Insights from NYT Bestselling Authors, Ali Hazelwood and Kiley Reid

In today's Books with Hooks , Bianca, Carly, and CeCe discuss the need for specificity with regard to plot details when you have a more psychological book/concept; avoiding too much backstory in the opening pages; the need for your first chapter to be as strong as your prologue (if you have one); being as specific about your genre as possible; and how emotionality adds layers to your work. After which, we have two author interviews. Bianca first interviews NYT bestselling Ali Hazelwood , author of Bride and The Love Hypothesis . They discuss how Ali started writing fanfiction; the unconventional way she got her agent; Ali's submission experience with The Love Hypothesis ; reader fascination with vampires and werewolves; how Ali tackled world-building in Bride ; writing an 'alpha male' trope that still aligns with feminism; how Ali approached making her prickly main character more sympathetic; and Ali's advice for writing steamy scenes. After which Bianca interviews Kiley Reid , author of the NYT bestseller, Such a Fun Age , and her latest, Come & Get It . They discuss Kiley's journey to publication; her choice of inciting incident for both of her novels; how she successfully 'broke the rules' with regards to character introduction in the first chapter; her strategies for writing authentic dialogue; leaning into specificity through action beats within dialogue; Kiley's 'signature move' involving the introduction of backstory; and tips for writing a quieter novel, but with strong, 'loud' undercurrents. Find us on our socials: Twitter: @TSNOTYAW @BiancaM_author @carlywatters @ceciliaclyra Instagram: 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/TSNOTYAW Websites: www.theshitaboutwriting.com , www.biancamarais.com , www.carlywatters.com and www.cecilialyra.com To ask a question, go to: https://sayhi.chat/TSNOTYAW Bookshop.org affiliate page: https://bookshop.org/shop/theshitnoonetellsyouaboutwriting More information about Ali can be found at: https://alihazelwood.com/ She's also on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/alihazelwood/?hl=en Kiley is on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/kileyreid/?hl=en and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/kileyreid 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 Wayfair: https://www.wayfair.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands