Synopsisize Me

Morning Folks,

Do you find yourself wondering how an author writes his or her synopsis? Do you sit there and think "Wow, this synopsis is so cool, I wish I could do that!" (Incidentally that line of thinking ties into Stephanie's post about Writer's Guilt)

Next year the chapter I'm joining of RWA is planning to have a published author from the group talk about synopsises, so until I have more to add regarding that, I'm just gonna go by what I DO know.

I touched on this a little bit in talking about Todd Stone's BIC (Book On An Index Card). (I like this idea because it helps you organize things to write the synopsis).

But it's not just about summarizing the story in a short paragraph, it's also about making your story sound so exciting that a reader just HAS to pick it up and examine it further...then read it.

Speaking from the point of view of a reader AND writer I can't help feeling that it's not about saying too little or too much, but about saying the RIGHT things.

For instance...

Have you ever watched a book preview?

Published author, Kerrelyn Sparks has several of these (in fact, a couple on her website). You can also look here, here, and here.

The great thing about book previews is that they synopsize the story and give some visuals (even if you come up with your own ideas about what characters look like, they can still be fun to watch just for the sake of getting a feel for the story).

NWHRWA member, Jen, has a book preview on her website. (She's not yet published).

So, what you put on your book preview you could use to help you write a synopsis.

I've done up a book preview for Surreal and Conjure A Man but I don't have them up on the web, yet. There's still a few things I want to iron out (like thinking of adding images and/or music, but I haven't figured out how to do that, yet--I'll probably see if one of my brothers can help me).

I have to revise my synopsis for Surreal and write one for Conjure A Man but using these tools and whatever I learn as I go along (and attend RWA chapter meetings) I think will help.

So, how do you go about writing your synopsises? Do you have any book previews up?

Have A Top-Notch Tuesday!

Dream Big!

Morning All,

Well, it's Monday again and I'm reminded of that song by the Bangles: "Just Another Manic Monday". Kinda the story of my mornings LOL.

Let's face it, we all have dreams as writers. And I'm not just talking about having a Best Seller published, or even having the aplomb of fans all over the place, but I'm talking about some of the more personal dreams. Like getting to meet certain authors/people. Or getting to do something you've never done before. Or getting through a chapter that is particularly difficult to write.

Some of my dreams:

Well, aside from finishing a couple more books I'm writing and reading several other books out there...

I'd like to meet Laura Childs. I've communicated with her through emails and never have met her face to face. I'd also get her to sign at least one of her books I have. (Yes, I'd have to restrain myself from gushing about how much I love her characters in the Tea Shop Mysteries).

I wouldn't mind saying hello to author Gail Carson Levine. I loved Fairest and Ella Enchanted. (her retellings of fairy tales are really great, there's several out there--most of them are short stories)

Robin McKinley is pretty, cool, too...wouldn't mind saying hi to her. (My favorite of hers is Beauty: A Retelling Of Beauty & The Beast).

Alex Flinn would be fun...loved Beastly. I'd beg her for more fairy-tale retellings. She's really great at it. Another good one was A Kiss In Time.

Wouldn't mind meeting up with Regina Doman...author of Shadow Of The Bear, Black As Night and Waking Rose. I'm hoping to read The Midnight Dancers.

Wouldn't mind a chance to tell Stephenie Meyer that her book, Twilight reignited parts of inspiration and passion I had been pining away for (especially since I was so sad over the fact that I had lost over 100 pages of this one manuscript I had written). Her story reminded me how much I love fantasy/paranormal and it helped me figure out that was my niche.

One dream that might come true in December is me meeting Ciara Gold! She told me she's hoping to make the RWA chapter's Christmas Party and I'm planning on being there. :-)

Of course there's some dead authors I wouldn't mind sitting down and having shop talk with:

Georgette Heyer and Jane Austen to name a couple.

This is one of the reasons why I highly recommend finding a writers' group--one like the RWA to join. Doors get open, opportunities come up that might not otherwise. And you meet some of the giants in your genre or at least in the publishing world in general.

I'm hoping to meet Kerrelyn Sparks sometime since she's an RWA member and is member of the chapter I want to join and another local chapter that I've been told is a great one, too.

Oh by the way--recently got my Membership book and letter from RWA! I was excited :-)

So what are you writing dreams? Is it just finishing a difficult chapter/manuscript? Getting through editing? What authors would you just love to meet?

Have A Marvelous Monday!

Side Projects

Morning Folks,

Earlier this week I talked about dealing with writer's block and dancing around the room to help shake down creativity (something I have yet to try, but I think that might be next on my list. I don't think I'll be doing the hula, but I've got some country music, and a kid who will laugh at me--which is fine. I like making people laugh--as long as it's not ridicule).

But another tactic which I haven't addressed very much is this: a side project.

Now some side projects become a main project, and sometimes they're there just to keep a writer writing. Currently that's what my side project is doing.

Side projects don't have the same pressures that main ones do. Generally they're things an author thinks that maybe they might send off in a query, but other times they're just something that an author was inspired to write and it's keeping them from going completely blocked.

My side project is a Christmas story. I love Christmas--in fact, I'm a Christmas fanatic (I've been known to sing carols in July. As far as I'm concerned "Jingle Bells" has no season, it's fun to sing whenever the mood strikes you). I'm also a huge fan of lights, decorations, presents, the Church building being all done up pretty, the Christmas Bible readings, family time, time with friends, Christmas parties, you name it. I'm still trying to convince my husband that we need to decorate the house on the OUTSIDE, not just the inside. I think this year I might be able to convince him. Especially if I look at him with my gigantic brown eyes and say "Please, please, please, please!" LOL I'm such a kid at Christmas. A lot of people (who claim to be sophisticated and mature adults) revert back to their childhood (on some level) at Christmas.

So, that's my side project. A Christmas one dealing with a matchmaking angel and a woman who has given up on finding her true love.

Do you have a side project? Are you thinking of making it a main project? What's your side project about?

Have A Fabulous Friday!

Don't Just Sit There!

Morning Folks,

Almost done with my coffee, which means I'm almost awake LOL. Okay, the sunshine returned yesterday (or was it the day before?) But I've been getting over some kind of a bug, so I haven't been out much. (I'm feeling much better, by the way).

I promise today isn't about hula dancing. Nope, I'm talking characters not just sitting around.

Just sitting around means they aren't passionate, action filled, expressive beings. It means they're stagnant and nothing is happening.

You have to move the story along, so you don't want them just sitting there. You want them flying into a rage because their best friend betrayed them (or stole their significant other) or pleading for their lives or their heart beating wildly as they experience their first kiss with the person they're to end up having a relationship with.

In short, you want them to be animated, breathing, living and lively.

They can't be couch potatoes (yes, TV has some great programs, but your characters have other, more pressing matters on their minds)

Sleeping is important (but you don't want to go into long descriptions about their sleeping habits unless it's important to the story--like if you're describing a dream that plays a big part in the plot)

Sitting around in chairs is a great way to talk with friends, but make sure the conversation moves the story along. They aren't going to just be saying "lovely weather we're having" they're going to be saying stuff like "You lied to me! You're a jerk." or "I can't live without you." Or something like "The murderer is here, we have to question everyone."

Passion moves your story along. Tension moves it along. Action, emotion, fear, joy, horror, sorrow, pain, ecstatic moments move your story along.

So unless a TV show is going to play a role in a scene where more than just the TV is full of action, they aren't going to be sitting on the couch watching a show. (Good example of using TV watching to move the story along is what Alex Flinn did in A Kiss In Time).

Sometimes you have to have your characters sitting (and sometimes TV watching comes in handy in a story) but you have to make sure that's not just what they're doing. That there's more going on than just silently watching a show.

So let the passion, emotion, action, living, breathing characters lose! It'll help keep the story going and the pace strong. (Whether fast or slow).

Have A Tremendous Thursday!

