What Needs to Be in a Beginning?

FromLit Service

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What Needs to Be in a Beginning?

FromLit Service

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Length:

15 minutes

Released:

Mar 1, 2023

Format:

Podcast episode

Description

Aliah, Cameron, Caitlin, and Kristen discuss what is most important at the beginning of a book and how to go about approaching it in your own stories.

Don't forget to check out our special edition books we've done for past guests!

Released:

Mar 1, 2023

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

A show giving dodgy writing advice and first chapter critiques for aspiring writers.

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2.6 Plot Twists with Ben Grange: Literary Agent Ben Grange joins the podcast to tell us why plot twists will make or break your book...but not for every genre. We discuss how to go about setting up plot twists and some ideas as to why the do or don't work for readers. In this episode we... by Lit Service
34 min listen
2.2 Villains and Antagonists with Sarah McCabe: The Lit Service crew chats about what makes a compelling antagonist or villain with Simon Pulse assistant editor Sarah McCabe. We highlight some of our favorite examples of antagonists such as Mayor Prentiss from Chaos Walking by Patrick Ness, Jackal and... by Lit Service
31 min listen
1.5 Yes, You Really Do Need A Writing Group by Lit Service
30 min listen
2.16 YA Thrillers with Karen M. McManus: The Lit Service Crew chats with Karen M. McManus, author of NYT Bestselling One of Us is Lying, about the rise of the YA thriller and the elements that go into writing a good thriller (and thriller elements that you can apply to any other genre you write... by Lit Service
31 min listen
2.15 Brainstorming with Ben Grange: This week the Lit Service crew chats with literary agent Ben Grange about brainstorming techniques. Some things we mention: Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans Struck By Lightning https://beta.prx.org/stories/176346-struck-by-lightning ... by Lit Service
37 min listen
1.8 Making Promises with Tracey Neithercott: Caitlin is up to no good, Cameron works too hard, Kristen makes a mean sweet potato fry and Tracey will not fold laundry for a kingdom. Tracey Neithercott joins the Literary WIP team to discuss what it means to make promises in your first chapters and ho... by Lit Service
33 min listen
1.4 Show, Don't Tell with Emily R. King: Caitlin, Kristen, Cameron, Dan and special guest author Emily R. King chat about how to show instead of tell. They then critique a submission in which a young lady stows away on a train only to find out it's a circus train, and the circus knife-thrower n... by Lit Service
27 min listen
3.3 The Anatomy of a Fight Scene with Tricia Levenseller: Tricia Levenseller is the author of the Daughter of the Pirate King duology and standalone Warrior of the Wild. She likes to describe her books as young adult alternate–world historical fantasies with heavy romantic subplots. One thing that a lot of new... by Lit Service
27 min listen
1.6 Character Sympathy with Tricia Levenseller: Caitlin, Kristen, Cameron, Dan, and Tricia discuss how to make characters sympathetic (and why that's a thing you want to have happen), then critique a submission about a girl who isn't too fussed about super villians destroying her city. by Lit Service
32 min listen
2.14 Subplots with the Lit Service Crew (reunited!): The Lit Service crew chats about subplots, what they are, how to use them, and when you don't need them. Some of the books and movies we talk about are: Fablehaven by Brandon Mull Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson Jurassic Park, the movie based on the book b... by Lit Service
32 min listen
3.1 The Need for Evil: We're back with an all new season of Lit Service! Announcement!! We are going to be doing live shows at the Life the Universe and Everything Symposium in Provo, Utah, Saturday February 16th. If you haven't been to a writing conference yet (and you really... by Lit Service
29 min listen
2.13 Improving Your Craft with Rosalyn Eves: This week we chat with Rosalyn Eves about rhetorical devices and how to go about learning and using them (and maybe when not to use them). Some of the things we mention in the podcast worth checking out: Soundbite from Ira Glass on "The Gap" https://www.... by Lit Service
33 min listen
1.7 Why and How to Use Concrete Details: Find out much more about Cameron Harris than he wants you to know! Caitlin, Kristen, Dan, and Cameron chat about what concrete details are and why they're important. We then critique a submission about a boy who has a little trouble with hallucinations. ... by Lit Service
24 min listen
1.3 Pacing with #1 NYT Bestseller Aprilynne Pike: Caitlin, Kristen, Cameron, Dan and guest author Aprilynne Pike talk about the do's and don'ts of pacing. They then critique a submission about a girl who has a perfect life, but something terrible is about to happen to her. by Lit Service
24 min listen
3.5 Pacing your Backstory: You have your fabulous main character, their deliciously dark past, their wealth of relationships, habits, memories, and everything else that makes them who they are-- and then you have to write the first chapter. What can you put in, what should you lea... by Lit Service
26 min listen
2.18 Writing Original Characters: Literary agent Ben Grange joins the Lit Service crew to chat about how to approach writing original characters. Some things we mention: The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill Avatar: The Last Airbender The Scarlet Pimpernell by Baroness Orczy Litt... by Lit Service
28 min listen
2.20 Horror Elements with Dan Wells: For our final episode of the season we chat with Dan Wells about how to incorporate horror elements into our work. Because Dan is really smart, we let this one go a little long. Some of the things we mention: Zero G by Dan Wells (available for free on au... by Lit Service
37 min listen
1.11 Character Motivation and Stakes with Mckelle George: With special guest Mckelle George, the Literary WIP team talks about how to make a story move forward by establishing stakes and motivation. We had some technical difficulties on the recording for this week...so, sorry in advance. You can check out this ... by Lit Service
23 min listen
3.4 Writing from your Heart with Emily R. King: Powerful themes and well-explored issues often make the difference between a good story and a great one. However, many writers struggle to find the balance between exploring issues and sounding "preachy". In this episode, Emily R. King talks with us... by Lit Service
19 min listen
2.10 Before You Query . . . with Literary Agent Ben Grange: Ben Grange from L. Perkins agency joins the Caitlin, Cameron, and Aliah to discuss some things that authors ought to research and think about before they begin querying agents, including awareness of genre, researching agents, word count, titles, and sub... by Lit Service
34 min listen
3.14 The Jack Skellington Effect: Our guest, Stacy Whitman, is the founder and publisher of Tu Books, an imprint of Lee and Low that focuses on diverse middle grade and YA books. Stacy was a founding member of the CBC Diversity Committee. She is also currently looking for submissions for... by Lit Service
38 min listen
2.11 Publishing Models with Charlie Holmberg, Jolene Perry, and Abel Keogh: Caitlin chats with Charlie Holmberg (who is published through Amazon's traditional publishing arm, 47 North as well as indie published), Jolene Perry (who has worked with Simon Pulse, Albert Whitman Teen, Entangled, Cedar Fort, as well as indie publishin... by Lit Service
36 min listen
Bonus Episode: Kate Watson Query and FanX Q&A: Another in our series of query letters that succeeded (and then went on to become published books) Enjoy Kate Watson (author of Seeking Mansfield) reading the query that landed her an agent, and then some questions we answered at Salt Lake ComicCon/FanX ... by Lit Service
6 min listen
2.17 The Fantastic First Chapter with Ben Grange: The Lit Service Crew chats with Literary Agent Ben Grange about what goes into a fabulous first chapter and how to approach getting yours into that fabulous category, red flags and things that make Ben pass over people in his query slushpile, and some of... by Lit Service
29 min listen
3.6.5 Bonus Q&A with Charlie Holmberg and Brian Lee Durfee: Bonus episode! Listen to our our fabulous guests at FanX (Charlie Holmberg and Brian Lee Durfee) answer questions from the audience. Charlie N. Holmberg is a Wall Street Journal and Amazon bestselling author, whose debut series, The Paper Magician, has b... by Lit Service
17 min listen
3.15 Magic Systems 101 (and when to throw them out): The Lit Service crew recorded live at FanX Salt Lake City ComiCon with Sara B. Larson and Kathryn Purdie. Sara B. Larson is the author of the acclaimed YA fantasy DEFY trilogy (DEFY, IGNITE, and ENDURE) and the DARK BREAKS THE DAWN duology (DARK BREAKS T... by Lit Service
38 min listen
2.7 STEM in YA with Emily Suvada: The Lit Service crew chats with Emily Suvada about science, technology, engineering, and math, it's importance in literature and how to write it through research, creating believable characters and craft. Be sure to check out the submission on our websit... by Lit Service
36 min listen
3.2 The Art of Misunderstanding with Kelly Barnhill: Kelly Barnhill received the Newbery Medal in 2017, won the World Fantasy Award, the Parents Choice Gold Award as well as many other honors. She is a New York Times bestseller, and the author of THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON, THE WITCHES BOY, IRON HEARTED ... by Lit Service
26 min listen
1.12 Plot Types and Formulas with Kate Watson: Want to know where your book fits on a bookshelf? We do too, and so do the agents and editors reviewing your query letters. With guest Kate Watson, we chat about why it's important to know where you fit into your genre and how it can help your writing. Y... by Lit Service
28 min listen
2.12 Hanging Lanterns with Ben Grange: Ben Grange and the Lit Service Crew chat about what it means to "hang lanterns" in your writing, and how to go about doing it. Some books we mention: The Raven Boys by Maggie Steifvater The Office (the TV show) Avatar: The Last Airbender The Belles by Dh... by Lit Service
36 min listen

