Balancing Curiosity Seeds and Tension Without Making the Reader Feel Cheated

The Shit No One Tells You About Writing

In today's Books with Hooks, Bianca, Carly, and CeCe discuss the need for external pressure in your major dramatic question; the three sets of questions that create tension at the beginning of a story; surprising your reader in your first five pages; the accuracy of third party manuscript wishlists; the need for world-building in a fantasy query; being too vague in your query; the concept of the 'new adult' genre; thinking about readers' expectations for certain types of stories; making sure that characters who appear in opening scenes are essential; and the importance of emotionality and interiority in your main character.

After which, Bianca interviews Johnny Compton about his debut novel, The Spite House. The two chat about the psychology behind reading and writing horror fiction; the heavy-lifting that horror expects of its audience; the world-building that's involved; the idea of not needing an explanation for everything; how Johnny balances curiosity seeds and tension without 'cheating' the reader; the social commentary that Johnny weaves into his novel; and Johnny's advice for writing very young characters.

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