Danger, Emotion, And Suspense

Good Morning All,

Our fellow blogger (and follower of this blog and literally a "fellow" or as us Southerners say, "fella"), Bane, wrote something about emotion on his post yesterday. (Incidentally enough, he gets a shout out for that post, it was entertaining and informative. I liked it!)

Todd Stone says put your hero/heroine in danger. This increases the suspense, emotion and overall encouraging your readers to care about your characters.

Of course, depending on your genre this can mean different things:

Mysteries it could be that your sleuthing hero/heroine finds themselves finding out someone closest to them is the bad guy. I remember one time when I was reading one of Laura Childs' Tea Shop Mystery book (the first one in the series, this was the first time I had read any of her work) I thought maybe Delaine Dish was the one who committed the crime, but she was innocent. (By the way, if you like "cozies" her books are awesome. She's also incredibly nice and gave me some very helpful information more than once).

For action it could be your hero/heroine being held at gun point:

John Girsham often has suspense mounting by having his hero/heroine being chased by the bad guys because that person has something the bad guys don't want revealed. (The Partner anyone? Or The Runaway Jury?)

I don't know a whole lot about horror except that I've heard you never want the characters to open a door and then they do it and on the other side of the door is the monster.

For Romance, it can be the sexual tension between the hero and the heroine, or it can be one of them fighting against a mounting attraction (like Delaney is doing in Conjure A Man)

How do you keep up the danger, emotion and/or suspense in your own writing?

For me, I keep having a sense of danger or conflict getting in the way of complete happiness for my characters. Things that keep them wondering if what they're doing is the right thing, until, finally they make the decision one way or another. Of course, being about happily-ever-after I can't forget to resolve that conflict.

Anyway, your turn to answer the question. :-)

Have A Wondrous Wednesday!

Tick Tock, Tick Tock Ignore The Clock

Howdy All,

My original post for today I decided to do away with and go with this idea instead. WARNING: It's a pep-talk/encouragement post, all who do NOT want to be encouraged read no further. (Although, I suspect we all want encouragement at one time or another, so keep reading).

Okay, here's the scenario:

You're sitting at your computer staring at the blinking cursor of a blank screen and your mind says "AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" This goes on for about 1/2 an hour. You can see the seconds, the minutes, the hours going by...still nothing. "Oy vay!" you think, "I'm supposed to be writing for five hours and it's been almost two and I still have nothing!"

WHY ARE YOU STARING AT THE CLOCK???!!!

The clock isn't your friend when you're struggling with writer's block. It's not even your muse. It's working against you. It's a conspiracy to make you think you can't get anything done. I'm telling you: IGNORE THAT CLOCK.

What should you be doing?

Well Todd Stone says write anything. Even if it's gonna be deleted tomorrow. Todd Stone says that you can't write anything wrong because you're going to improve it.

Yes. You will improve that terrible paragraph that goes on for 15 sentences about what a chair looks like. That is, you will, when you revise and edit. For now, you're trying to get the story on the page.

It's been three hours. WHAT? YOU LOOKED AT THE CLOCK AGAIN?! NO!

The clock doesn't exist. The only thing that exists is you and your story. Get away from the computer if you have to. Get up and read a book--sometimes that triggers creativity.

Get up and dance the hula--okay, you might feel funny doing it, but if you close the blinds and do it while no one is at home, who's gonna see you? Go ahead, stand up and shake that thang!

You know the song: "You gotta move it move it"

Or that other one that goes "Shake your groove thang."

Or KC & The Sunshine band: "Shake, shake, shake, shake your booty, shake your booty"

"You do the hokey-pokey and you turn yourself around, that's what it's all about!"

Come on! Who bloody cares if you look silly? The point is, you're working out your imagination, you're pulling out all the stops. And, you're ignoring the clock. (You don't even have to tell anyone that you went around dancing the hula or shaking your booty to get your creative juices flowing. That can be your little secret).

Like my friend, Michelle W. (Shout out to Michelle!) and I say: "WHOOPEE!" Shout your "WHOOPEE!" out loud and remember, it's okay to look foolish, you're a writer, remember? It's about pushing that creativity to the surface and pushing aside those fears.

