PitchWars - On Winning and the First Week's New Writing Tools

This is what it felt like, the night the PitchWars list was released.




In the first week we mentees were high-fiving all around, and the haze of celebration was thick and heady plus infused with disbelief. Me? My MS? The one I have sweated blood and tears for? You chose me?

**Breaks down sobbing grateful tears of relief that someone has seen beauty where so many before have seen dreck**

We, the 2015 PitchWars Mentees, introduced ourselves, started a secret-squirrel Facebook group and pinched ourselves because now WE were UP IN DA CLUB. (I don't often speak like 50Cent, but somehow that seemed appropriate here, go figure)

And then the work began.

My mentor, the incredible Kendra Young, began by sending me a spreadsheet.

I am a plotter by nature and I love outlines, but had never considered the spreadsheet because they're for bean counters, AmIright? They're rife with numbers and data and other inscrutable things.

But yanno what? It was a beautiful thing.

Because I was beset, bedeviled even, by structural problems I didn't know how to fix. And Kendra, with her laser vision, saw that right away. And she also saw, because she is a  teacher, that the best way for me to fix my problems was to engineer the solution myself.

In other words, working through her spreadsheet allowed me to excavate the weaknesses in a way I could never have seen just by copious re-reads of my ms.

Boom.

This spreadsheet helped me gauge not just the goal of each chapter but also the tension and action levels. And there it was in column form - places where the tension level was too low for too long. Chapters whose goals were too similar or repetitive or unclear.

Boom again.

From that spreadsheet, we went to yet another, one some of you may already know but I was unfamiliar with - from Larry Brooks's Story Engineering. This lovely little Excel allowed me to enter my total word and page count, and then spit out an exact blueprint of where I was supposed to hit milestones - plot and pinch points, etc.

Armed with spreadsheet data and new ideas for tightening plot, strengthening and clarifying my antagonist, and streamlining the number of flat characters, I was off to the races. And Kendra was right by my side the whole time, offering insight, asking all the right questions, and suggesting some of the key ideas that ultimately shaped where SPOOKY JANE is today.

So - perhaps it's been said a few thousand times, perhaps it gets old. But Pitch Wars DOES change lives. Within one week of learning I'd been chosen, I was already a stronger, more educated writer with more powerful tools at my disposal.

Thank you doesn't begin to cover it. Thank you Kendra, thank you Brenda Drake. And thank you to the data which has given my creativity a new lease on life.

Pitch Critique - Amy Trueblood

Amy Trueblood is with us today - yay!

For those of you don't, you should go follow her on Twitter: @atrueblood5. She was the "Sun" half of the "Sun vs Snow" contest last month - a terrific contest that resulted in many requests!! She's also part of Operation Awesome. She's a great writer, and equally as important she believes in staying positive - supporting and uplifting our writing community.

So - get your pitches in! First 10 get critiqued.
After Amy is finished with her round, feel free to comment as well. The more the merrier!

Here's how this works:

1) Post your pitch in the comments section.  Tell us your genre: YA, MG, or NA. And for reference, tell us your ms title.
2) The first 10 to post will get a critique from Amy. As I said, after she leaves feedback, I hope others will leave feedback as well - the more the merrier.
3) Use the "reply" button to do this rather than making a new comment - I am hoping that will help us keep the feedback organized and easy to follow. Just to be sure, reference the ms title you're critiquing to minimize potential for mix up!
3) As always, please keep your feedback constructive, not mean.

For those of you polishing pitches for #PitchMadness Clue Edition hosted by Brenda Drake, Sharon Johnston, Summer Heacock, and Rebecca Weston, the contest rules and info are HERE .

Pitch Critique - SC Author

I'm so psyched - today we've got SC Author in the house!

For those of you don't, you should go follow him on Twitter: @SC Author. He's part of the team that runs the Query Kombat contest, and he just ran the very helpful Become An Agent contest and its following workshop.

I know he's a great CP because he looked at my query for me and had excellent advice.

So - get your pitches in! First 10 get critiqued.
After SC Author is finished with his round, feel free to comment as well. The more the merrier!

Here's how this works:

1) Post your pitch in the comments section.  Tell us your genre: YA, MG, or NA. And for reference, tell us your ms title.
2) The first 10 to post will get a critique from SC Author. As I said, after he leaves feedback, I hope others will leave feedback as well - the more the merrier.
3) Use the "reply" button to do this rather than making a new comment - I am hoping that will help us keep the feedback organized and easy to follow. Just to be sure, reference the ms title you're critiquing to minimize potential for mix up!
3) As always, please keep your feedback constructive, not mean.

