SYNOPSIS COMPLETE
Hello. Wow, it’s been a long time since last I blogged. Hope everyone is well.
Today I was going to blog about some boring old writing rule, but then at the last minute I decided not to. Instead, I’m going to talk about finally finishing my synopsis.
For those of you who know me, you know I’ve been struggling with the writing of my synopsis for my novel, Love’s Prophecy. And when I say struggle, I do mean struggle. I would write, then delete. Write, then delete. I read, and read, and read, and read some more on synopsis writing. I analyzed sample synopses. But no matter what I did, I felt my syn was…off. Sure, I knew the rules of writing a syn: present tense, tell not show, don’t mention secondary characters, sum up three chapters in one paragraph, include the end and any and all twists, etc, etc. Yet my synopsis read so dull, dry, and boring.
I needed help. Big time help. And boy did I get help.
As some of you know, NN was graced with the presence of THE FABULOUS AUTHOR, PAMELA PALMER. Not only was she generous enough to give away a signed copy of one of her novels to a lucky NN reader, but she also was kind enough to answer questions from some of us newbie writers. And you guessed it, I asked about syns.
PAMELA PALMER gave me the BEST advice. She said to concentrate on the romance between the hero and heroine in a romance novel. Well, let me tell you, that piece of advice opened the stuck door in my head. Excitement coursed through me again. I now knew where I was going wrong.
The next day I opened my syn and deleted more than half of it and started anew. In three days I had my rough finished. And I felt very good about it. Here was finally something I could work with—something I could send to my crit partners for critiques without feeling embarrassed.
Now after a few critiques and tweaks, I’m happy to say my synopsis is FINISHED, LOL. More thrilled I could not be.
It’s funny how something as simple as PAMELA PALMER’S advice (concentrate on the romance between hero and heroine) jarred loose the log jamb in my brain. She is one smart lady, and her words will forever stick with me.
8 comments:
Congrats on finishing your synopsis! That's a great accomplishment. Pamela gave good advice, some I need to remember.
Awesome, Brenda!! Yup, the focus has to be on what the book is about. Romance = the romance between H/h. Mystery = resolution of mystery, etc. :)
I'm so happy you completed it and Pamela helped. Xo
Awesome!!!
Yay for you! Good advice I'm going to heed as well. I had a similar problem with my syn--wish I'd had this suggestion then. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing Brenda. I'm about to write a synopsis for my latest work and will definitely keep this in mind.
Such a simple, duh-hey concept - but a tough one to figure out on your own. Kudos to Ms. Palmer for helping you unstick yourself, and BEST WISHES on your upcoming queries!
D,Ann, Zee, Mart, Cynthia, Colette, Stacy, and Sheri, you ladies are the absolute BEST. And I really mean that. The fact that you took the time to come over and read my post means everything to me.
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