(Simple text Google Doc Version available HERE) BUT FIRST, WHAT IS PITCHWARS? Pitch Wars is a mentoring program where published/agented authors, editors, or industry interns volunteer as mentors (that’s us!) and then each mentor or co-mentor pair chooses one writer (that could be you!) and spend three months helping them revise their manuscript. It ends…
Author: ekthiede
Grab that scalpel! Word cutting/prose tightening time.
Hey friends! I’ve been promising this post since … um…. last fall? So yeah, I’m a year late and many dollars short, but I’ve decided to copy and paste the rough version of a file I often share with CPs, mentees, and fellow writers looking for a quick and dirty crash course in cutting words…
Basic Pitches
We’re all stuck at home with withering social skills and a desperate craving for human interaction so my friend Anna and I are doing what everyone is doing these days–we’re making a podcast! Check out Basic Pitches on twitter @2basicpitches and listen to us on your podcast streaming platform of choice as we chat about…
TLF Character Art!
Check out the very first character art for The Last Finestra, created by an incredible young artist who brought my fictional babies to life! (And follow the artist on twitter HERE!) I am OBSESSED! As a writer, I’ve spent years wandering through fictional worlds with imaginary people who become so real to me that I…
PitchWars Feedback
Hello, friends. It has been an incredible honor to spend the last month swimming through a vast sea of PitchWars submissions. I am in awe of your talent and enthusiasm, and I so wish I could have chosen dozens of mentors, but alas, I could not. I know how disappointed many of you are feeling…
Character Agency: Who’s Driving this Thing?
(Note: I just realized this post has been sitting in my drafts folder since September, so that’s why I’m posting it today!) My earliest attempted novels were, I’ll be honest, boring. And at the time, I didn’t understand why. My concepts were interesting! My characters had backstories and exciting things happened to them! Ay, there’s…
The Last Finestra! But in GERMAN!
The Last Finestra and its sequel are going to be published in Germany! LYX bought the German translation rights at auction!, and I’m so excited that we’ll get to share my debut duology with a whole new group of eager fantasy readers!
So, you got an edit letter. Now what?
With PitchWars gearing up (and my final edits due soon! Eeep!) it’s a great time to talk about edit letters–what they are, how to handle one, and what steps to take when you get one! (Disclaimer: This is all just my opinion, based on my experiences. YMMV.) In the years since I began writing towards…
PitchWars 2020
That’s right, I’m a PitchWars mentor! Wishlists to come, but for now, you can follow the #PitchWars hashtag and @PitchWars accounts on Instagram and Twitter for updates, or keep a close watch on www.pitchwars.org! Being a 2017 PitchWars mentee was a life-changing experience for me. I learned a ton about craft and the industry, and…
On Luck and Timing
In early September 2019 I was completing revisions and bracing myself to query a new manuscript for the third time. I was anxious and full of dread, because after two unsuccessful querying experiences, I knew that within a few months, I might have to trunk this manuscript as well, and the thought made me utterly…