For those of you polishing pitches for #PitchMadness Clue Edition hosted by Brenda Drake, Sharon Johnston, Summer Heacock, and Rebecca Weston, the contest rules and info are HERE .

Guest Critiquers Announcement

Getting ready for #PitchMadness?
Planning to be part of the next Twitter pitch party?
Think you might sign up for an agent pitch session at the next conference you attend?

Don't wait until the last minute to get your pitch in order. There's always a good reason to have a good pitch for each ms you're querying.  I even think it's a good idea to have a working pitch for WiPs -- keeps you focused.

I'm excited to tell you that for 3 days this week, we'll have the benefit of some amazing guest critiquers looking at our pitches.
Each guest will critique 10 Pitches - the first 10 to post on his or her day.



Wednesday: @SC Author
Thursday: Amy Trueblood (@atrueblood5)
Saturday: Michelle Hauck (@Michelle4Laughs)

Here's how this works:

1) Post your pitch in the comments section.  Tell us your genre: YA, MG, or NA. And for reference, tell us your ms title.
2) The first 10 to post will get a critique from the guest critiquer of the day. After our guest leaves feedback, I hope others will leave feedback as well - the more the merrier.
3) Use the "reply" button to do this rather than making a new comment - I am hoping that will help us keep the feedback organized and easy to follow. Just to be sure, reference the ms title you're critiquing to minimize potential for mixup!
3) As always, please keep your feedback constructive, not mean.

Wednesday Critiques begin at 11am EST. Not before.


For those of you specifically prepping for the upcoming #PitchMadness Clue Edition hosted by Brenda Drake, Sharon Johnston, Summer Heacock, and Rebecca Weston, the contest rules and info are HERE .

See you soon!

Pitch Workshop

Time for some pitch work!

It's always a good idea to have a good pitch for whatever you're querying. I even think it's a good idea to have a pitch for WiPs -- keeps you focused.

ANYWAY - this workshop was inspired by the upcoming #PitchMadness Clue Edition, the hosted by Brenda Drake, Sharon Johnston, Summer Heacock, and Rebecca Weston.

In case you're not familiar with the contest or need to remind yourself of the rules, I'll give you a second to go HERE to refresh yourselves.

Ok - so now you know you'll need a 35 word (max.) pitch. NEVER easy but totally doable.

Here's how this works:

1) Post your pitch in the comments section.  Tell us your genre: YA, MG, or NA. And for reference, tell us your ms title.
2) While you're here, share the love -- provide feedback on other pitches already posted. Use the "reply" button to do this rather than making a new comment - I am hoping that will help us keep the feedback organized and easy to follow. Just to be sure, reference the ms title you're critiquing to minimize potential for mixup!
3) As always, please keep your feedback constructive, not mean.
 4) I'll keep this running until March 10, when #PitchMadness opens.

Looking forward to some great feedback!
 

#PitchMadness Workshop Opportunity

Workshop Opportunity!

I've been looking for some new eyes on my pitch for the upcoming #PitchMadness Clue Edition (yay Brenda Drake! Such a fun idea.) So I thought, I'm probably not the only one.
Hence, this opportunity to workshop your pitch - give and get valuable critiques.

Here's how it will work (it's easy!):

- I'll open for comments at 12pm EST tomorrow (Saturday, February 22, 2014)
- Post your pitch-in-progress in the comments section.
- Everyone who posts should also leave comments for others -- share the love and the wisdom.
- When you post your pitch, include your ms title and genre to help us critique.
- To leave a critique, use the "reply" button, to try keep each pitch critique grouped within one comment. Hoping this will work in a reasonably organized fashion!


Here's to having shiny-perfect pitches to WOW the agents, and more success stories to share!

Critique Partners

I participated in SC Author's #Becomeanagent contest this week. Excellent contest, excellent host. Once more, big thanks to SC.

And - Wow. Just, wow. The query I told you about a few weeks ago? The one I was cautiously optimistic about? TANKED!

Really just nosedived - NO ONE liked it.  OUCH.

So, it's back to the drawing board, but once again, because of smart thinking from people who can see everything in my query that I'm too close to see, I have renewed hopes that it can be good one day. Not just I-think-it's-good, but actually, truly good.

And all this has led to today's musings on the importance of a good CP.

