I once thought the query letter was the bane of my existence that would shred all trace of sanity from my mind and leave me a raving (no comments, people, I have a fragile ego) lunatic.
I was wrong.
There is something worse than the query letter . . . and it has a name: the dreaded synopsis. Yes, dreaded!! OMG, and I thought the query was rough! Oh, silly, silly readers, the query is a piece of cake - Coconut, if you please - compared to the dreaded synopsis. Ya know, for whatever reason, those words seem to echo in my mind . . . over and over and over (Madonna anyone) again.
The dreaded synopsis has its own special place in literary hell. I'm just saying . . .
But, like Sophia Petrillo before me, I digress. Go here and read Amy Allgeyer Cook's wonderful post about the dreaded synopsis and get some tips on how to write your own.
Now, since I'm a kind and gentle soul of unenviable generosity, I'm going to give you the skinny, the scoop, the 411, right here and now . . .
The main questions your synopsis should answer are . . .
What is the main character's goal?
What is the crisis at the beginning?
What keeps your protagonist from achieving their goals?
What's the climax?
What's the ending?
Now, Amy didn't just pull these questions out of thin air, a magic hat, or her . . . she found them in an article that she references here. Go on, click on over, read the whole post, and check out the rest of her blog. No, I don't know her, haven't ever met her, and am not getting paid to direct you to her blog. It's just my overwhelming generosity pouring forth like Niagra Falls. Yes, I can be that generous . . . at times.
I took Amy's advice and began my work on the dreaded synopsis. I opened up a new Word Document, typed out each question, and began to answer them. It's absolutely amazing that I'm still sane. The questions really, really, really help.
And, to demonstrate the ease . . .
What is the main character's goal?
To protect the secret his mother and aunt have covered up for 32 years.
What is the crisis at the beginning?
The discovery of his mother and aunt's dreadful secret, and the implications of its revealment.
What keeps your protagonist from achieving their goal?
The close proximity of those who would be hurt the most by the secret being revealed.
What's the climax?
A man and a gun, and the ultimate realization that he cannot, no matter how much he wants, protect those he loves the most in this life.
What's the ending?
An acceptance that no matter the lies told so long ago, no matter the secret, life goes on.
Okay, that's purposely overly simplified just to show a basic example of the the dreaded synopsis process.
So, my thanks to Amy, and to the author of the article she referenced, and to all aspiring writers who have bravely swam in the shark infested waters of the dreaded query . . . and survived.
S
Showing posts with label synopsis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label synopsis. Show all posts
Friday, August 7, 2009
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Synopsis & Query Letter Writing
Today I worked on the synopsis for the project for which I am in the middle of an agent search. First, I've already done the one paragraph synopsis necessary for the query letter. I just know that an agent will (notice the line of positive thinking here) want a more detailed synopsis. How in the heck am I supposed to convert 70+ thousand words into 2 - 3 pages? Will the torture never end?
Of course, it will. Sooner or later, even the most painful moments - writing a query letter rates in the Top Ten, full synopsis is right up there as well - come to an end. The broken heart eventually heals. The mosquito bite eventually quits itching. The multiple drafts of the query letter eventually coalesce into the query that will sell my project. Whoo-hoo! Sorry, I rambled off there for a bit.
I wrote the rough draft only of the detailed synopsis. It, like everything else, is a process. The query letter was a process. Thankfully, I had just stocked up on wine so I was able to survive the writing the query letter process. I mean, how do you actually convert 70+ words of brilliance into one paragraph? Okay, that was a little bit more than positive thinking. I'm allowed. This is my blog after all. If I don't have confidence in myself . . . no, it's not the wine talking. I know it's 4 PM somewhere, but not here. Drat, and double drat! Kidding. I'm a one glass per night wine drinker, and that glass normally takes me three hours . . . just in case anybody was wondering. What I am - in the most rambling way possible - trying to say, is that do not expect the perfect query letter or synopsis on the first try. I am not saying don't aim for that perfect query/synopsis on the first try, just don't be disappointed - as in my case - that the first of anything is just absolute drivel. Okay, mine wasn't absolute drivel, but it wasn't perfection either.
I think the key to anything is brevity and - even more important - the realization that the brilliance of your writing might not shine through in either your query or synopsis. A glimmer of that brilliance should shine through. Positive Thinking 101!!!! Write your query or synopsis and then let friends, family, complete strangers on the side of the road, read them. If they a) don't start laughing hysterically, b) don't give you the look, c) don't go running screaming into the night, or d) don't say anything at all, then you might have succeeded with an okay synopsis and/or query letter. Do not, whatever you do, immediately send it off to the agent of choice. Set it aside, give it a day or two - last time I checked, Armageddon wasn't right around the corner, but it might arrive on Election day - and then reread and rewrite if necessary. No matter what, make sure that the glimmer of brilliance is evident, and the tone of your writing is evident. Time waits for no (hu)man; but agents have Inboxes full of queries to read. One more day on your part might give that agent one more day to plow through the less than brilliant queries and get to yours. I'm just saying . . .
S
Of course, it will. Sooner or later, even the most painful moments - writing a query letter rates in the Top Ten, full synopsis is right up there as well - come to an end. The broken heart eventually heals. The mosquito bite eventually quits itching. The multiple drafts of the query letter eventually coalesce into the query that will sell my project. Whoo-hoo! Sorry, I rambled off there for a bit.
I wrote the rough draft only of the detailed synopsis. It, like everything else, is a process. The query letter was a process. Thankfully, I had just stocked up on wine so I was able to survive the writing the query letter process. I mean, how do you actually convert 70+ words of brilliance into one paragraph? Okay, that was a little bit more than positive thinking. I'm allowed. This is my blog after all. If I don't have confidence in myself . . . no, it's not the wine talking. I know it's 4 PM somewhere, but not here. Drat, and double drat! Kidding. I'm a one glass per night wine drinker, and that glass normally takes me three hours . . . just in case anybody was wondering. What I am - in the most rambling way possible - trying to say, is that do not expect the perfect query letter or synopsis on the first try. I am not saying don't aim for that perfect query/synopsis on the first try, just don't be disappointed - as in my case - that the first of anything is just absolute drivel. Okay, mine wasn't absolute drivel, but it wasn't perfection either.
I think the key to anything is brevity and - even more important - the realization that the brilliance of your writing might not shine through in either your query or synopsis. A glimmer of that brilliance should shine through. Positive Thinking 101!!!! Write your query or synopsis and then let friends, family, complete strangers on the side of the road, read them. If they a) don't start laughing hysterically, b) don't give you the look, c) don't go running screaming into the night, or d) don't say anything at all, then you might have succeeded with an okay synopsis and/or query letter. Do not, whatever you do, immediately send it off to the agent of choice. Set it aside, give it a day or two - last time I checked, Armageddon wasn't right around the corner, but it might arrive on Election day - and then reread and rewrite if necessary. No matter what, make sure that the glimmer of brilliance is evident, and the tone of your writing is evident. Time waits for no (hu)man; but agents have Inboxes full of queries to read. One more day on your part might give that agent one more day to plow through the less than brilliant queries and get to yours. I'm just saying . . .
S
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