Domesticity Has Sneaked Up On Me
Originally posted at Uncreated Conscience.
You know, when I was younger, I used to think that being a housewife would be one of the worst occupations ever. Cleaning? Cooking? Doing chores? Ew! But the older I get, the more joy I take in small domestic tasks like decorating my apartment and keeping it clean. Playing Wifey for Bear this past week gave me a taste of what being a hausfrau would be like and I’ll admit it, it was kind of nice to keep house and cook for him while I frittered away on my computer and worked on editorial letters and revised my novel. I could totally work from home. I might even enjoy it. When I left New Jersey last night, I left Bear a week’s worth of crustless shrimp and mushroom mini-quiches in the freezer to take for lunch. My poor Bear has no time to sleep, let alone eat while he studies for med school exams.
But then again, I take just as much joy walking into the office and doing my job. Today we had a subrights tutorial at Ye Olde Literary Agency which was fascinating and educational (yes, I am stodgy and boring that way) and I spent the rest of the day reading manuscripts, fretting over editorial letters I have to write (why does everything I write sound offensive?), and going through the slush. I am rather ashamed to say I have an enormous backlog of slush to wade through-El Jefe only takes snail mail submissions and sometimes the paper queries just get pushed aside for more important things.
I’m noticing a big trend in many of the queries I receive and that’s a general sort of vagueness. I’ll admit that I thoroughly love reading slush because I like to pick out the crazies and shake my head in disbelief but I equally love finding diamonds in the rough. (I’m still waiting on pins and needles for a requested partial about a time-travelling prankster to arrive!) Excitement (or any strong reaction in general) is a large part of what makes slush-slogging so enjoyable but a sort of ennui has settled over me as I rifle through the submissions. It isn’t that the queries are bad, but they’re not great either.
Someone once said God is in the details and the same applies to a query. Details, details, details are crucial. I’ve read dozens of submissions that say things like “the story contains tragedy and suspense and is a moving love story” without giving me any of the specific elements that make it so. “A man grows up in a small town, discovers secrets about his family, and comes to a new understanding of himself.” In and of itself, this is not a bad query. But there’s absolutely nothing about it that stands out. Which town? What secret? How does his view of himself change?
Why, why, why? That’s the question “wh” word I find myself using the most often. “Why does the protagonist do what s/he does? Why should we care?” If the query isn’t too vague, sometimes the stakes aren’t high enough. Physical consequences may be high (”If we don’t retrieve the Sword of Destiny the world will end!”) but personal investment is low. Why does this sleuth want to solve the mystery? It isn’t enough to go on a quest for the Sword of Destiny or solve the mystery simply for the sake of going on a quest or solving the mystery. The characters need to have motivation. The writer might know what these character’s motivations are, but the rest of us don’t unless it is specified.
I’m sure I will have more thoughts on queries at a later date, being as I have a pile LARGER THAN MY HEAD to slog through this week. This is me unconscious.
P.S. I have officially lived in New York long enough that I read “Houston, TX” as “HOW-ston” in my head instead of “HEW-ston.”