The Most In-Depth Query Letter Advice on the Internet

WARNING: AFTER READING THIS POST, YOU WILL BE A MASTER OF QUERY LETTERS.

*****

*OBLIGATORY EERIE SILENCE*

You may (or may not) have read my other post about query letters: 5 Query Letter Mistakes You Should Avoid. If you haven't read that, I highly recommend you do, because it highlights the common mistakes you don't even know you're making.

Today's post is the opposite of that post. Here, I'm going to show you my own query letter and detail each section, which has gotten 3 partial requests and 2 full requests in the past three months (out of 11 queries sent using this specific letter). I'm still waiting on the fulls.

Let's get to it, shall we? I'll post the whole query letter, then break it apart by sections right afterward so you can see what I did.

Important note: keep the query letter between 250-350 words.

------------------------------

Scott Martin

Address

Address

Phone #

Email

Website (optional)

Dear Miss/Mr. [agent's last name],

I'm seeking representation for Embassy, my 77,000-word new adult science-fiction novel.

Arman Lance was supposed to travel the galaxy with his father, not watch him die. He was supposed to experience the adventures from his father’s stories, not isolate himself from the world. He was going to join the Embassy Program, fly across the galaxy, and find Ladia Purnell, a girl from another planet whom he loved years before.

Clinging to his fading hopes and dreams, Arman joins the Embassy Program to fulfill that last promise. If he can reach Ladia, he’ll never have to worry, never have to feel alone. But it doesn’t take long for his plan to fall apart when he’s confronted by his fellow Embassy recruit, Glacia Haverns, the ever-smiling adrenaline junkie who decides it’s her job to show Arman there’s more to life than chasing a desperate obsession. Though at first his closed-minded negativity prevails, Arman soon discovers the rewards of opening himself to the experiences he nearly missed.

I have significant background in astronomy and physics and use these elements to present a seamless, scientifically-realistic backdrop to the story. Embassy has a character-driven plot with fierce contemporary YA and NA themes. I bring an authentic voice fueled by the emotions and experiences that teens and college-aged students encounter in their daily lives.

In May, I had the honor of being the Keynote Speaker at a graduation ceremony, in which I was specifically asked to relate the themes of Embassy to the transition from high school to college and other areas of life.

Please note that [agent name] of the [agency name] is currently reading the full manuscript of Embassy. I will notify you if she makes an offer.

Thank you for your consideration. The first ten pages are pasted below.

Sincerely,

S. Alex Martin

###

------------------------------  <--keep an eye on this line, it's important later

SECTION ONE

"Scott Martin

Address

Address

Phone #

Email

Website (optional)

Dear Miss/Mr. [agent's last name],"

Not much to say here. Keep it professional, standard business letter format. One thing to note: if the agent is a woman, always put Miss unless you read in her bio (or discover from an outside source) that she is married. Then use Mrs. But when in doubt, just use Miss.

Also, NEVER NEVER NEVER say Dear Agent or neglect the simple courtesy of a greeting. I'm especially looking at anyone who I rant about in my post: (Most) Self-Published Authors are a Bunch of Whiners. Seriously, if you can't take the time to write a personal greeting in a query letter, stay away from the industry, please, and don't complain about agents not recognizing your genius talents.

SECTION TWO

"I'm seeking representation for Embassy, my 77,000-word new adult science-fiction novel."

State your intention. State the title. State the word-count. State the genre. Bing, bang, boom. Done. Leave it at that. Nothing more, nothing less. There's no way you can screw this up, right? That is literally all you have to do. Don't over-complicate things.

I'm getting redundant, so let's move on.

SECTION THREE

"Arman Lance was supposed to travel the galaxy with his father, not watch him die. He was supposed to experience the adventures from his father’s stories, not isolate himself from the world. He was going to join the Embassy Program, fly across the galaxy, and find Ladia Purnell, a girl from another planet whom he loved years before.

