a makeup artist on film and TV shows when she's not writing, and loves being behind the scenes. A former resident of Las Vegas, Kristen now lives in the Boston area.
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