Mystery Writers Forum
The Business of Writing => Agents => Topic started by: MWF Bot on June 17, 2011, 02:04:50 AM
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#192-FTW
Dear QueryShark:<br /><br /><br />One week ago, Claire's cousin Dinah slit her wrists.<br /><br />Five days ago, Claire found Dinah's diary and discovered why.<br /><br />Three days ago, Claire stopped crying and came up with a plan. <br /><br />Two days ago, she ditched her piercings and bleached the black dye from her hair.<br /><br />Yesterday, knee socks and uniform plaid became a predator's camouflage.<br /><br />Today, she'll find the boy who broke Dinah.<br /><br />By tomorrow, he'll wish he was dead.<br /><br />Premeditated is a 60,000 word contemporary YA novel. Chapters or a synopsis are available on request. <br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="color: blue;">oh hell yes. Send pages, send the entire manuscript NOW.</div><div style="color: blue;"><br /></div><div style="color: blue;">Here's why this breaks all the rules and still works: </div><div style="color: blue;"><br /></div><div style="color: blue;">It's got menace in the very rhythm of the writing. It's short and not-sweet. We know who the main characters are because she SHOWED us, not TOLD us.</div><div style="color: blue;"><br /></div><div style="color: blue;">And by god, there's nothing better than revenge for the New Year.</div><div style="color: blue;"><br /></div><div style="color: blue;">Yes, this breaks all the rules I've been yapping about, except the one that really counts: it entices me to read on.</div><div style="color: blue;"><br /></div><div style="color: blue;">Now, how the hell do you know if you've got something that breaks the rules but works? First, you write something that doesn't break ANY of the rules. You write a query that shows, doesn't tell. That's concise, and conveys what the book is about.</div><div style="color: blue;"><br /></div><div style="color: blue;">In other words, you write to the form of a query letter before you write something that ISN'T to form.</div><div style="color: blue;"><br /></div><div style="color: blue;">And you pay attention to rhythm. More than anything else stylistically, it's that rhythm of good writing that's toughest to teach and learn. When I'm editing manuscripts, I say the sentences out loud a lot. Hearing them helps me see where there are extra words, or too many beats, or misplaced beats. It's very very slow editing when you are down to moving syllables in sentences, but it's what makes the difference between gorgeous writing and so-so sentences.</div><div style="color: blue;"><br /></div><div style="color: blue;"><br /></div><div style="color: blue;"><br /></div><div style="color: blue;"><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4812909700950069050-2928857941677503039?l=queryshark.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
Source: #192-FTW (http://queryshark.blogspot.com/2010/12/192-ftw.html)
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I love it so much If it is useful and knowledgeable, then this is my first place to come.
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It really needs all that markup edited out to be useful.