Story Nerd

By Valerie Francis, Melanie Hill, Kathleen FoxxArts Books

Story Nerd episodes

July 05 What Agents Wish Authors Knew BEFORE They Query
Querying agents can be a daunting task but there's a way to do it effectively! Agents want to love your book but you have to know how to present it to them. Query letters aren't simply cover letters. They're sales letters and their job is to convince an agent to ask for more. Putting a query package together is a skill, and if you want to get an agent, it's a skill you must master! The Query Starter Kit available at learn.storynerd.ca now. -V.
The Hook Formula: the works-every-time method for describing your book in a way that captivates readers and makes them beg for more.
Submit your query letter and first 10 pages writing sample at storynerd.ca.
For your FREE First 10 Pages Checklist, visit valeriefrancis.ca/checklist
To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.
To subscribe to Kat's Keynotes (Substack), click here.
Watch us on YouTube!
9 min
July 03 Choosing Comp Titles (it’s an art!)
What's the key to choosing comp (comparative) titles that pique an agent's curiosity? Should you use films or tv shows? What about huge bestsellers — would those make good comps, and if so, in which circumstances? In today's episode, Kathleen and I discuss an upmarket speculative thriller and discuss comp title choices, killer opening lines and, you guessed it ... exposition! And if you want to read the query letters and first 10 pages writing samples we discuss in these Hook Your Reader episodes, be sure to subscribe to my mailing list. -V.
The Hook Formula: the works-every-time method for describing your book in a way that captivates readers and makes them beg for more.
Submit your query letter and first 10 pages writing sample at storynerd.ca.
For your FREE First 10 Pages Checklist, visit valeriefrancis.ca/checklist
To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.
To subscribe to Kat's Keynotes (Substack), click here.
Watch us on YouTube!
43 min
July 01 Birds of Prey: writing unlikeable characters
How do you create an emotional connection between a reader and an unlikeable character? That's one of the most common questions we get as editors. The answer lies in understanding the anti-hero protagonist and Birds of Prey offers up a whole group of them to study. And where there are multiple protagonists, there are multiple plotlines. And each of those plotlines needs its own premise statement. It's a full episode this week! Enjoy! -V.
The Hook Formula: the works-every-time method for describing your book in a way that captivates readers and makes them beg for more.
Submit your query letter and first 10 pages writing sample at storynerd.ca.
For your FREE First 10 Pages Checklist, visit valeriefrancis.ca/checklist
To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.
To subscribe to Kat's Keynotes (Substack), click here.
Watch us on YouTube!
30 min
June 24 Ronin: what is an antihero?
Nothing is what it seems in this mercenary mystery. I discovered a way to use two premises to create mystery and a twist - a great find for everyone writing mysteries or spy stories. Valerie works out what type of protagonist Sam is, and it’s not what I thought! -M
The Hook Formula: the works-every-time method for describing your book in a way that captivates readers and makes them beg for more.
Submit your query letter and first 10 pages writing sample at storynerd.ca.
For your FREE First 10 Pages Checklist, visit valeriefrancis.ca/checklist
To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.
To subscribe to Kat's Keynotes (Substack), click here.
Watch us on YouTube!
29 min
June 19 Identifying Genre is Trickier than You Think!
What kind of story are you writing? That question is actually much trickier to answer than it seems, and that's because writers and agents look at genre differently. What happens if, after reading the query letter, an agent isn't clear on your story's genre? What role do comp titles play in explaining genre? We answer these questions and many more in today's Hook Your Reader episode. Enjoy! -V.
The Hook Formula: the works-every-time method for describing your book in a way that captivates readers and makes them beg for more.
Submit your query letter and first 10 pages writing sample at storynerd.ca.
For your FREE First 10 Pages Checklist, visit valeriefrancis.ca/checklist
To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.
To subscribe to Kat's Keynotes (Substack), click here.
Watch us on YouTube!
38 min
June 17 Hidden Figures: your reader’s expectations?
