In today's Books with Hooks segment, Bianca, Carly and CeCe discuss the importance of specifying between awards for published and unpublished manuscripts; the difficulty with trying to sell a book whose main character’s race and culture differs from the author’s lived experience; the need for a main character’s interiority to accurately reflect their age; including specifics in your plot paragraph; being explicit with your stakes; including information that shows the relationship dynamics between your protagonist and others; and the need to start your story in the right place.After which, Bianca interviews writer and essayist, Maura Cheeks. They discuss Maura's debut novel, Acts of Forgiveness; intentionality with the novel's timeline; Maura's journey to publication; the reasons for the delay in publishing Acts of Forgiveness; the extent to which Maura's submission pitch aligns with the published book; the research process; writing a dual timeline as a debut novel; and incorporating news stories and speeches as exposition.Find us on our socials:Twitter: @TSNOTYAW @BiancaM_author @carlywatters @ceciliaclyraInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_shit_about_writing/ https://www.instagram.com/biancamarais_author/https://www.instagram.com/carlywatters/ https://www.instagram.com/cece_lyra_agent/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TSNOTYAWWebsites: www.theshitaboutwriting.com, www.biancamarais.com, www.carlywatters.com and www.cecilialyra.comTo ask a question, go to: https://sayhi.chat/TSNOTYAWBookshop.org affiliate page: https://bookshop.org/shop/theshitnoonetellsyouaboutwritingMore information about Maura can be found at: https://www.mauracheeks.com/She's also on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/mauracheeks?lang=en and Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/mauracheeks/Our Sponsors:* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/tsnotyaw* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.com* Check out Uncommon Goods: https://uncommongoods.com/tsnotyaw* Check out Wayfair: https://www.wayfair.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.