Looks like the last thread was good timing for thirsty #amquerying authors in the #WritingCommunity so how about another on more edits I see often in opening pages? Basically, you need to build tension from your opening paragraph/lines, and there are so many excellent ways that I can’t name, but here are a few that typically don’t work:

I critiqued the 1st 5 pp for 15 authors & made a list of common edit suggestions. It's neither exhaustive nor universal, but I hope they help.

I'll likely turn this into 3-4 threads for length

1st: WHY IT MATTERS
& Common writing tips
1/16
#RevPit #WritingCommunity WHY?

Busy agents/editors need to be hooked by a great query before they'll even glance at pages.

IF they open pp, they need to be sucked right in. Hopefully by first few lines.

This is PRIME REAL ESTATE that you can't afford to waste!

2/16

Ok, I hope I am not overstepping, but here is some advice and tips that is particularly helpful to me and hopefully, it can be of help to others (plus, it's Friday and all my students are involved in group projects & don't need me at the moment!) #revpit #revpitwaiting Today’s thread is about CREATING 3D CHARACTERS (and this is for MCs/Antagonists/sidekick characters too--basically anyone who features in your book ought to have some clear thought put into them and WHY they are there!) 1/14 #revpit

I saw a #revpit question about when you know your MS is ripe to query.
It’s a common one because we’re all anxious for the chance at publishing.
Here’s a frank chat
1/12 Almost every writer I know has queried too early. The story wasn’t ready, but we didn’t know.
Mainly because we don’t know what we don’t know until we learn.
Most people don’t get lovely contest mentoring--so you just wing it
2/12

#ammteasers I had some questions about DEEP POV & CHARACTERS WHO LEAP OFF THE PAGE and I feel like y'all have a whoooole lot of confidence in me! 😂😂😘
I also think the two can go hand in hand—so buckle up for a thread!
1/14 #ammteasers Okey-doke! Sometimes, if you get the feedback that an agent/editor "didn't connect with the voice" it *can* mean other things, BUT it often signals that your writer's voice overpowered the narrative, rather than the reader immersing themselves in you MCs POV
2/14

#ammteasers All right hopefuls! I've got some notes to thread on some of your craft questions, and it might turn into one long one, or might need to be split up.

Let's talk STAKES or *what happens if your MC doesn't rise to the challenge you're presenting them with?*
1/15 #ammteasers Sometimes the stakes in a book are clear: "If MC doesn't accomplish X--the world will be destroyed" (or some variation of that theme).
And that's all well and good for some genres, but it is too unwieldy for most stories, so you've got to get micro!
2/15

Reading the horrors of #RWA, I’ve done my best to keep my mouth shut and just learn. Because I am a writer coming from a place of privilege, I didn’t think I had the right to add more fuel to the fire But the fact is, even though I am white & able-bodied, I am bi, neurodiverse and write characters like me in #LGBTQ historical romance, and this problem of hatred toward “other” isn’t just at the national level