 Nour Sallam is a literary agent at The Caldwell Agency representing adult fiction and nonfiction.
She has a BA in English Literature and Political Science from the University of British Columbia and studied publishing at Toronto Metropolitan University. As an Arab woman and an immigrant, she loves books that amplify joy and connection, or feature complex and nuanced narratives. Nour works on a wide range of fiction and nonfiction, and is drawn to compelling and accessible stories that give her what she calls “brain butterflies.” Nour is a member of the Association of American Literary Agents (AALA) and sits on the advisory committee of BIPOC of Publishing in Canada. What is plot? How can you write a propulsive plot? Keep reading to discover Nour's answers, plus other musings on writing literary fiction. Worried about agent pet peeves? Wondering if you're inadvertently making errors that will sink your submission and query? Look no further. We've quickly collected 13 quick #QueryTip tweets from established agents, each sharing a great nugget of advice. Read on!    If you’ve ever taken a writing class, cracked open a craft book, or suffered through a beta reader or even agent or editor’s Track Changes comments, you’ve probably heard creative writing’s very own golden rule: “Show, don’t tell.”
You’ve also probably wanted to throw something. But we’ll get to that. Let me say it plainly: “Show, don’t tell” is one of the most overused, under-explained, and flat-out wrong pieces of writing advice out there. And I’ve been teaching writers the craft at conferences, in blog posts, and as a literary-agent-turned-freelance-editor for over fifteen years. Not because it’s bad advice in theory—but because it’s misunderstood to the point of self-sabotage.  Writing fiction is a deeply emotional process. Undoubtedly, we’re going to be pulling from our own trauma at some point. Sometimes we write the life we wish we had, and that can be a healing experience. Other times, we're writing to fight our way through perplexing problems. No matter where we find ourselves in the process, writing a novel is a transformative journey. It’s not for the faint of heart! In my own writing journey, I’ve seen a lot of highs and lows. I understand how crushing self-doubt can be, and that’s only mentioning one of the land mines that writers face. I’ve been through periods of deep depression, and there were many times when I wanted to quit. Sometimes I did quit (for a little while), but if you’re truly called to be a writer, you’ll find yourself drawn back to the page again and again. “Writing is my obsession, my passion. My relationship with it is one of the most complex, and agonizing, and richly vexing that I have in my life.” ~ Julianna Baggott “A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.” ~ Thomas Mann  Just as important as knowing how to begin your novel is knowing what not to do.
No one reads more prospective novel beginnings than literary agents. They’re the ones on the front lines sifting through inboxes and slush piles. And they’re the ones who can tell us which Chapter 1 approaches are overused and cliche, as well as which techniques just plain don’t work. Below, find some feedback from experienced literary agents on what they hate to see in the first pages of a writer’s submission. Avoid these problems and tighten your submission! FALSE BEGINNINGS “I don’t like it when the main character dies at the end of chapter one. Why did I just spend all this time with this character? I feel cheated.” – Cricket Freeman, The August Agency “I dislike opening scenes that you think are real, then the protagonist wakes up. It makes me feel cheated.” – Laurie McLean, Fuse Literary  Keep moving forward. That is probably the best advice I can give you as you continue toward your writing goals, whatever they may be. Just keep moving forward.
Let me take you back a few years to when I was thick in the middle of writing books, and my agent pitching them to publishers. It was a strange year. The first eight months were filled with near misses and small disappointments concerning my writing. Things just weren’t going my way. I vented to those who would listen; my friends and literary agent both told me they could take no more so I started complaining to the dog. (If he listens for five minutes, he gets a treat.) Then, in a span of 45 days in the fall of that year, I had a flood of good writing news. I formally sold the film option and Japanese language rights to my first humor book about garden gnomes. My new freelance editing business was off to an amazing start, and I’ve helped lots of people so far with their queries, synopses, and manuscripts since. I sold a book on writing called Create Your Writer Platform. And I finally sold my second humor book, a fusion of funny dog pictures and political humor called Red Dog / Blue Dog: When Pooches Get Political. So much happened in a span of weeks — all of it amazing news. And I attribute it to one simple thing: I kept moving forward.  My guest columns usually discuss the business of writing, but today I’d like to try a thought on writing craft, specifically, a guideline on how to start your novel.
One of the most common reasons why agents and editors stop reading sample pages is that the story starts too slowly. Gone are the days when a book could “get good on page 12.” We also can no longer compare our writing to classic works or even books written 30 years ago that started slow and found marketplace success. Today’s novels — especially debut novels — must grab readers from the first page, the first paragraph, even the first sentence. Despite the fact that the importance of starting strong appears to be well known by most aspiring writers, people still have a hard time with it. I was freelance editing a client’s first 15 pages last year and was dismayed to see that all 15 pages simply described a mystical woman walking across the desert heading for task at a faraway location. There was no question that the writer had talent — this was good, descriptive writing. But it was also boring as hell. 15 pages of essentially nothing happening. That is kind of an extreme example, sure, but this problem — starting too slowly — also exists in smaller, more subtle forms.  Knowing where to start your novel can be one of the biggest challenges of writing. You want to start with action, but if there's too much action and not enough character development, the reader isn't going to want to stick with the main character's story. And how much of the setting do you need to lay out before the main character takes action?
The best place to begin a novel is at the point where everything changes (or is about to change) for the main character. However, you also have to give yourself enough time to establish what is normal for your main character so the reader appreciates the moment of change. So, when should the inciting event take place?  Writing 85,000 words is easy. Picking four words to describe what happens in 85,000 words is hard. Picking a title for your novel can sometimes feel daunting because you want it to be memorable, to capture the themes of your book, and to fit in with the other books in your genre but stand out at the same time. So how do you pick something perfect?
Read on for some tips for choosing a title...  Most writers have a favorite book on the craft of writing (mine is definitely Save the Cat), but they can also learn a lot from subject experts in other areas.
When you're looking for the next book to help you improve your writing, pick up one or all of these nonfiction books. None are specifically about writing or writers, but they all teach skills every writer can use. Mind Gym: An Athlete's Guide to Inner Excellence by Gary Mack For athletes. mental strength and resilience are just as important as physical training and recovery. The stories, quotes, and anecdotes in this book can apply to anyone who has to set their mind to a long-term project or tough task like writing a novel... even people who can't name a single professional sports team. Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection by Charles Duhigg If your book has dialogue (and it probably does), reading Supercommunicators can help you pinpoint why your characters say what they do and what they hope to accomplish in their communications. When you create dialogue with purpose, that will keep your story moving forward. |