Well, well, well ... this has to be THE most interesting presentation of an underdog protagonist that I've ever come across. Not only have the filmmakers gone above and beyond with respect to their audience's expectations, but they've innovated the heck out of the underdog. This you've got to see! And if you're not sure whether you've written a logline or a premise statement for your story (or why you'd need both and when you'd use them) then Melanie's got your back because in this episode, she explains it all. Enjoy! -V.
The Hook Formula: the works-every-time method for describing your book in a way that captivates readers and makes them beg for more.
Submit your query letter and first 10 pages writing sample at storynerd.ca.
For your FREE First 10 Pages Checklist, visit valeriefrancis.ca/checklist
To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.
To subscribe to Kat's Keynotes (Substack), click here.
Watch us on YouTube!
26 min
June 10 Notting Hill: why we love it
This week I practised writing a premise for each of the characters in Notting Hill and I experimented with the ending to see if this tool helps writers evaluate writing ideas. Valerie studied the value of the “everyman” punching above his weight in a romance - a winning formula if ever there was one! - M.
The Hook Formula: the works-every-time method for describing your book in a way that captivates readers and makes them beg for more.
Submit your query letter and first 10 pages writing sample at storynerd.ca.
For your FREE First 10 Pages Checklist, visit valeriefrancis.ca/checklist
To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.
To subscribe to Kat's Keynotes (Substack), click here.
Watch us on YouTube!
24 min
June 05 Is this a mystery?
What happens when a story is pitched in the query letter as a mystery, but doesn't read like one in the opening pages? Where did the confusion creep in and how can you avoid a genre mismatch? We discuss this and much more (including writing unnamed protagonists and passive characters) in today's Hook Your Reader episode. Enjoy! -V.
The Hook Formula: the works-every-time method for describing your book in a way that captivates readers and makes them beg for more.
Submit your query letter and first 10 pages writing sample at storynerd.ca.
For your FREE First 10 Pages Checklist, visit valeriefrancis.ca/checklist
To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.
To subscribe to Kat's Keynotes (Substack), click here.
Watch us on YouTube!
44 min
June 03 Mrs.Harris Goes to Paris: toothless antagonists
Of all the types of protagonists, audiences/readers love the underdog the most, and our discussion of this beloved archetype led us down all kinds of interesting story theory roads including tension, stakes, objects of desire, the use of consequences as plot devices, suspension of disbelief and the Disneyfication of fairy tales! Meanwhile, Melanie continues her study of the premise statement and logline — what the difference between them is, how to formulate them, why they're important and, of course, when a writer would use them. This episode is jam-packed! Enjoy! -V.
The Hook Formula: the works-every-time method for describing your book in a way that captivates readers and makes them beg for more.
Submit your query letter and first 10 pages writing sample at storynerd.ca.
For your FREE First 10 Pages Checklist, visit valeriefrancis.ca/checklist
To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.
To subscribe to Kat's Keynotes (Substack), click here.
Watch us on YouTube!
42 min
May 27 Sicario: not what we expected
Sicario presented us with a few surprises this week. Valerie thought she’d be analysing a hero, but Kate is an underdog. She’s not presented as a typical underdog, nor does she have the typical underdog resolution. On my end, the logline for the movie misses some essential information. I try a new method of creating a premise that clarifies the conflict and story climax, and it delivers a surprising discovery about the real antagonist. -M
The Hook Formula: the works-every-time method for describing your book in a way that captivates readers and makes them beg for more.
Submit your query letter and first 10 pages writing sample at storynerd.ca.
For your FREE First 10 Pages Checklist, visit valeriefrancis.ca/checklist
To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.
To subscribe to Kat's Keynotes (Substack), click here.
Watch us on YouTube!
39 min

About Story Nerd

From the publisher's feed

For novelists, memoirists and screenwriters who want to write stories readers will love, and who want to work with a literary agent. Each week, editors Valerie Francis and Melanie Hill use films to…