Hello, writers. I just ran across
this over at Writer Beware Blogs. (In case the link doesn't work: http://accrispin.blogspot.com/)
Unlike most scams, it seems the scamster’s goal was to humiliate the victim, rather than to make money off her. Mm, so maybe a hoax rather than a scam. But it’s a good opportunity to bring up a few red flags that may be helpful in avoiding either one:
1. The email offering representation.
In my experience, an agent who’s read your manuscript will email and ask to speak on the phone. Then there is a fairly long get-acquainted conversation—she might ask you about your goals or background, and invite you to ask her questions—followed by an offer of representation. The same goes for selling directly to book editors when you have no agent: They will want to talk to you on the phone first.
2. The elapsed time. Mere hours elapse from the supposed offer of representation to the offer of a book deal. Nothing in publishing happens that fast. There have to be meetings. There has to be time for the editors to, like, read the manuscript.
3. The lack of a contract. Before your new agent goes out selling your work to publishers, she’s going to want you to sign a contract assuring her of her 15%. That’s how agents put food on their families.
4. The use of the word “crap” by the alleged agent. Nuff said.
(I mean, maybe your agent says “crap”. But did she say it in an email the first day she met you?)
There are other red flags mentioned in the blog posting. The bottom line is, before you celebrate, and please please always before you sign anything, run everything though your BS-detector.
The ol’ BS-detector seems to be becoming more essential in this business every day. Sigh.
Anyway. To writing. So suddenly I’m sharing an editor with Terry Pratchett—is that cool or what?—which has been a good excuse to go on a Pratchett-reading kick. But then who needs an excuse? And the new editor just turned me on to his 1998 short story “The Sea and the Little Fishes”, which I hadn’t read before.
Here’s an excerpt. For non-Pratchett afficionados, the characters are Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax, two witches:
In Granny Weatherwax's world-view was no room for second place. You won, or you were a loser. There was nothing wrong with being a loser except for the fact that, of course, you weren't the winner. Nanny had always pursued the policy of being a good loser. People liked you when you almost won, and bought you drinks. "She only just lost" was a much better compliment than "she only just won".
Runners-up had more fun, she reckoned. But it wasn't a word Granny had much time for.
One way to develop character is to play characters against each other—contrast them. Here, he’s showing us two characters confronting the same situation and reacting differently to it. It gets to the root of who they are—in one direction, anyway. One of the roots.
There are plenty of ways you can set this up. He’s done it by showing us Nanny Ogg lying in bed musing. It’s her POV; this is how she thinks she’s different from Granny W. This is a fairly economical way to get the job done, since it involves more telling than showing. (Telling is not always bad. Sometimes, despite what They say, you do need to tell and not show.)
But you can also place characters in a situation and show them reacting very differently to it—by their actual actions, the things they do, the things they avoid, and the things they say.
Tonight’s challenge--
A callow youth and his/her companion have just come down a long underground tunnel that opens into a small cavern. On the opposite side of it is a doorway ringed in flames. In front of the doorway stands a witch. (Or, you know, whatever you want. A demon, a vampire, a six-foot tall fanged pink poodle.)
As soon as they step into the cavern, a door to the tunnel slams shut behind them, cutting off their escape.
“So,” says the witch/demon/etc. “You seek the Jewel of Togwogmagog, do you? If you can pass through the flaming portal, you may find it. But see, here’s the thing. I don’t intend to let you.”
Show the C.Y. and companion reacting differently. You can do this with dialogue or actions, and you can show one character’s thoughts. (Showing more than one character’s thoughts in a scene is headhopping. Like public smoking, it was once considered socially acceptable but is now rarely permitted.)
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Before signing a contract with any agent or publisher, please be sure to check them out on Preditors and Editors, Absolute Write and/or Writer Beware.