Agents and editors read a lot (a LOT!) of query letters. Naturally they have to make speedy quick decisions about which queries interest them. In this workshop, I will be simulating that lightning quick process.

On Friday (August 25) I will post each query up to the point that I lost interest with a few sentences of explanation and critique. If you missed the first page critique, you might want to check it out to get a sense of what to expect.

I will be critiquing queries on a first come, first served basis, so try to get them in early to guarantee your slot!

This workshop is part of Novel Boot Camp. If you don’t know what Novel Boot Camp is, check it out here. All writers are free to submit their query, even if they did not participate in other elements of Novel Boot Camp.

If you are self-publishing, feel free to send your back cover blurb instead of your query letter, but make sure to identify it as such in the drop down menu. Thanks!

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Welcome to the peer critiques. Below you will find a list of novel openings available for peer critique. If you submitted your opening, please critique at least five other submissions. If you didn’t submit your opening, you are still welcome to help out your fellow writers by leaving critiques.

While honesty is a good thing, let’s try to keep the critiques constructive and polite. Thanks!

The submissions are currently anonymous. Feel free to reveal yourself as the author of your opening if you wish or you can remain anonymous. It is your choice.

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Sometimes it’s the little things that can make writing seem unprofessional. In this video I wanted to run through some relatively small writing mistakes that can make your writing seem amateur.

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Conveying the emotions of characters is challenging. It’s easy to fall back on cliches or melodrama, even when trying to avoid them. In this video I go over how to convey emotion without the need to overly rely on showing or telling (which helps prevent cliches and melodrama) by focusing on introspection instead.

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Similes are notorious for being unintentionally humorous or melodramatic. In this video I run through the most common reasons similes suck and then provide examples of bad similes from my childhood writing so you can see amateur similes in action.

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Writers often ask if their idea for a novel is good enough or strong enough. In this video I wanted to go over some misconceptions about novel ideas and what it takes to get published.

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Welcome to the second workshop of Novel Boot Camp!

This workshop will focus on peer critiques, but I will jump in with my own thoughts and comments if anyone has any questions or if I feel I can offer additional assistance.

Each participant will be given their own page and comments section for their work. You will be able to link to this page to ask friends, family members, etc. to leave critiques. I will post a master list of all the novel openings as a blog post this Friday (August 18).

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Publishers, agents, and readers all make quick decisions about what they want to read. Below are my first impressions of ten novel openings written by Novel Boot Camp participants.

I stopped reading (and ended the excerpt) at the point that I was no longer interested in continuing. I also included comments about why the story didn’t catch my interest.

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Publishers, agents, and readers all make quick decisions about what they want to read. Below are my first impressions of ten novel openings written by Novel Boot Camp participants.

I stopped reading (and ended the excerpt) at the point that I was no longer interested in continuing. I also included comments about why the story didn’t catch my interest.

Continue reading →

Publishers, agents, and readers all make quick decisions about what they want to read. Below are my first impressions of ten novel openings written by Novel Boot Camp participants.

I stopped reading (and ended the excerpt) at the point that I was no longer interested in continuing. I also included comments about why the story didn’t catch my interest.

Continue reading →