Clinging to his fading hopes and dreams, Arman joins the Embassy Program to fulfill that last promise. If he can reach Ladia, he’ll never have to worry, never have to feel alone. But it doesn’t take long for his plan to fall apart when he’s confronted by his fellow Embassy recruit, Glacia Haverns, the ever-smiling adrenaline junkie who decides it’s her job to show Arman there’s more to life than chasing a desperate obsession. Though at first his closed-minded negativity prevails, Arman soon discovers the rewards of opening himself to the experiences he nearly missed."

Okay. Slam on the brakes and enjoy the view, 'cause we're gonna be here a while.

Here we have the body of the query. This is the #1 most vital part of the entire letter, and trust me when I say this will take multiple attempts to perfect.

You always hear tips that say, "Think of this as the back cover description." ....okay? What exactly does that mean. Not many people are gonna go grab the nearest paperback and read the back cover. Here's my advice: GO GRAB THE NEAREST PAPERBACK AND READ THE BACK COVER.

Clear enough?

There are three things the description of your book needs to do:

1. Introduce the main character
2. Introduce the main character's current place in life
3. Introduce the main character's journey

Let me break this down in my query so you can see what I mean:

• Introduce the main character

• "Arman Lance..."

Boom. First two words of the description. We know his gender and name. No need for "was just your small-town guy." We need to be concise, so giving the name saves us five words right off the bat.

• Introduce the main character's current place in life

• "Arman Lance was supposed to travel the galaxy with his father, not watch him die. He was supposed to experience the adventures from his father’s stories, not isolate himself from the world. He was going to join the Embassy Program, fly across the galaxy, and find Ladia Purnell, a girl from another planet whom he loved years before."

Embassy is a character-driven story. Therefore, I wanted this query to resonate with human emotion and sum up just what Arman is going through so that the reader (in this case, the agent) can connect with him.

We see that Arman had big plans for him and his father--but those plans got cut short. Then we see how he was looking forward to experiencing everything he heard about--but his father's death has a direct impact on his mental state, and he closes up. Suddenly those goals seem impossible. Lastly, we see that he's holding on to one final goal: to see a girl who visited him years earlier.

In three sentences, we understand Arman's current place in life, and the contrasts I present allow us to connect with him on an emotional level, because everyone knows what disappointment and desperate hope feel like.

• Introduce the main character's journey

• "Clinging to his fading hopes and dreams, Arman joins the Embassy Program to fulfill that last promise. If he can reach Ladia, he’ll never have to worry, never have to feel alone. But it doesn’t take long for his plan to fall apart when he’s confronted by his fellow Embassy recruit, Glacia Haverns, the ever-smiling adrenaline junkie who decides it’s her job to show Arman there’s more to life than chasing a desperate obsession. Though at first his closed-minded negativity prevails, Arman soon discovers the rewards of opening himself to the experiences he nearly missed."

All right, now we have the bulk of the description, where I detail Arman's journey. The first part of the description, where I introduced Arman's life, was only the first chapter of the book. Now I have to describe the next 30 chapters in one paragraph.

This isn't a synopsis. I'm not detailing every. Single. Thing. The key to an effective journey description is laying out the book's core premise. Let me rephrase that: how will things change? What happens to your main character, how does he react to it, and what road does it take him down?

Easier said than done, right? So do this: PRACTICE. All you have to do is answer that question: how will things change? Focus on the "how." Don't tell the end of the story (save it for the synopsis, if you ever have to write one). All "how" means is "what events lead to the changes?"

Notice how I don't say, "Arman was sad but Glacia helps him be happy again." Yaaaaawn. It doesn't show much of what's actually happening.

Make it interesting. Make it desperate. In my case, I wanted to give agents a sense of who the characters are and how one affects the other.

SECTION FOUR

"I have significant background in astronomy and physics and use these elements to present a seamless, scientifically-realistic backdrop to the story. Embassy has a character-driven plot with fierce contemporary YA and NA themes. I bring an authentic voice fueled by the emotions and experiences that teens and college-aged students encounter in their daily lives.

In May, I had the honor of being the Keynote Speaker at a graduation ceremony, in which I was specifically asked to relate the themes of Embassy to the transition from high school to college and other areas of life."

