Not All Query Letters Are Alike

                Every author has to master the art of a query letter. It does not matter who you are submitting it to. Literary agents, magazines, and book publishers all request query letters from authors. Being an aspiring author myself, I have looked into different types of query letters quite a bit. I started off looking at simple websites like Yahoo and eHow for query letters for magazines and book publishing companies. But my search took me beyond those and I found a very informative website called Writer’s Relief. This website is chockfull of helpful tips from all aspects of writing, including writing query letters for anything and everything. From all of the websites I looked at, there were similarities on all of them about what to do.

Every query letter is similar in a few ways. They all explain what your book or article is about. They are all formatted formally. They are all sent to people who deal with the subject of what you are writing about. They are all supposed to explain why you are the person to write this, why you are the expert they need. Lastly, they are all supposed to explain why they should publish your work.

             Despite these similarities, it is a very different process to submit a query letter to a literary agent or book publishing agency than it is to submit one to a magazine. The first main difference is when in the process you send the query letter. For books and literary agents, you submit the letters after you have finished the book. The book has been polished and edited to the best of your ability, and you are ready to send it out into the world. For a magazine article, though, it is sent out before a lot of the work has started.  You put information such as the experts you will use, the expected word count, whether or not pictures will be available upon request, and the anticipated time line. It has all of the logistical information.

Another difference between the query letters is the order and formatting of how everything in the letter is. For a book or literary agent, the query letter is a formal letter format. The company and person you are sending your letter to should be on the top left with the address below it. Then follow it with an empty line and then on the next line have “Dear Mrs. (Insert Name here).” Be sure that research has been done and that you are addressing the correct person. For a magazine though, the full contact information is centered.

In a book, the next step is to provide a one-lined hook to attract the attention of the publishing company or the literary agent. It is a concise tagline for the book, gives some explanation to what the book is about, but mainly just draws attention. The second paragraph is a mini-synopsis of the already written book. Be sure to have the word count of the book somewhere in this paragraph and remember it is only a paragraph.

The last full paragraph is the author’s biography. This paragraph is all about you. This is the place you get to brag about previously published works and your expertise and all of that good stuff.  This can seem intimidating, especially for new writers who have never gotten anything published. It should be kept short and only have relevant information to the book like if you are a police officer and your main character is one as well. It helps give your character credibility.

Finally, thank the person who is reading your query letter for his or her time and consideration. Also mention that the full manuscript is available on request.

A query letter for a magazine is different than this. This letter starts with a hook as well, but it is generally a fact or a statistic rather than trying to explain the entire article in one sentence. It needs to be compelling and arouse curiosity.

The second paragraph is the story pitch along with all the logistical information that is required for the piece, like who you are going to interview and the expected word count and timeline.

The third paragraph explains why you have expertise to be able to write this article. Are you planning on writing a book on the benefits of being a musician? Have you recently published an article somewhere else on that? Have you been a musician? Include that information in this paragraph!

The last part is the same as a query for a literary agent or publishing company. Thank the person you are writing to for his or her time and consideration and that you look forward to hearing from him or her. Remember, you have not written the piece yet.

Although a query letter for a publishing agency and literary agent differs from a query letter for a magazine, they do have a lot of similarities-- even specific agencies have slight variations. Before writing and submitting anything, be sure to do your research on where you are sending your work. If they have specific guidelines, be sure to follow them.

I have looked at multiple websites about this sort of information and more -- these have been common link between all of them. 

Disney's Heartwarming Frozen

                 In 108 minutes, Disney tells its own delightful story of Snow Queen, a version much different from the original Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale.

                Frozen takes place in the kingdom of Arendelle. This kingdom is ruled by a kind king and queen who reside in castle with their two young daughters. The oldest of the two, Elsa, was born with an ability to freeze things and create snow. She and Ana are very close and Elsa delights in turning the ballroom into a snowy wonderland to play with Ana.