We all know what a key piece the puzzle a good critique partner is -- but you know, I'll just say it: It's scary to open your work to someone you've never - and may never - meet in person. Or at least, it is for me.

If you're like me, you send your work to a CP and then you don't really sleep until the critique comes back. You WANT to know what doesn't work, you WANT to know where you're falling short. But it's still nerve wracking. It just is. After all, this is your baby, right? One of them, at least.

Brenda Drake, who many of us know because of her blog and the great contests she generously runs (#Pitmad, anyone?) agreed to share her thoughts on finding and working with critique partners. 

Heather: What are some good questions to ask when considering working with a new CP?

It can be so scary, but it is well worth it. Critiques make our work better and help find holes and things that just aren't working in our manuscripts. 

I think the best questions to ask when deciding if a writer might be your critique partner match would be: What do you write? What do you like to read? How much time do you have for critiquing? How do you like to critique? Do you do line edits or just general notes? How much time do you normally need to do a critique?

Heather: What would be good reasons not to work with someone - meaning, even if someone is accomplished and a good writer, should you pay attention to the differences between you (like personality)? 
I like diversity, so if someone writes something different from me, or their personality isn't like mine, I think that's wonderful. The only time I would not want to work with someone is if he or she is negative. You can tell a lot about a person through a Twitter feed. If the feed is always negative, I'd caution starting a CP relationship. 

Heather: How do you find a CP? 
I haven't looked for a CP in such a long time. I have a small group of friends who are my critique partners. I found them doing NaNoWriMo and participating in contests. I think if you put yourself out there and participate on the hashtags for writer events, you get to know fellow writers. Then all you have to do is ask them. If they tweet about their current work in process and you like the premise, tweet them and tell them you'd love to critique it. It's reaching out that gets you a critique partner. Also, we have www.CPSeek.com where you can post what you're looking for in a critique partner. Others will read it, and if they feel you're a match, they can contact you.

Heather: How many CPs should you work with? And how many people should you agree to be a CP for? 
Each person works differently and needs a different amount of CPs. Some just need one, others need a dozen. It depends on your time and what you can give back to your CPs. I have just a few, and each one offers a special eye to certain elements in a story.

Heather: Sadly, sometimes these professional relationships just don't work out for one reason or another. How do you "break up" without burning bridges? 
I'm a pretty easy going person. I've never had to "break up" with a CP. I think honesty is always best. Just tell them you don't feel like you're connecting enough to their work to give them the critique they deserve. Reading, as we all know, is subjective. Just be kind and direct the problem to yourself than them. Some people can get hurt easily; it's always best to go with the "it's not you, it's me" approach.

Heather: How much work/time should you reasonably expect to ask of a CP? How much work/time should you be expected to make available to CP other people? 
It depends on how much time you have after your day job and family time. I suggest starting out with one to three critique partners and see how it goes. Always be upfront with your critique partners on how much time you have. We all have deadlines, vacations, or just things that happen beyond our control. Keep them informed. I say that you should give your critique partner a few weeks to give you the best critique possible. And you should tell them what to expect from you. If you think you can have it back in two weeks, tell them. Or if something is happening in your life and you need more time, then let them know it might take you longer this time. It's all about communication.

Brenda Drake, the youngest of three children, grew up an Air Force brat and the continual new kid at school. Brenda’s fondest memories growing up is of her eccentric, Irish grandmother’s animated tales, which gave her a strong love for storytelling. So it was only fitting that she would choose to write young adult and middle grade novels with a bend toward the fantastical. When Brenda’s not writing or doing the social media thing, she’s haunting libraries, bookstores, and coffee shops or reading someplace quiet and not at all exotic (much to her disappointment). Brenda is represented by Peter Knapp with Park Literary. Look for her young adult novel, LIBRARY JUMPERS, coming soon.

She runs contests and twitter pitches, and you can find out more on her website: www.brenda-drake.com

And while we're on the subject of critique, here are a few more opportunities for critique workshops:

1) This Friday (2-7), SC Author will post revisions to queries/first 250 for those of you who participated in #Becomeanagent. Anyone can looksee, and all the help is good.

2) Also on Friday, Michelle Hauck will be doing a Critique Workshop on her blog. She's posting the submissions from her two alternates for #TeamSnow. If you entered #sunvvssnow and if you take time to leave feedback on the alternate's submissions, she'll do her best to post your entry for workshopping.
 

Be Brilliant, everyone!!