The author bio. DON'T give your age. I'm 21 years old, but does that matter? No. All that matters is the strength of the writing. In fact, giving your age will either hurt your chances or have no effect. In the end, it's wasted words.

DO tell the agent why you are qualified to write this story. DO give specific examples, like my background in astronomy and physics. DO list any important credentials, awards, and achievements. Think the fact that I was a Keynote Speaker at a graduation ceremony helped? Probably. It shows I'm out there, gaining recognition and developing skills I might need as an author.

SECTION FIVE

"Please note that [agent name] of the [agency name] is currently reading the full manuscript of Embassy. I will notify you if she makes an offer."

If your work is already being looked at by another agent, say so. Don't hide things. Be upfront so the agent is aware of the competition. Agents don't like surprises unless they come in the form of chocolate (or so I'm told).

SECTION SIX

"Thank you for your consideration. The first ten pages are pasted below.

Sincerely,

S. Alex Martin

###"

Finally, we have the closing statements. Always put "Thank you for your consideration." It's just a...well...considerate thing to do. Follow it by assuring the agent the requested material accompanies the submission.

99% of agents want you to paste the material, not attach it. The reason? Viruses. Who's to say you're not a jealous hacker trying to dismantle an agency because they rejected your typo-ridden book three years ago?

Use "Sincerely" or "Regards," or something of that nature. I like "Sincerely." It's just preference.

I always use ### to signify that that part of the query is finished. If there is requested material following, I will include a line of dashes before pasting the material, something like,

"-----------------------------------"

Again, just my preference.

Well, there you go. You have officially read the most in-depth examination of any query letter on the internet. Your move, Writer's Digest.

I hope this helps you develop stronger queries. STUDY THESE TIPS. Every query is different, but you can give yourself an edge by have a stronger, mistake-free query. After you read this post, share it, and then head on over to 5 Query Letter Mistakes You Should Avoid so you can see what gets queries thrown into the trash.

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Pinterest.

Subscribe to Get it Write Tonight!

Scroll to top of page in right sidebar.

Enjoy this post? Check out these others:

Is it Necessary to Sexualize Characters in YA Fiction?

5 Creative Ways to Enhance Your Story

How to Create a Magnificent Main Character

5 Query Letter Mistakes You Should Avoid

6 Tips to Hook Readers in the First Chapter

10 Effective Writing Rules

Also be sure to check out my Get it Write Tonight ebooks, Characters and Edit! That! Book!

While you're at it, check out my New Adult Science-fiction novel, Embassy.

5 Ways to Engage Readers...with Style

I recently read The Book of Jon. It's a short memoir by Eleni Sikelianos, about 100 pages long. Took me maybe....three hours to read.

No, not even that.

If you have the time, I highly suggest you give it a shot.

It's not your typical "novel." It's a memoir. But the style is still so much different from any memoir I've ever seen, and adds to the reason why it was such a quick read.

The paragraphs are broken. There are poems. Flashbacks. Listed, one-paragraph stories.

It taught me something about engaging the reader, and I went through some other books to see what sorts of styles were used. More often than not, any books told in the 3rd-person had longer formats, and books told in 1st-person had shorter formats. What's going on?

The authors (and publishers and editors and anyone else involved in the science of books) fit the paragraph sizes and formats to match the flow of the story. There is a system to this. And now I'll give tips to show you how to move your own stories along at any pace you want.

5 Ways to Engage Readers Using Style

#1. WANT TO SLOW DOWN? THROW IN A LONG PARAGRAPH OR SENTENCE

It's simple. Our eyes and brains work alternately when it comes to reading. Your eyes, believe it or not, tend to stay 3-4 words ahead of what you are reading....unless you consciously stop and force yourself to read slower. When you're immersed in a book, this has been found to be the average.

So if you want to slow people down, don't give them something that they can easily jump through. Throw in that ten-sentence paragraph. Take some time with detail. What you want to do is show observation here. Pick things apart and describe them...like the situation, or the surroundings, or a person. Something. Anything. As long as it moves the story forward, characterizes, or puts things into perspective.

