Hello all, I keep reading conflicting views on what should go into a query letter, so wondered what the group thinks. Should the pitch focus on the inciting incident or the plot climax? And what is the right amount of detail?

I'm looking for 2-3 beta readers for my cosy mystery. It's set in the 1920s and is roughly 80,000 words. I've got as far as I can with editing it myself and now I could do with getting some feedback from other writers. If you're interested, please send me a DM. :-)

I’m kind of anti-realism. Imagine how boring police procedurals would be if they were full of actual police work. And I don’t have that much patience with people who are fine with fanciful depictions of every other profession but nitpick about ways in which fictional depictions of their world differ from reality. But things need to feel real. How do we achieve this?

Apropos nothing: prologues are very much the fashion, based on what I've seen lately. Do we have any thoughts on this?

Hello everyone, Not sure whether I'm looking for sympathy or advice, probably both, but I wanted to ask: has anyone else redrafted their WIP about ten times, only to discover the ending is far too complex and doesn't make sense? I've been working on this for years and I seem to remember the end was brilliant. But looking at it with fresh eyes over the Christmas break, I realise the final chapters are too complicated and a bit ridiculous. (You know that feeling when you cringe at your own work?) I'm with you @Lorna Riley when it comes to new ennui, but I was thinking some of you may have experienced this sort of crushing epiphany moment in your own writing lives. If you have, please could you share what you did next? Thanks 👍