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Monday, February 27, 2017

Notes from New York: Memoir and Platforms

Welcome back to Notes from New York. Today we have a shorter post, less about writing and more just a query tip in general regarding memoirs. When I first started interning I hadn’t read many memoirs (or much nonfiction in general), but within the first month, I had read several samples and two full manuscripts. The two full manuscripts were both well written and engaging. One came from a writer with a strong journalistic background and platform who had an exceedingly interesting life to boot. The other came of a writer who also had an interesting life, but did not have much of a platform to speak of.

Guess which one drew more interest from the agent?

Yes, that’s kind of the hard thing about memoirs and nonfiction in general. Any editor or agent is going to look at your life story and judge it not just on quality of story, but also on marketability? It’s not that a memoir from someone without a platform can’t sell, but it’s certainly less likely. It’s one of those difficult facts about the nonfiction publishing world. If you don’t have a platform through your work or even through social media, an agent is going to wonder if you can advertise yourself. Memoirs, unlike fiction, are deeply personal and require more self promotion.

On another note, don't try to sell your memoir as fiction. Agents can usually tell a memoir masquerading as women’s or contemporary fiction. They’ve been in this business awhile, and you don’t want to try to get an agent by lying. That’s not to say you can’t use your life as influence for a fictional novel, but remember that there is a difference between real life and fiction. Real life doesn’t have a concrete story structure, for instance, nor does it always have a complete arc.

And lastly, if the agent doesn’t accept memoir…don’t query them with memoir. Not even if they also represent women's fiction, romance, etc. Unless specified otherwise, that means the fictional genres, not memoir. It seems like common sense but you wouldn’t believe the number of people who ignore submission guidelines.


That’s it for today. Happy writing!

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Lessons from Anime- The Lost Art of Tragedy in Fate/Zero and Madoka Magica

When’s the last time you watched or read a good tragedy? If you’re most people, its probably been awhile. After all, tragedies are kind of a bummer and can tug your heart strings in all the worst ways. Most story tellers aim for dramas or comedies instead for their more hopeful endings. And even when a show or book goes for tragedy, often it isn’t very good. It feels emotionally manipulative when a character is killed at the end just to get a sad, tear jerker finale. Simply put its hard to earn that tragic conclusion in a way that makes the story feel satisfying. But when it works, it works.

In a lot of ways, tragedies are kind of a lost art. When you hear the word tragedy, you probably think of the ancient Greeks or one of Shakespeare’s great plays. Good modern tragedies are far more rare because they are so hard to pull off. But today I want to take a look at two anime that understand the art of tragedy. And they both come from the mind of the same man- Gen Urobuchi.

Nicknamed the Urobutcher for the fates of many of his characters, Urobuchi, is one of the greats in the anime industry. He’s a masterful storyteller, having a talent for really getting his audience emotionally invested in the fates of the characters.

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In one of his works, Fate/Zero, magicians fight for the right to the Holy Grail through the use of heroes from all historic ages. Most of the audience goes into the story knowing it will end in tragedy (as it is a prequel). But none the less, its impossible not to get invested. The characters are likable and they have goals they hope to achieve with the power of grail. But they also have damning flaws such as arrogance, stubbornness, or naivety that ultimately will keep them from their dreams (or lives).

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In Madoka Magica, an anime that explores the Magical Girl genre (think Sailor Moon), young girls make contracts to gain powers and fight witches in exchange for the granting of one wish, any wish at all. But the venture of being a magical girl may not be so glamorous as it appears and every wish comes at a hidden cost.

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Both of these anime’s have a similar element that proves Urobuchi really understand tragedies--wishes. A great tragic hero is ultimately driven by something important to them. Maybe its even a goal to which we relate like the desire to help a close friend, make amends or even to simply survive. However, in a tragedy, the hero ultimately fails to grasp this goal because they have a damning flaw that will keep them from a happy ending. Maybe they go about getting their wish the wrong way, at the expense of others, or don’t think of the consequences. Hamlet spends too much time thinking about the path to revenge and more people die because of it. Othello acts too quickly on jealousy and kills his love. Romeo and Juliet are surrounded by a society that curses their love and they die because of it (or because they needed communicate the plan better).

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Madoka Magica is the best example of this idea simply because each of the girls make a distinct wish that ultimately determines their fate. It’s not predictable by any means, but it does follow story telling 101- set up and pay off. The beginning leads to the middle leads to the end, and it all flows seamlessly together. Its one of my personal favorite anime for just that reason because its just one of the best written things I’ve ever watched.

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And its gorgeous

In all of these tragedies, the flaw is built in from the beginning. From the moment the hero sets out on their journey, we get the feeling they may falter. They may not lose everything. They may not even die. Maybe they’ll even get some semblance of a happy ending. But there will be losses and they will feel earned. It won’t just be for a tug on the emotional heart strings. Really good tragic endings feel necessary. Almost inevitable. And it is in that kind of tragedy that we find as much satisfaction as we would in a happy ending.


Madoka Magica and Fate/Zero are two stellar examples of modern tragedies, both with bitter sweet endings. They make you root for the characters despite the dark path they walk, and they make you cry when everything comes crashing down. But you don’t feel cheated. You don’t feel manipulated. You feel good, ultimately, because you’ve got to love a well told story. So if you feel like consuming a great modern tragedy in the near future, check either of these works out!

Monday, February 13, 2017

Notes from New York: Forced Immitation

Welcome back to Notes from New York! Its about time we get back to our usual schedule of updates don't you think? Well let's jump right and talk about "trying too hard".

Is there such thing as "trying too hard" in the writing world? After all, we all put our blood sweat and tears into our manuscripts. Some days it feels like we can never be enough. How can we ever put in enough effort? But actually there is such a thing as trying too hard, and it usually shows in your prose in the form of forced immitation.

In my internship, there were many occasions when I opened up a query, read the sample pages, and found myself reading a piece of literary fiction that was putting way too much effort into flowery prose. They used lots of big words that, theoretically, could be put to beautiful use. But it just didn’t sound natural. This is often a case of forced imitation. The writers behind these pages really wanted to emulate their favorite authors so they tried to mimic their style. But when you’re mimicking and trying to force your prose to be flowery through an overuse of adjectives and large words…it can verge on sounding fake, unnatural and pretentious.

Why is this? Well because this isn’t your style. It’s someone else’s that you are forcing yourself to emulate. Pro tip, a reader can always tell when a writer is faking it. Its something about the way the words are strung together. They come out stilted rather than flowing. Confused rather than clear.

Forced imitation shows in the work of commercial fiction writers too, of course. Sometimes you can tell an author is trying way too hard to mimic the style or sense of humor of one of their idols. I had a phase myself where I strove to recreate the sarcastic wit of Maximum Ride. It came out very forced and cringy...and honestly, the sense of humor in those books was already forced and cringy. 


The best way to fix this problem? Get to know your own style. Heck, maybe your style is literary, with prose like honey. Maybe your sense of humor is a riot. But as long as you’re simply imitating, you won’t find that genuine voice that sets you apart from the others. 

Of course you may continue to draw inspiration from your favorite authors. Of course continue to read, read and read more to improve your own writing. But remember, imitation at the detriment of your own voice is a killer. An agent doesn’t want ‘the next blank’. They want someone new and fresh. Take a risk on your voice and maybe you’ll find something special.