#2. WANT TO SPEED UP THE READER? CHOP THINGS APART

So you've reached your action scene and you want to show the action as it happens, yet keep it exciting. (In my story, there are a few instances where I have to show my MC's thought process when he gets anxious. Same thing.) The best way to start this is to use an engaging format that is easy to follow yet details the situation...thanks to how fast the pace is.

Chop up the story. Make short sentences. Boom. Crash!

Keep paragraphs short, yet concise.

If you find you need to slow down the pace, you can throw in a long sentence. Maybe add another to give emphasis to what is going on and let the reader recuperate and organize what is going on in his head. But once you think enough is enough...

Get right back to it. Make it exciting again.

Show the action. Put them in the fray. Show the erratic thoughts.

Short.

Sweet.

Trust me, it will speed up the pace. Give it a try. You'll see just how much different styles can affect the story.

#3. SHOW THE CHARACTERS' THOUGHTS...WHEN NECESSARY

Put the reader in your characters' heads. If you're writing in 1st-person, you probably already do this. But make more of what you have. Try to show how a character feels. How they react. How nervous or excited or sad or angry they get.

Use specific thought patterns to drive the point. If they are nervous, use erratic styles (like the example above). If they are sad/mellow/sentimental, slow the pace down and stuff their thoughts into one or two big paragraphs. If they are angry, use medium length sentences in paragraphs that are 2-4 sentences long. Different styles evoke different moods, so show what you can with more than words.

#4. SHORT WORDS CAN BE MAD WORDS

If you have an angry character, yelling and screaming is an obnoxious way to show that, unless you really think they'd be yelling and screaming and there is no other option.

Try short words. One-syllable...maybe two. Words that convey tone through sound. Sound can change flow and mood.

Now go back and reread that last sentence. I bet you didn't have a happy, higher-pitched voice in your head like you might right now. You probably read it with a voice reminiscent of Professor Snape. Try reading it faster and happier. Awkward, huh? And this whole paragraph so far, you've had a loopy voice going through your head like the ever-flamboyant Gilderoy Lockhart. (If you don't get the references...that's okay....I guess.)

What I'm trying to say is I chose specific words to use in specific styles. When I wanted a monotone...tone?....I used negative sounds and shorter words as compared to when I wanted a "faster" read, even though the paragraph was longer. See? Switch things up. There are infinite possibilities.

#5. PUNCTUATION IS CRITICAL

Don't go throwing around commas and periods and semicolons and colons and ampersands and exclamation points and question marks and en-dashes and em-dashes and ellipses without a battle plan.

Throw them in strategically.

In case you're wondering, an en-dash is ONE dash (-) and denotes a break in a thought that will be continued (usually on the same line), or conjunction of words, like "light-year." Aka...an en-dash is a HYPHEN. An em-dash is TWO hyphens (--) and denotes a break in thought that will NOT be continued. (This is the basic rule to follow, especially in thought patterns.)

Use periods ( . ) and commas ( , ) and semicolons ( ; ) to slow down pace (I hate semicolons though).

Use ampersands ( & ) at your own discretion. Try to keep it in business/band/product names (Johnson & Johnson), and that's it.

Exclamation points ( ! ) should only be used when necessary, like, when your life truly depends on them. Use the correct language patterns (discussed above and in another one of my posts) and you won't need that pesky point.

Question marks ( ? ) ask questions. But try not to ask too many questions. Sometimes a period will fit, because you might actually be asking a rhetorical question. Check it again and figure it out.

Ellipses ( ... ) denote pauses in thought or speech and are a good tool when you want to drag out a point or let something sink in...especially in dialogue and thought.

That's what I've got to say on the specific use of paragraph, sentence, word, and punctuation styles. Experiment with them whenever possible. You'll find that there truly are an infinite number of ways to use them together and create the mood and pace that you want to convey, which greatly enhances the reader's experience.

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Pinterest.

Subscribe to Get it Write Tonight!

Scroll to top of page in right sidebar.

