Archive for November, 2006

Nov

Much Ado About Synopsis – No, Not Nano Week 4… Well Maybe a Little

Posted by: Michell in SWN Archives

By now, you all have probably heard that I finished my 50,000 word novel a week ago Monday. It was with an intense sigh of relief that I “Officially” was declared a winner on the 25th. I’ve now got the certificate and everything to prove it. You’ve also heard that my first submission was not the success I had hoped for. So what have I done in the intervening days?

Well… I actually spent some time with my family, which was great. They put up with me disappearing for hours on end (well, minutes, anyway) to write on the Nano project. I still spent time with them, but not as much some days as I would have liked. A re-evaluated my goals and ambitions. Happily, they haven’t changed at all. I wasn’t sure how I would react to being rejected. And, I started looking forward. Forward as in, what do I need to do next to get this story out to the publishers?

In a word, “Synopsis”.

It doesn’t look all that menacing, sitting there all by itself, does it? Still, it caused me much doubt and concern. “Why is this?” you might ask. “Surely, after writing a 92,000 word Fantasy epic (yes, I called it an epic), a little thing like a synopsis should be child’s play.”

Indeed, at first glance, I would agree with you. Except… well… I’ve never written a synopsis before and due to my perfectionist nature, I want to do a professional job of it. So I delayed and thought, then delayed some more. Finally, I had to say “Enough!” so I did. I did a bit of research into the writing of said beast and sat down for two hours and wrote my first ever synopsis. It even seemed to sumarize the story.

The first sign of trouble didn’t come until the next day. I asked my good friend Aaron Kite to take a look at it and provide his comments. The early beating was gentle, thankfully, but it really highlighted some major shortcomings in what I was trying to do. Happily, Mr. Kite had stumbled across a fantastic article on writing-world.com, written by Marg Gilks.

The article not only gave me some excellent tips on how to write the synopsis, but it also reminded me of why I was doing it. In a nutshell, the sole purpose of a synopsis is NOT to give an editor a summary of your novel. Let me repeat that for effect: Do Not write a synopsis to provide a summary of your story to an editor! Period. Dead stop.

Remember that, cause it’s EXTREMELY important! But if that’s not the purpose, then what is? Simply this (and believe me, it is simple). The synopsis is intended to get an editor… EXCITED about your story. It’s meant to cause the person who reads it to say, “I’ve GOT to see more of this book!” Remember, you’ve only got one chance to make an impression with an editor. You want it to be a GREAT one.

That seems like a pretty obvious thing, don’t you think? Well, obvious or not, it escaped me. At least for a little while. Now keep in mind, you are writing a summary of your story, but in such a way that it grabs the reader. So what should it contain?

All the major plot points – this shouldn’t come as any surprise. You want to mention all those things that drive the book forward;
All the major characters – they are the ones who make the story interesting after all; and
Changes in relationships, how characters feel about things and any symbolism that might creep in (including themes) – this is the stuff that engages the reader.

It doesn’t seem like much, does it? Also, consider this… a synopsis should be in the 2 – 10 page range. That’s a lot of condensing for a 500 page novel, wouldn’t you say? And still keep the flavour of the story and make it exciting? A pretty tall order.

But, as Marg Gilks says:

“The synopsis is the most important part of your submission package and, as such, it has to be developed and sweated over and polished with the same attention you devoted to the novel itself.” Marg Gilks, “How to Write a Synopsis”

And here I thought my work on my first book was done. Hah! How silly of me. What a rookie mistake. How good to know. Because, while I survived my first rejection, I still didn’t like it. I want to give myself the best chance I have to avoid any further ones.

So the order of the day is to create that compelling synopsis. So, with that in mind, here are a few more tips I’ve picked up:

Typically 2 – 10 pages (I know, I already mentioned that);
Only mention characters and events that move the story along;
Reveal motivations and emotions;
Provide necessary background information;
Remove any unnecessary adjectives and adverbs;
The first time you see a character’s name, type it in CAPITAL letters (and only the first time);
Identify point-of-view with POV after character’s name if important; and
Always use present tense.

With these things in mind, I will be crafting my synopsis. I had originally hoped to have it ready by month-end, but now that I understand how important it is, I think I’ll give myself a bit more time than that. After all, I really want it to shine.

And Nanowrimo? Done, and done, but not forgotten. I’ve met many people who I hope to keep in contact with. They were important players in my enjoyment of the month. And next year? I’ll probably hunker down and do it all over again.

No Comments

Nov

NanoWriMo, Week 3 – What a Rollercoaster!

Posted by: Michell in SWN Archives

It has really been a rollercoaster ride this week. I managed to (dare I say it?) break the 50,000 word mark and finish my Nano book. That was a HUGE relief! Literally within minutes of finishing my Nano book, I got a Fedex. From DAW Books.

For those of you don’t know, I had submitted my first manuscript to DAW back in October. So, with a great deal of trepidation, I opened the package. Yup, there was my manuscript and there was a note from DAW.

