Queries Have Structure!

The first thing to understand about a query is that it is a story in miniature.  This means that it has a structure, a forward movement of tension, an ARC that holds the whole thing together.  The place to start in building a query is understanding this structure/movement/ARC (shape).

The easiest way I’ve found to do so is to break the query into three parts, or three paragraphs if you will. (Although the final version doesn’t have to be three paragraphs.  More is fine.  Less is fine. But start with three as each serves a distinct function.) 

Here’s the breakdown:

Paragraph One:  Set the Stage, including the Goal (the foundation of everything)

Paragraph Two: DO somethings about the Goal (build on the base)

Paragraph Three: Rock the Goal (leave the reader with a concern that the protag’s world may topple).

Sounds easy written out like that, doesn’t it?  If the book itself is written with a strong story structure (see Save The Cat to know what I’m talking about), then it’s easy.  If you haven’t yet mastered story structure, then a query can be a great introduction to how stories work.  Because…  (Again) A novel and a query are the same thing.

Let’s show this using the Three-Act-Play structure that forms the basis for most novels/movies:  

***Condensed from Wikipedia’s Page on Three-Act Structure***

Act I: Establish characters, relationship, world, catalyst, dramatic question

Act II: Rising action depicts the character’s attempts to resolve the problem/dramatic question

Act III: Move to the climax with most intense problems and dramatic question are answered

See the similarities between my Three Paragraphs and the Three Acts?

They are very much identical except for one single (but huge) difference.  This difference is in Paragraph Three/Act III.  A query rises to a problem/question climax and then leaves things unstable/unresolved/hanging.  A novel/novella/movie/whatever goes over the hump of the climax to resolve the problem/question.  (If you look at the graph, this resolution is the downward arrow.  A query follows the exact same graph, it just stops at the high point.)

To repeat (because this is important): A Query SHOULD NOT have resolution.  A Query SHOULD hook the reader by leaving things unresolved at a high-point.

However…

The ARC of the query should not match the ARC of the book.  Or in other words, when writing your query, Paragraph One does not equal Act I.  Paragraph Two does not equal Act II.  Paragraph Three does not equal Act III.  If you ignore this advice and write a query where everything matches, what you end up having is a very short synopsis instead.

For most stories (but not all) a query (Paragraph One, Two Three) should equal Act 1 of your novel.

Act 1 has all of the needed elements to make a great query.  A query that covers Act 1 should answer the giant question of ‘What is this book even about?’ because that is what Act 1 does as part of it’s role in Three Act Structure

Don’t believe me?  Head over to Query Letter Hell at Absolute Write and go look at some of the queries up for critique.  Read thru them.  Decide which ones give you a strong feel for what the larger book is about and which ones do not.  Start asking questions to yourself about what elements unclear queries are missing?  See if you can figure it out.

Even more, see if you can see the paragraphs stacking/building one on top another. Notice what happens if a query does not build.

The take-away here is that a Query should have structure. You need to understand that structure before you can build it. Next Lesson: Start with the Base