Enjoy this post? Check out these others:

5 Creative Ways to Enhance Your Story

The Most In-Depth Query Letter Advice on the Internet

How to Create a Vile Villain

5 Query Letter Mistakes You Should Avoid

6 Tips to Hook Readers in the First Chapter

10 Effective Writing Rules

Also be sure to check out my Get it Write Tonight ebooks, Characters and Edit! That! Book!

While you're at it, check out my New Adult Science-fiction novel, Embassy.

10 Effective Writing Rules

Earlier today I came across a Daily Writing Prompt that said: "Write your top 10 rules for writing fiction." I immediately sat down and did so. Perhaps you've already seen the picture of my rules floating around on Pinterest.

You can find this list
on Pinterest.

Well I want to expand on those and give detailed descriptions to each so that you can have a grounded basis for why those are my Top 10 Rules. So without further ado...

S. Alex Martin's Top 10 Rules for Writing Fiction

RULE #1. USE THE SIMPLEST WORDS POSSIBLE

When it comes to reading a book, people want it to be two things: easy and clear. Unless you are a scholar studying ancient or classical literature, you'll probably stop reading a book that has huge words that you keep opening a dictionary to figure what they mean.

Let me just lay this out for you: the other day I was browsing Facebook and came across a post on a writing group where the person was trying to sound professional and important...but done in such a ridiculous way that he lost all credibility in one paragraph. The post has since been deleted, but I've been using it for examples of what not to do. I'm copying it exactly how the person wrote it, so here it is:

"I read some stuff you guys wrote here with venerate. I joined this group for a reason, You see I have been vacuous for some time now, my mind is undulate I can't write no more. It's a bit confusing for me has anyone else here been through this feeling?

my thoughts were ubiquitous and now my mind seems numb of ideas. I think my mind transmuted. What i wish to know is as you all are writers and you all know the beautiful feeling to put down emotions on a paper, how wonderful it is."

Be honest. You brain hurts, too. Not only did he use those huge words incorrectly, but they just wouldn't make much sense to begin with even if he had used them correctly. It's a struggle to read that. Writing should be easy. Use simple words with strong meanings. Don't say, "I took the gun from him." Say, "I swiped the gun from him." It conveys so much more meaning and is still easy to read.

A good rule to follow is: when writing fiction novels, keep the writing at a fifth-grade level. It doesn't have to be complicated to be good. Don't fall into the trap. You'll just look silly if you start spouting out words you don't even know the definition of.

RULE #2. DON'T INCLUDE EVENTS OR DETAILS THAT AREN'T IMPORTANT TO CHARACTERIZATION OR PLOT

This is easier said than done. Especially when we write early drafts, we tend to stuff in as much information as possible. It might be our innate instinct toward world building. We want to stuff our readers' heads full of the world in our story. We want them to know EVERYTHING.

Well...sometimes less is more. The people critiquing my novel, Embassy, made good work of pointing out things that just weren't important. For example: is it important to learn that the home city of Arman, my MC, has two libraries? What's more, is it important to find that out more than halfway through the novel, after they've flown away from that planet? No. The fact that Cornell has two libraries doesn't matter one single bit.

Try to include details that characterize or advance the plot. When you meet Glacia Haverns, my FMC, she is described as "...Cornell's ambidextrous Hologis junkie....in fact, she's so well known that six people groan when she walks into the waiting room." That's eight pages into the book, and it's all you need to know about her for a while. You understand she gets a thrill out of Hologis (a futuristic sport in my book) and she has a reputation surrounding it. Those are the details you want to include.

(Since then, Embassy has been edited 13 times)

RULE #3. USE ACTION TO EXPLAIN EVENTS WHERE POSSIBLE

Which would you prefer to read: a paragraph explaining the climatic fight scene, or several pages showing the injuries and punches and bullets flying? The second one, right? Should be.

Action is exciting. Not just fight scenes, but seeing interaction between characters, an argument, a race, a living maze...draw these events out and make them come alive. Show us what happens as it happens. Gets our hearts pounding. Make us smile. Let us hear the angry voices.

Readers want to get as much as possible out of books, so learn what's important to show over a couple pages and what's acceptable to describe in a paragraph.