You're serious about your writing. You're professional. That's great, you should be.

But when you're shaking up your imagination, you don't have to be serious or professional, you just have to let it free flow.

Remember: You're gonna improve that manuscript in the revision, rewriting and editing portion.

Right now, it's all about getting that story going. Exercising that imagination. Get those creative juices flowing!

Okay, so I sound like an exercise DVD (like Leslie Sassone says: "I just know you're feeling great." Usually she says that at the point and time that I'm thinking "What am I, nuts? I'm so out of breath I feel like I've done gone lost my mind doing this!")

So you lost your head for a few minutes there...but now your imagination is kicking in. You're riding a high, you're feeling great, you're feeling invigorated (okay, maybe slightly foolish, but imagine how I feel writing this post LOL).

Laugh it off, and let that writing flow. Let the creativity overpower the self-consciousness and go for it!

Now, how do you get your creativity flowing? Do you get up and do what I said in this post or do you stare at the clock pleading "Please, please, please something come to me!"?

Have A Thrilling Tuesday!

This Isn't A Discussion!

Morning Folks,

Wow. It's actually overcast today. Maybe it'll do more than sprinkle (which was yesterday) and actually rain. I don't really mind because maybe this means the cold front's on it's way.

A big shout-out goes to Marsha today! Got to meet the Queen of the Friday Flashbacks on Saturday at the NWHRWA meeting. Pretty cool and she fit right in (knew she would). I apologize for her feeling she was back in high school and late for class. Wasn't intentional, but hey, I can't help that there was an accident and made her late! LOL. Be sure to go over to Marsha's Musings to check out her Friday Flashback posts. They rock my socks! :-)

I'm sorry for no weekend posts, but I think I'm going to give them up (at least for now) mostly because my weekends have been quite busy lately and also because my in-laws are in town and they'll probably come over at least once or twice for the next couple of weeks until they go home.

I got ZERO writing done over the weekend because I was super busy. Had the NWHRWA meeting on Saturday morning, then found out a dress I wanted to wear didn't look right and had nothing for a dinner I was going to that night (I needed something dressy). I did end up finding something at JC Penney and the dinner was fun and very good. On Sunday my in-laws came over.

Anyway...onto today's post topic...

I'm referring back to Todd Stone again on this (just in case you need a reference point).

Todd Stone says that when you're planning or writing out a scene (drafting it) you don't want your characters just talking or discussing you want each of your scenes to have power.

So how do we "power-punch" a scene?

Get rid of the discussions. No more talking. A lot of people can talk and discuss. But you want them having action and things going on. You want your readers to get to know your characters.

It doesn't do any good to have:

Clark talked to his Dad about his problems.

Sure. They could talk. But it makes the scene flat. What if Clark and his dad don't see eye to eye? You don't want to say:

Clark talked to his Dad about his problems. They didn't see eye to eye.

That's TELLING! And remember the golden rule of writing: "Show don't tell."

Or what if you had:

Zora discussed her feelings for Clark with her mother.

Hmm...what do we know about Zora? Well, other than the fact that she talks to her mother, and has some kind of feelings for Clark we have no idea. What if she was falling in love with Clark? Or what if they were having problems? Or what if she didn't like Clark at all?

How would you change these two situations to make sure they are alive and showing rather than telling?

That's the same thing you do with your own scenes. Todd Stone says, "If you write that your characters talked, then that's exactly what they'll do. If you say your characters discuss something, then all you have is a discussion."

You want to make sure every scene is meaningful. Todd Stone says you need to have "your genre heartbeat in every scene."

So if you're writing action, have an action heartbeat, if it's romance, you need that one, if it's paranormal or fantasy have that. Whatever is your "genre heartbeat" that's what needs to be reflected in every scene.

What methods do you use to make sure your genre heartbeat is there?

Personally I focus on the "other-worldly" and relationship to make sure my paranormal romance heartbeat is alive and thumping.

Have A Momentum Monday!