It’s Christmas decorating day here at the Warrens – I love it when our house goes from dreary to dazzle! We already have the red wall, and I jazz up the rest of the house with ribbons and ornaments and pine boughs, suddenly the season doesn’t seem so…filled with to-do lists. It seems, well, jolly. Color adds life! Yesterday, we talked about adding color WORDS to your synopsis. Today I want you to add actual color. When I first started writing a synopsis, it felt so…overwhelming. Weaving in all those threads, and helping my editor see the main plot, as well as knowing whether I’d sufficiently explained all the turning points and the black moment…arrgh! For example…through your synopsis, you should have three different story threads […]
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Synopsis Day 3 — Making it Colorful — Part 1
A synopsis, as you know, is not only a summary of your story. It is a slice of your writing style. It gives the editor the first taste of who you are and what you write. Because of that,you want to give it the flavor of the type of story you write. What do I mean? Well, every noun and verb you use conveys a feeling or mood. For example, if you are trying to up tension, and create fear, you might use verbs that generate feelings of fear. Stricken, caught, blindsided, choked. If you want to convey feelings of warmth, you might use, embraced, soothe, coo. If you want to create feelings of suspense, you might use: flicker, ripped, tear. The idea is to look at your piece, and choose carefully the words you […]
Read the RestThe Big Bang! Synopsis Day 2
Or how to deliver a knock-out in the first paragraph: Today, I want to talk to you about the BIG BANG – or the one-two first paragraph punch of your synopsis. Just like the first line of your book, you want the first paragraph of your synopsis to really grab your editor. You want to zero on the most important part of your book, the theme, or the plot and hook them good. Because, although you are going to try and make your synopsis as entertaining as possible, it is still a summary and you want to make sure you have them before things slow down. What am I talking about? Well, when you move to the Query-letter stage, we’ll be working on 100 word blurbs. These are the story in nutshell, focusing on the highest […]
Read the RestPutting it all together! Synopsis Day 1
Can you believe it’s already December? And that we’ve gone through all the elements of a novel this year – me either! But here you are – you’ve written, The End on your novel, after finding the perfect HEA ending, and maybe now you’re wondering what to do. Send it in! Oaky, wait, maybe that was premature. I got a little excited there. Yes, FIRST you need to write a PROPOSAL. Which consists of a Cover or Query Letter (depending on what whomever you are sending it to want to see first, usually outlined on their publisher or agent site), a synopsis, and the first three chapters. I like to write my Cover or Query letter LAST, because, well, by then I know what I’m trying to say. And, you […]
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