Just please don't take lessons from Michael Bay.

RULE #4. WRITE AT LEAST 90% OF THE STORY IN THE ACTIVE VOICE

I'll keep this one plain and simple: statistics show that books written somewhere between 90--95% in the active voice sell better than books written with any lower percentage. Passive voice is wordy. Say what you want to say, and be done with it. If you want to see an example of active vs. passive, it's your lucky day because I'm about to give you an example.

Example One

ACTIVE: "She carried the bucket to the barn."

PASSIVE: "The bucket was carried to the barn by her."

Example Two

ACTIVE: "I'm not selling those books."

PASSIVE: "Those books aren't for sale."

What? Wait. Why is the passive voice of the second example wrong? Okay, to be honest, this is one of those that you can be lenient about. It means exactly the same thing as its active voice equivalent--except in one way. Nothing is doing the selling in the passive voice. The books aren't being acted upon. That's what's wrong.

RULE #5. DIALOGUE IS THE STRONGEST FORM OF CHARACTERIZATION

There are so many ways to characterize through dialogue, it's not even funny. Speech patterns, quirks, stutters, slurs, screams, whispers, catch phrases, monosyllabic word choices, evil words, heroic words, funny words, sad words. All of that and more inside a pair of quotation marks. It's literally a perfectly acceptable form of telling.

Of course, don't do too much telling. You still want the speech to sound natural. But that's the beauty of it all. Get to know the ways each character talks, and the characterization possibilities are endless. Harness that power. Use it wisely.

RULE #6. MAKE SURE SOMETHING CHANGES BY THE END OF THE STORY, PREFERABLY THE MAIN CHARACTER

If you send readers on a journey with a character who learns nothing whatsoever...you're going to lose a lot of readers before the end. Something has to change. Whether it be a power struggle, a noble death, coming-of-age...doesn't matter. If readers can compare and contrast the characters as they were in the beginning of the story versus how the characters were in the end, you've done your job right.

Make the changes and transitions natural. Don't rush. People don't usually change overnight. A series of events happens and they learn things from those events. Oh, and make the change logical. Think of Star Wars. Anakin was supposed to become a Jedi, but the way events unfolded made him succumb to the Dark Side.

RULE #7. IF YOU CAN'T AVOID A CLICHE, DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT WITH IT

These days, you see all these books with love triangles. The girl can't choose which guy she wants, blah blah blah. Or the MC is actually some prophecized hero who will one day save the world. Or a guy falls into a vat of radioactive acid and becomes a superhero/villain. And then what happens?

Events unfold EXACTLY as we predict they will, making the story boring.

The love triangle becomes the focus of the book. The hero develops the most powerful abilities any character in the world has ever seen. Another guy happens to develop superpowers at the exact same time as the guy who fell into the acid. Didn’t see THAT one coming, did we?

Get creative, people. If you have to recycle plots, add your own twist. Please. I beg you.

RULE #8. IF YOU CAN'T DECIDE WHETHER YOU LIKE WHAT YOU WROTE -- REWRITE IT

You're going to have days where you write a scene, maybe a few pages...heck, even a full chapter, but it just doesn't feel right. Something doesn't fit, or this stretches too far or completely deviates from the plot.

Imagine it like this: you've been looking forward to seeing a movie, but when you walk out of the theatre, you don't really have anything to say about it. You want to like it because you waited so long, but when you're honest with yourself, it just wasn't that great. THAT is the feeling I'm talking about.

If you aren't sure about what you wrote, go and rewrite it. Maybe change everything, maybe tweak a few things. Let yourself find the flow of the story. I deleted 190 pages of Embassy in the fourth draft because they didn't fit...and sometimes as I made the rewrites, I found things I still didn't like. What did I do? Scrapped them and rewrote those scenes.

I probably rewrote close to 250 pages of Embassy out of the final 300 pages (aka almost everything after page 146) by the time everything was said and done. The plot had changed and things just didn't fit like they did before. But now I like what I have and it works so much better.

