Tag: Opening Lines

Tips From The Slush Pile: Just…why?? So I’m reading the newly submitted queries and pages, tracking some of the things I’ve mentioned in the past, living my best life, really. Then I get to a query where the author doesn’t talk much about their book (sadly, fairly typical), but does quote Mark Zuck’s 2017 mission […]

Shadow Mountain’s slush pile is open! And you know what that means… Tips from the Slush Pile! Please don’t have your character break the 4th wall to introduce themselves. It’s happening so often, it’s becoming cliche. I’m not even halfway through the slush and already the tally for this sort of opening is the highest […]

Tips from the Slush Pile: Don’t start with “It was a dark and stormy night…” Just…don’t. Because stories that do this inevitably go on to say well, no it wasn’t that stormy and it was actually the middle of the afternoon and quite sunny. It’s not funny and most importantly, it’s not original. I see […]