The Internet is a wonderful thing. We can order food and have it delivered to our home. We can check out the weather in some location where we really want to be. We can play games, socialize with people who we "just friended" and, most importantly, do that latest dance our kids learned on TikTok.
As writers, this is also a fantastic source for everything we need to be a successful writer... ummm, wait a minute. This is here they myth falls apart.
You can find information about plot items you want to include in your story, or how to pronounce words that your characters are using. But, when it comes to the craft of writing, or the perfect way to submit a story to an editor, this is not going to happen.
I have seen this a lot recently with my work teaching with the UCLA Extension program. Participants, like so many authors, seem to believe there is a way to just search up the ultimate perfect answer for what they need to fix their problem. In fact, I recently had an author who submitted a project to me stating that they had looked all over the Internet for the answer she was looking for and could not find it. Why? Because it doesn't exist.
When authors ask question such as "Should I use 1st or 3rd person?" my answer is always the same. What does the story dictate? Not the genre. Not what is easier for you. What works best for the story?
The approach you take to your story, to your synopsis, to your query letter, all depends on you and the project and who you are submitting to.
Do not fall into the trap that there is a single answer out there. There isn't.
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