moonlight in your sky

1. Writer’s Market 2019 is a great place to start– it gives you a list of magazines and journals that you can send your work to depending on the genre as well as lists a shit ton of literary agents that specify what genres they represent, how you can get in contact with them and how they accept query letters. this is a book that updates every year and tbh i only bought it this year so i dont know how critical it is to have an updated version  

2. do your research. mostly on literary agents because if you listed on your site that you like to represent fluffy YA novels and some asshole sends you a 80k manuscript about like…gritty viking culture, you will be severely pissed off. always go in finding someone who you know will actually like your work because they’re the ones who will try to advocate for you in getting published.

3. learn how to write a query letter. there are slightly varying formulas to how you can write an effective query letter. you’re also going to want to get feedback on your query letter because its the first thing the literary agent will read and based on how well you do it, it could be the difference between them rejecting you outright and giving your manuscript a quick read

4. unfortunately, you’re gonna want to get a twitter. Twitter is where a lot of literary agents are nowadays, and they host things like twitter pitch parties, where you pitch your manuscript in a few sentences and hashtag it with #Pitmad #Pitdark, some version of pit. a lot of literary agents and publishers will ALSO post their manuscript wishlists, which is just the kind of books they’d like to represent/publish, and they hashtag this with #MSWL (it is NOT for writers to use, only for agents/publishers)

Use these as prompts, reference, or whatever else you’d like. I had fun making this list. 

Part 2 now published

Dialogue That’s Like a Love Letter

“It was always you.”

“Can you just hold my hand?”

“I wished every day to hold you once more.”

“You are a fountain of good fortune, my love.”

“Seeing your face is like drinking water after a lifetime in the desert.”

“There is something between us and it is the most beautiful thing I have ever felt.”

“If I could stay here with you forever, I would.”

“You had the deftness of a master thief when you stole my heart.”

“You are the first thing on my mind, the last thought before sleep, and my truest love.”

“If I could, I’d hand you my beating heart on a platter.”

Dialogue That Tugs at Those Heart Strings

“You made me feel weak.”

“I didn’t mean to love you so much.”

“You were the only person I thought I could trust.”

“You promised you wouldn’t forget me.”

“I don’t have anyone else.”

“I thought you still loved me.”

“You never cared that you broke my heart.”

“It wasn’t supposed to end this way.”

“Please just stay with me. For one moment at least.”

“You’re leaving now?”

“You didn’t miss me at all?”

“I can’t love you anymore.”

“I wish I was sorry.”

“All these years and you decide to break my heart now?”

“Did I ever really matter to you?”

Dialogue That is Angry

“Admit that you’re wrong!”

“Do not compare yourself to me.”

“My hate for you runs deeper than your ego.”

“You left me!”

“You will never know how I feel.”

“Liar!”

“I wish you were dead.”

“You will regret this.”

“Get away from me!”

“I don’t know you anymore.”

Dialogue That is Sunshine and Smiles

“This is my favorite time of day.”

“Isn’t it beautiful?”

“Feel it, it’s soft.”

“He’s adorable, what’s his name?”

“Let’s take the long way home.”

“I know it’s early, but you have to see this sunrise.”

“Paint with me.”

“I love it. It’s amazing.”

“Look at those stars.”

character a asks “hey, will you pretend to be my date for a week for [convoluted excuse that could easily be solved without a fake relationship]?” character b, fully convinced of the futility of their DEEP AND UNREQUITED LOVE, figures this’ll be a chance to spend time with them and possibly put their feelings to rest. character b is always wrong & it is always amazing.

having to SHARE A LIVING SPACE FOR ARBITRARY FIC REASONS. having to see eachother in their pajamas first thing in the morning, messy haired, drowsy eyed and soft faced. going from “you can have the bathroom first” to brushing their teeth beside eachother and feeling like this closeness has always existed (at the same time, painfully aware that it won’t always). 

related to the last one — “”practicing”” their casual touching so that it’s easier when they’re in public. feeling SWOOPS OF ARDOR AND AGONY when they feel the brush of a hand on their neck, or an arm loop around their waist. don’t you love how fake marrieds/dates are always method actors who must FULLY INHABIT their roles. i love it. i live for it. 

bed sharing. :^) we all pretend we’re bigger than this but we are not. 

“kiss me while everyone’s looking.”

the character who wasn’t aware they were in love (maybe always had been) until the fake relationship is in full swing, realizing they have to sort their feelings out before their time together is up. sometimes they succeed and angst is minimal. most of the time they don’t, really.

telling eachother “i love you” in public and meaning it, heart aching over it, but bELIEVING THE OTHER 2 BE ACTING. my soul is still 15, this garbage still gets me. u don’t get pining better than this.

the days leading up to the end of the arrangement where one of them, still confused and muddy about their Feelings and unsure how to break things off, stiffens to the casual, reflexive touching and puts their walls back up. the other one accepts and respects this as the end of their agreement and squashes back down all the hope they ever had, stuffs it next to the heartbreak they’re ignoring deep in their chest. 

when they realize they’re actually fully and enthusiastically mutual about the way they feel and it’s, like, two parts euphoria and one part agony because they just cannOT BELIEVE, the happiness tears them in two. maybe there are weepy or laughing kisses. i don’t know but i’m usually invested like 2000%. i love fake dating/marrieds.