RULE #9. FIND OUT WHAT TIME OF DAY YOUR IMAGINATION REACHES ITS PEAK AND MAKE SURE TO ALWAYS WRITE DURING THAT TIME

If you want to be productive as a writer--this is crucial. First off, I encourage you to write every day, and whenever you can every day. But if there's one point of the day that you MUST write, it's when your imagination reaches its peak. This is pretty easy to figure out: what time of day do the words just spill off the tips of your fingers with ease?

My imagination reaches its peak between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. So every day between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. you'll find me writing. Something. Anything. Homework. Book. Whatever. My mind is a broken dam between those hours. The ideas and words literally flood my head. I don't have to worry about being "uninspired." That's the sure-fire time for me to write. Even if I've gone all day with zero ideas, I can GUARANTEE the minute 11 p.m. rolls around, my imagination will explode.

And there goes your brain.
Sorry.

To be honest, I've reached the point where I can turn my imagination on and off at will, but 11 p.m. is my "primetime" writing hour. Which leads me to the final point....

RULE #10. KEEP A ROUTINE UNTIL YOU FINISH THE DRAFT

Keep a schedule. I repeat: KEEP A SCHEDULE. When you write a book, the best thing to do is set aside time every day to write. Try not to change the time. If two o'clock in the afternoon to three o'clock is the only available time you have, make sure you write in that hour. Maybe on the weekends you can set aside a block of four or five hours to write.

Whatever your plan, STICK TO IT. Discipline is essential. You're going to hate it some days, but who cares? That's life. Finish the draft, whether it be the first, second, or fourth, and then give yourself a well-deserved few weeks (or months, if you'd like) away from that project. Go out for a fancy dinner. Pat yourself on the back. Eat some Ben & Jerry's. Go watch a sunset.

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Pinterest.

Enjoy this post? Check out these others:

5 Creative Ways to Enhance Your Story

How to Write a Successful Query Letter

How to Create a Vile Villain

How to Create a Magnificent Main Character

5 Query Letter Mistakes You Should Avoid

6 Tips to Hook Readers in the First Chapter

Also be sure to check out my Get it Write Tonight ebooks, Characters and Edit! That! Book!

While you're at it, check out my New Adult Science-fiction novel, Embassy.

How to Create a Magnificent Main Character

Read the previous post: How to Create a Vile Villain

I want to give you a perspective on the protagonist, and what makes a memorable main character for the bad guy to face. I will say that this is probably one of the broadest subjects in all of fiction writing, because the main character can take on so many forms and go on so many journeys, whereas the villain usually has a straightforward goal.

(Please excuse the gender bias...I just don't feel like typing "him/her" or "s/he" all the time)

Tip #1: SEND HIM ON A JOURNEY TO OBTAIN A DESIRED GOAL

This is the same concept as Tip #1 in my post, 6 Tips to Hook Your Reader in the First Chapter. The main character in every work of fiction, whether it be fantasy, science-fiction, horror, mystery, romance, literary...whatever, needs a goal important enough to force him to go out and find some way to obtain his desire.

This could be finding treasure, discovering a country, killing a king, or even defeating an army. There are hundreds of adventures. Choose one you love, and make your main character need it so much that he will go mad if he doesn't reach it. This drives the story, creates tension, and generates interest.

The reader will ask: "How will he defeat the dragon that terrorizes the kingdom?" The only way to find out is to read on.

Tip #2: MAKE HIM ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL TO THE PLOT

Make your MC someone who sticks out of a crowd. Someone readers want to read about and discover the life of. Nobody would have read Harry Potter if Seamus Finnigan was the main character. We would miss the whole point of the story! We wouldn't know what happened between Harry and Quirrell would be a complete secret....actually no, because, naturally, the whole school knows!

Okay, bad example.

But you see what I mean? We wouldn't see the action. There would be no love story with Harry and Cho and Ginny, or Ron and Hermione. We wouldn't see the Polyjuice Potion, or the Chamber of Secrets, or the Triwizard Tournament, or the cave and the fake Horcrux. So much of the story would be missing, and we would only see the parts that Seamus witnessed.

So make the main character someone that compelling, interesting things happen to.