One night, as the sisters are playing in the snow, Elsa accidentally strikes Ana in the head with her power. She calls out for her parents and the four go speeding off to find the trolls. The chief of the trolls fix Ana, saying “be thankful it was not the heart. It is very difficult to fix the heart; the mind can be persuaded.” The parents then close the castle gates. Ana and Elsa grow apart over the next years and in true Disney fashion, the parents end up dying because of a shipwreck. Several years later, it is Elsa coronation day. Too keep the story short, Ana upsets Elsa and Elsa’s powers explode, setting the city off into an eternal winter as she runs off into the mountains.  I could go more into what occurs, but I don’t want to give anything away!

                I have been a Disney fan since I can remember, but the past few years Disney has seemed to decline. Tangled (2010) was the last movie that I thoroughly enjoyed because the music was well thought out; before that it was Up (2009) with its emotional pull, from even the first five minutes. Frozen is based on a screenplay by Jennifer Lee (co-writer on Wreck-It Ralph), who co-directed the film with fellow Disney vet, Chris Buck (Tarzan).

                This is Kristen Bell’s first animated film voicing the protagonist, but she is successfully able to instill Ana with infectious energy, making the character’s realistic quirks – like her tendency to wear her heart on her sleeve and the way she tends to ramble when she is nervous –  more charming than irritating like they could have been. Similarly, Idina Menzel (known best for her broadway performance as Elphaba from Wicked) is pitch-perfect as ‘Snow Queen’ Elsa, managing to capture her emotional volatility, whether speaking or singing her heart out to the sky. If her song “Let it go” does not win the Oscar’s “Best Original Song” then it will at least be a close second (to what, I have no idea).

                Robert and Kristen Anderson-Lopez (Winnie the Pooh) developed the lyrics and music for Frozen, which tend to take the form of lightweight melodies that supplement the bold Norwegian music-inspired score by Christophe Beck (The Muppets). For the musical pieces, they have a mix of different types.  The musical numbers create an atmosphere unique to this movie from the show-stopping, emotional “Let it go” to the goofy “Fixer-Upper” perfectly sung by the trolls and even the usual Disney love duet “Love is an Open Door”. The animation in the movie is just as unique. The production team does well making the never-ending snow scenes beautiful and spectacular. The scene where Elsa finally lets her flowing blonde locks out of a bun, smiling, and using her ability to create an ice castle is jaw-dropping as Elsa is able to relax and let go for the first time since we first saw her as a child playing with her sister.

                There is only one thing that I am not sure of in the movie. The talking snowman, Olaf, doesn’t seem to have a strong or logical part in the movie. With lines like “I don’t have a skull; I don’t have any bones,” it is obvious that he is supposed to be the comic relief, but they have enough comic relief with Kristoff and his pet reindeer, Sven. He is an amusing character, but there are moments where is seems as though even the writers don’t know what to do with the snowman.

                Overall, I enjoyed the movie. It takes a lot for me to go and see a movie once in theaters, and I have seen this movie three times in the last week. For those still on the fence about seeing Frozen, just watch the trailer. 

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland: A New Hit

          In 2011, ABC launched a show called OnceUpon a Time that took fairy tale characters this generation was raised on from their world into our own when the Evil Queen from Snow White casts a spell on the Enchanted Forest. It brought many characters such as Snow White, Pinocchio, and Rumplestiltskin to the small town of Storybrooke, Maine. I adore this show’s magic and creativity, so when a spin-off called OnceUpon a Time in Wonderland was created this year, I was excited to see it. Although the show has a few issues, it has the potential to be a very good, complex show -- something I expect coming from these producers and writers who are also known for the hit show Lost. Wonderland was enjoyable to watch. Although it is similar to Once Upon a Time with its informative yet sometimes confusing flashbacks, it still seems to differ from the parent show in the overall mood. It seems shaky and foreseeable with plot at the beginning, but is gradually strengthening.

            In the first episode of Wonderland, young Alice (played by Millie Brown) returns to her home in Victorian England from Wonderland to a distraught father. After the title credits roll, we are moved forward in time to the story’s present day and we are shown Alice (played by Sophie Lowe) in an asylum talking with a psychiatrist. This episode is full of flashbacks telling about how Alice went back to Wonderland as a young adult in an attempt to find proof that Wonderland exists. In these flashbacks, she meets Cyrus, a young and very attractive genie (played by Peter Gadiot), and they fall madly in love. Cyrus proposes and Alice accepts. Enter the Red Queen (played by Emma Rigby), who ruins this happy occasion and has Cyrus thrown off the side of a cliff to his death. Broken hearted, Alice returns to Victorian England and goes into a sort of trance where she is just going through the motions of living. The White Rabbit (voiced by John Lithgow) then through a magical portal travels to find the Knave of Hearts (played by Michael Socha) and tells the Knave he needs to help bring Alice back to Wonderland because the rabbit thinks Cyrus is alive. There is a rescue mission right before Alice is supposed to undergo a lobotomy to “forget the pain of the past” and she returns to Wonderland. The section about the lobotomy is confusing and I do not understand its purpose. This was all told through separate flashbacks.

            It was quite a shock to watch Wonderland in comparison to the parent show of Once Upon a Time. Overall, Once Upon a Time was a light show, with characters you root for and complex, even relatable antagonists. Wonderland makes it clear that the Red Queen is the antagonist and is not relatable. Wonderland is drastically darker, both in theme and with actual lighting. It has a tighter plot focus: Alice is looking for her love the genie, Cyrus. The tone in Wonderland is dramatically more moody than Once Upon a Time.  Of course, this being Wonderland rather than Maine, there is much more freedom for the writers to be creative and imaginative, not only with plot but with scenery. In Once Upon a Time, the landscape is all realistic, but Wonderland seems more like drawings in a children’s book, especially when Alice and the Knave are traveling and they show obviously fake landscapes in the background. Wonderland does well to differentiate itself from the hundreds of Alice in Wonderland incarnations out there. It pulls the same “maybe Alice is crazy and Wonderland is a figment of her imagination” aspect. What it does do is clear Alice of the “being insane” issue quickly by pulling her out of the asylum and never mentioning her occupation of one again in the episode after she is in Wonderland. It is a unique take on this classic fairy tale with the addition of a love interest and bringing in characters from the story of Aladdin -- the gene and Jafar. It shows that there is a larger context to create more fanciful story arcs.

                The main downside to the show, so far, is it has a stereotypical plot line with the “surprises
 being guessable. For example, when Jafar rescues Cyrus on the magic carpet, it is not the “gasp!” moment the music and presentation try to play it up as. If Cyrus were dead then the show would not be able to move forward. There is, doubtless, an abundance of back-story to explore, but as of yet it feels like more of the same revenge stories that are strong throughout the parent show, like when the Evil Queen wants revenge on Snow White for “killing” her true love or Captain Hook wants revenge on Rumplestiltskin for killing his girlfriend.

                Despite the current plot issue of predictability, I am excited to see what twists and changes they bring to the normal old fairy tale. Even if it keeps being very similar to its parent show, I will continue to watch it.

The Pit Bull Myth is Just a Myth

If I were to hate an entire breed of dog based on one, I would hate miniature poodles. When I was a child and rode the bus home from school, there was a group of 23 children who got off at the same stop as I. Everyone who got off the bus at this stop (the cul-de-sac on the opposite side of the block from my house) had to run home. There was a miniature poodle that lived in the house across the street from me and it sat in the driveway by the bus stop . My two brothers and I had to run the farthest; it would chase us and if it caught us, it would bite. This was every day for four years. Despite this, I do not hate miniature poodles.

“It’s official. I hate Pit Bulls,” one of my Facebook friends posted a few weeks back. Apparently, while she was walking her dog, a stray Pit Bull attacked her, making it understandable for her to dislike a single dog, that dog. Pit Bulls are discriminated against for being naturally more aggressive than any other dogs, but they aren’t born dangerous.               

The reputation for Pit Bulls is increasingly worse. The term Pit Bull is used to describe four breeds: the American Pit Bull Terrier, the American Staffordshire Terrier, the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, and Bull Terrier or any mix thereof. The term “Pit Bull” actually comes from when these breeds were used to bait bulls before the bulls were slaughtered to “make their meat tenderer.” From there, they gained the reputation of being dangerous and so they were pitted against each other in dog fights.  If there is a Pit Bull attack, then it makes headlines. Pit Bulls are not the first dogs to get the reputation for being dangerous; German Shepherds had this exact reputation in the seventies and eighties. Pit Bulls, like any other dog, are aggressive if not socialized well as a puppy. But there are two specific reasons why Pit Bulls are considered dangerous and violent.

