Why You Need to Be Your Most Sympathetic Critic

In today's Books with Hooks, Carly and CeCe are joined by Mire and Katy who have submitted their work for critique. They discuss not losing the plot in a quest for being true to the emotionality of the story; making sure that one character isn’t just a vessel for the other in a dual POV story; toeing the line between making the reader curious and leaving them frustrated; making sure that if you focus on one POV in your query letter, you still include who the other POVs will be; giving context so the reader understands certain details; limiting the number of ppl in your opening pages so as not to confuse the reader; and being present with your protagonist.After which, Bianca is joined once again by Femi Omotade who interviews Marlon James, award-winning and bestselling author of Moon Witch, Spider King, about why Marlon is attracted to fantasy as a genre; how the best stories are about making new myths; how a novel can be born from research into something you’re interested in without knowing it’s going to be a novel; drawing from your mythological history; being careful what resources you pick for your research; how readers can feel like tourists in a work you’re creating but characters needs to be at home there; believing both your protagonist and your antagonist, and leaving it up to the reader to decide who’s telling the truth; and how where you begin writing isn’t necessarily the beginning of the novel.Find us on our socials: Twitter: @TSNOTYAW @BiancaM_author @carlywatters @ceciliaclyra Instagram: @biancamarais_author @carlywatters @cece_lyra_agent @ the_shit_about_writingFacebook: @tsnotyawWebsite: www.biancamarais.comMarlon James can be found at www.marlonjameswriter.com and on Twitter at @MarlonJames5Femi Omotade can be found on Instagram at @thebookalert Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands