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- Mar 23, 2017
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Hello! To make a long story short, I had an idea for a middle-grade novel. It was (as I discovered later) a plotline, not a storyline. My storyline is not unique - lonely tween in a new town wants friends - but the plotline is. Unique-er, anyway.
I've completed it and done a few polishing/editing rounds, and have read approximately a billion articles on writing queries. "Make the agent care about your MC" sounds like querying the story arc, but "what's unique about your story?" is obviously the plot. I tried writing a query starting with plot and segueing to story, and one doing the reverse, and frankly they both come off a little schizophrenic.
The first five pages (assuming I've intrigued the agent with my query) are story, the plot doesn't hatch fully until about page 20 of a 100-page ms. If I query the plot, won't an agent expect to see plot elements show up right away? (Actually the opening paragraphs ARE vital to the plot, but they also start the emotional arc. Busy little paragraphs, they are.)
If I query the story, it's blah, blah, read it a thousand times.
I think I've answered my own question, but ... did I answer it correctly?
Thanks in advance...
I've completed it and done a few polishing/editing rounds, and have read approximately a billion articles on writing queries. "Make the agent care about your MC" sounds like querying the story arc, but "what's unique about your story?" is obviously the plot. I tried writing a query starting with plot and segueing to story, and one doing the reverse, and frankly they both come off a little schizophrenic.
The first five pages (assuming I've intrigued the agent with my query) are story, the plot doesn't hatch fully until about page 20 of a 100-page ms. If I query the plot, won't an agent expect to see plot elements show up right away? (Actually the opening paragraphs ARE vital to the plot, but they also start the emotional arc. Busy little paragraphs, they are.)
If I query the story, it's blah, blah, read it a thousand times.
I think I've answered my own question, but ... did I answer it correctly?
Thanks in advance...