                The first reason is because of dog fights. On average, Pit Bulls are used more than any other dog in the fighting ring. Dogs that are successful in this situation (fighting rings) are rare, and dogs that have the trait to flourish and enjoy this sort of work are even rarer. Michael Vicks, the professional football player, was a participant in one of the largest dog fighting rings in America. In one year, he bought and killed over seventy Pit Bulls because he could not get them to attack their littermates. He owned twenty-two that were successful in the ring, but treated them cruelly. When his dog kennel was raided by police, the Pit Bulls were either cowering in corners or growling whenever anyone approached them.  Of these twenty-two only one was not adopted out and rehabilitated into being a family dog. Two of these dogs, Hector and Lucas, even became service dogs. Sadly, the loving and protective Lucas had to be put down a few months ago because of a disease he caught while wounded in fighting.

The second reason for Pit Bulls’ negative reputation is the media. If any other dog attacks, the breed won’t generally be specifically mentioned. According to a study done in March 2012, 68% of articles reporting Pit Bulls or Pit Bull “mix” attacks mentioned “Pit Bull” in the headline. Articles with the words “Pit Bull” in the headline 65% of the time included the word “attack.” Only 8% of articles reporting on dog attacks by any other breeds mentioned the breed in the headline. Newspapers are nine times more likely to include the breed of the dog in the headline when the story involves a Pit Bull.

                The media controls not just the minds of the average person, but where legislation goes as well. Currently, there are city-wide bans on Pit Bulls in at least thirty-two cities (and the entire state of Oklahoma). Denver, Colorado is one of these cities that has Breed Specific Legislation.  In 2007, a young boy went into the basement unsupervised where two Pit Bulls were locked up in hopes they would mate. This child was killed. People were outraged that these illegal dogs had the opportunity to hurt someone, especially a child. As a result, the Pit Bull ban was amended so new procedures were put into place.  If a dog has traits of a Pit Bull (large, square head; lean, muscular body; a tail) then it will be taken from its family. It doesn’t matter if this dog has been a family dog, is loving, and has never even nipped at a fly. It doesn’t matter if the dog is considered a service dog or if it is disabled. Dogs with Pit Bull traits are not allowed to enter the city.

                Since 2007, Denver has impounded over 1,900 Pit Bulls. Of those, 1,453 Pits were euthanized. Since 1989, when the original ban was placed, over 4,000 dogs have been killed. Denver is not the only city that has a ban on Pit Bulls, but other cities are now reconsidering the bans. In Cincinnati in 2011, you couldn’t even drive through the city with a Pit Bull or risk your dog being taken and you being arrested.  If you lived in Cincinnati before 2003 and owned a Pit Bull, you had to get the dog microchipped, tattooed, and it had to have mug shots taken. If you wanted to bring pictures of the Pit Bull in rather than take the dog to the police station, the picture couldn’t include children or the dog near someone while looking gentle. You, as the owner, were required to fill out a vicious animal form and be registered with the police department as a vicious dog harborer. In May 2012, due to people fighting for “dog equality,” the Pit Bull Ban was repealed. This is a good step forward, but it isn’t enough.

                When you combine the cities that have banned Pit Bulls, the total number amount of dogs killed because of what they looked like NOT because they were violent is near 16,000. When we start to discriminate one dog breed, what is stopping us from banning other dogs? Saginaw, Michigan has already begun to do that. Just a few months ago, they banned ten different dog breeds and any mixes with these breeds present: Pit Bull, Rottweiler, German Shepherd, Husky, Alaskan Malamute, Doberman Pinscher, Chow Chow, Great Dane, St. Bernard, and Presa Canario.

                Although in Texas there are no specific bans, Pit Bulls are still the most prevalent that remain in shelters and pounds. When you look at the available pets in shelters just in Fort Worth, over 75% of the dogs are at least part Pit Bulls. Although there is progress being made for the good of Pit Bulls, there is still a ways to go. The fight for Pit Bulls has just begun and it will be a long time and a lot of work to undo the damage that has been done.