Unfortunately, the manuscript wasn’t accepted this time. But you know what? I’m actually OK with it. Yes, I am a bit disappointed, but, after all, it WAS only the first time I had sent it out. I think the biggest disappointment was that they didn’t give me any creative feedback. My suspicion is, they get so many, they can’t possibly do that for them all.

So, on the same day, the same hour in fact, I experience a complete 180 degree turn of emotion. C’est la vie, c’est la guerre. So, what’s next? That’s easy. The manuscript won’t even have time to get cold before I send it out to the next publisher. After all, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure (not that my manuscript is trash in my humble opinion).

And, it means that I’ve already taken the lead in the rejection letter derby . To the rest of the SWN cadre, come on guys, get in the game! I hate playing alone.

A few other good things to report from the past Nano week though. I finally made it to one of the gatherings. It was a lot of fun and I’ve made some good new friends. Remember the whole networking thing? Well, this allowed it in spades. Now I’m looking forward to attending the TGIO (Thank God It’s Over) Party on December 1st. It should be fun.

Also (drum roll please), the entire StartingWriteNow team FINALLY met, in the same room, at the same time. Can you believe it? It was awesome to finally meet Rich and Yves. It definitely fit into the “Good Times” section of my life. I hope everyone else felt the same.

And, oh yes, I’ve fleshed out my idea for my next book (the one that’s a sequel to the recently rejected one, no less). My daughter and I were sitting around talking about my stories (yes, I inflict myself on my children… what else are they for?) and I managed to get some brilliant ideas about how to tie some old story ideas into the new one. Did I mention that the idea was brilliant?

I’m really looking forward to getting going on the next book. Call me a glutton for punishment, but I’m genuinely excited to get back into the heads of my characters again. And write an even better story than the first. Oh yeah… and a short story too.

Now I can take more of a cheer leading role for Nano. Go SWN go! We’ve now offically got 2+ complete books in terms of work count and only 3/4’s of the way through the month. Let’s try to add at least another 50K words collectively.

No Comments

Nov

Week Two – The Adventure Continues

Posted by: Michell in SWN Archives

It has indeed been an interesting week. I have both made great strides and had some challenges. But then, so has everyone else on the team too, I’m sure.

I’ve been managing a pretty brisk pace; I think I’m currently averaging about 2,600 words per day. Is the story perfect? Not even remotely, but as has been said before, that’s not really the point. I know I plan to put the story away for a couple months before I come back to it to decide if it warrants editing and submission. I think it will, but that distance will be necessary to make a (relatively) unbiased decision.

Still, I have had the occasion where I struggled a bit to get the words down. For example, I was a passenger for a 6-hour drive. I only managed 2,000 words. In 6 hours. Not great. Maybe my expectations are too high.

I’m still smiling as I write… and my wife says I’ve been much happier now that I’m forcing myself to write a little every night. But the best part of it all? I’ve been connecting with other writers who are participating in Nano too (over IRC so far, but I hope to finally make it to an event this weekend).

Believe it or not, people are the reason that I got into writing. I know what you’re thinking. Writing is a solitary, sometimes lonely pursuit. But that was still my reason.

It all started as silly stories for my friends. Then it grew as people started to enjoy the stories and actually start asking me about my writing (in case you’re wondering, I’m a bit of a diva ) Now, it’s all about the people I meet through my writing. Oh yeah, and the people (see characters) that I am able to create.

Those reasons won’t change the fact that most times it’s just you and your thoughts. When it’s just you versus the keyboard, it can be quite daunting. I think Yve’s post said it nicely. The ideas are there right up until the moment that you sit down and prepare to write them down. Then, poof, they’re gone.

This site is a perfect example of my point that writing is about people. My support structure is 1000 times better now that I’m contributing to SWN than it was before. The SWN crew are the best (yes even those of you who I haven’t met yet… we’ll remedy that Friday, I hope). I feel honored to share my writing adventures with them and with you. It helps me keep perspective.

And that’s what Nano has done for me too. It has grown my personal writing community. I would like to believe that everyone of the participants that I’ve been in contact with is pulling for everyone else (even when they look at the word count and say, damn I’m jealous. Mike’s at 30,000 and I’m only at 14,000 … not to mention any names… Sean…). I know it’s all in good fun.

So what happens when I hit 50,000 words? Likely, my story will be done. It was intended for a younger audience after all. But, I’ve noticed many other participants who start a second book and tack it to the first. I may start my outlining for the sequel to the first then.

Sean’s observation that the fact that I’ve already finished a book might make it easier to write this one; he’s absolutely right. It’s like many things in life, once you’ve done it the first time, you know you can do it again. I had a great run when I was in the home stretch with my first book. That momentum has carried on into Nano.

That’s why I think the ones who should be congratulated on their progress are the rest of the SWN team. Every single one of them has already achieved a personal best for shear word count. That’s impressive. And everyone one of them is a star for taking on the challenge when life is already busy. Kudos gents. I tip my hat to you all.

No Comments

Previous Entries