Tip #3. MAKE THE READER CARE ABOUT HIM

Remember this above all else: Emotion is the strongest offensive move you can make when writing a story. Love, anger, sadness, anxiety, butterflies in the stomach, ALL THAT. If you write with emotion, your reader will feel it (hopefully, at least). Let's say they do. That means you did something right. You are giving the reader an experience.

Make the reader care. Create sympathy for him. Or make him do something cool that readers like! Give readers a reason to want to know more about the main character.

  

Tip #4. DEVELOP A BACKSTORY FOR YOUR MAIN CHARACTER

You didn't just pop into this world. Events lined up so that you were born. Your parents met somehow. They had you, raised you, and created experiences for you. Then you ventured out into the world and had your own experiences.

Everything you are today is based off a series of events (sometimes unfortunate) and choices (if you believe in free will, of course). We all have a history, so give your main character a history. Make it compelling. Make it relevant. Show that your character was forced to become who he is today, and there is no one else he could be. I mean, you're creating a whole story, might as well deepen it while you have the chance.

Speaking of unfortunate...

Tip #5. MAKE HIM BELIEVABLE. GIVE HIM FLAWS

Flat characters aren't fun (unless his name is Flat Stanley, of course). Develop him as a real person. Give him real quirks. Reasons he would bug you in real life. What's that pestering thing he does? What beliefs of his challenge your own beliefs? Give him those beliefs. Make him biased. Make him arrogant when it comes to a sport he's good at, or how he might feel "above" someone.

Come on, there's something in all of us that we can admit to. USE IT. Develop it. Make him react based on his beliefs, when one of the other characters might have done something completely different. Make a flawed character, because NOBODY IS PERFECT.

Tip #6. GIVE HIM FRIENDS AND COWORKERS AND A SOCIETY WITH WHICH TO INTERACT

Show readers how your main character perceives the world. Show readers how he talks to people.

Does he have a lot of friends, or a close knit group, or any friends at all? Is he shy and looks away or down while talking, or does he hold a firm stare? Does he stand tall, or slouch whenever he has to be around strangers? Does he help someone in need on the street, or does he walk by without a second glance? Does he appreciate his friends, or does he patronize them? Does he take charge, or does he follow? Does he like large groups, or prefer the quietness at home?

This is all about deepening the MC, because the more readers know, the more interested they become, and the more they can relate.

Tip #7. GIVE HIM A SET OF VALUES...TO BREAK

Your main character needs to live his life a certain way. He doesn't go around wreaking havoc one day, and saving the world the next. People are consistent. People are decent (mostly). A majority of the population doesn't go around acting completely bipolar. We have schedules. We have morals and values and stick with them. We form decisions around them.

So should your main character.

As quickly as you can, show what a normal day for your MC is, so the reader can tell whenever he does something against those morals and values. Because in every journey, things won't always go your MC's way, and he'll have to break some of his rules to continue forward. Interesting…

Tip #8. GIVE YOUR MAIN CHARACTER A UNIQUE TRAIT

This is important. You've created a believable character. We've seen all his flaws and interests, and know what family life is like. But something is still missing. A REASON HE IS THE HERO.

Your main character must possess something that no other character in the entire story does. That can be magic powers, or a special gun, or a special set of skills, or knowledge that only he knows. Something. Anything. GIVE IT TO HIM. Your main character shouldn't share this. And he has it because it is essential to the plot and will help him defeat the villain’s fatal flaw (see How to Create a Vile Villain Tip #7).

The same holds true for the main character. Your protagonist and antagonist will confront each other in some sort of final battle, and this is when both of their unique traits will be most important to the story, whether these be flaws or advantages.

Be creative when expressing it. And remember, keep it logical. Readers hate coincidences (aka deus ex machina).

The main character of any story should fascinate us. We should love him. We should know everything about him and feel like he is a long-lost friend. He should be compelling, at the center of attention, and be flawed.

Flat characters who are perfect in every way are BORING. We read books to be interested and love what we read. Pull this off, and you'll see whole fan pages dedicated to your characters.

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