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How to Start Writing a Second Draft: What do you do once you've finished your first draft? Immediately send it to every agent and publisher you can find contact info for? Put it in a drawer? Maybe something in between. Caitlin, Aliah, and Kristen chat about how they approach a second dr... by Lit Service
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How to Write a Killer Ending: Caitlin, Aliah, and Kristen chat about how to approach writing a satisfying and exciting ending. Don't miss Caitlin's new release from Simon and Schuster, He Who Breaks the Earth by Lit Service
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Characters We’d Die For with Martha Wells: Martha Wells joins to podcast to chat about how to write characters your readers will love. Martha has been an SF/F writer since her first fantasy novel was published in 1993, and her work includes The Books of the Raksura series, The Death of the Ne... by Lit Service
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Raising the Action, Raising the Stakes with Margaret Owen: Margaret Owen joins Caitlin, Aliah, and Kristen to chat about how to help your action to rise naturally and how to raise stakes. Margaret is the author of The Merciful Crow, The Faithless Hawk, Little Thieves, Painted Devils which releases May 16th,... by Lit Service
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How to Stay Excited About Your Writing: We all hit moments where a shiny new project suddenly feels more like work. Aliah, Caitlin, and Kristen discuss strategies that allow the slog to become a little easier. by Lit Service
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What to Do with Writer’s Block: Aliah, Caitlin, and Kristen discuss how to keep writing when the ideas aren't coming. by Lit Service
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How to Start Writing a First Draft: Caitlin, Cameron, Kristen, and Aliah chat about how to begin writing and how to overcome some of the difficulties writers struggle with when starting a project. Don't forget to check out our special editions! by Lit Service
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Novel Worthy Ideas: Aliah, Kristen, Caitlin, and Cameron kick of season seven with a new series on how to write a novel from start to finish beginning with how to come up with a good idea. For updates and information on upcoming guests, subscribe to our newsletter! To ... by Lit Service
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What Needs to Be in a Beginning?

What Needs to Be in a Beginning?

Description

Titles in the series (100)

More Episodes from Lit Service