Writing Wednesday: How Not To Suck At Synopsis-Stage!

Synopsis = sucknopsis = run for cover = pestering nuisance = How do I do this????

Find yourself in one of the above definitions? Me too, as well as countless other writers out there. I don't think there's anything we dread more than having to write a synopsis.

In a way, I envy my self-publishing friends. They never have to write a synopsis for theis mss. They write the book, edit, polish, and upload. Simple. No hassle of, you guessed it - the sucknopsis!

Yet, for all of the others who go by the agent and publisher route, a synopsis is a necessary evil. I'll admit I dread having to write one. It's not just the purpose - it's more like, how do you bring a so-so thousand long story down to a few pages?

That's where we could all do well to remember some pointers about the synopsis! It's not the trauma it represents in our minds. There are ways to do it, methods to get it right, tips and pointers to keep in mind.

It's true that I never write a synop for an ms unless I really need to (understand by that, at the query process!). But I bite the bullet, and remember the following, which have come to help me in good stead over the years.

What's a synopsis, basically? The freedictionary defines it as:

A brief outline or general view, as of a subject or written work; an abstract or a summary

Pretty simple, innit? How and why do we get it 'wrong'? How and where does this process morph into the writer's personal apocalypse?

The trick is - we need to de-mystify the synopsis. Plain and simple - bring it down to its basics. Here are some tips to do that:

• A synopsis is an outline

What does outline mean? It means the parameters of something, the limits, the edges within which that something is evolving.
What's the outline of your book/story? Don't panic and start hyperventilating when you're asked this question. Think of the broad lines of your work, its parameters, and put this all down.
Example: let's attempt an outline of the movie Mamma Mia. Heroine Sophie is about to get married, and wants to know who her father is from the 3 men who were in her mother's life at the time of her conception. She invites the 3 men to the wedding, behind her mother's back. Chaos, mayhem, and unfinished romantic business ensue when all 3 land on this little Greek island and everyone has to come to terms with who and what they've been to each other, using hit songs from Abba as their cue and expressions.
There you have it - an outline. 5 lines. You build upon this to give the plot and the resolution and you have your synopsis.

• A synopsis 'tells' your story

This is where you take a 180-degree departure from the written-in-stone line of 'show, don't tell!' You don't get flowery in a synop - you tell it like it is. This is who they are, this is what happens to them, this is how things get complicated, and this is how things are resolved. Full stop.
Example: In Cinderella (I'll use the Disney version), the movie/story shows you the Prince coming to their house as the final house to visit in the whole kingdom. The evil stepsisters try the shoe, one even manages to push her whole foot in, but the shoe doesn't resist. And when it's time for Cinderella to try it on, the Evil Stepmother grabs the shoe and slams it on the floor, shattering it to smithereens. Everyone is crestfallen, and then Cinderella says that it doesn't matter, because she has the other shoe, which she removes from her skirt pocket. The Prince makes her try it on; the shoe fits, they fall in each other's arms, they get married and live happily ever after.
In your story, you'd show all this - the glass smashing, the expressions on their faces, etc.
In a synopsis, this would give you something like - when Cinderella tries on the shoe, it fits, and the Prince finds his Princess. A whole scene is brought down into a few words that still convey the gist of what happens.

• A synopsis is abstract in nature

See above example - the synopsis tells that the shoe fit and the Prince found his Princess. It doesn't go into the details. 'Telling' is a concept that has a notion of 'vague' to it. Keep it pared down to the essentials - that's what a synopsis is about.

• A synopsis is a road map

It's how the characters/plot gets from A to B to C to reach conclusion/resolution at Z. It doesn't talk about the quaint little inn you find between M & N, or how the beauty of the countryside is breathtaking during the journey it takes to get from R to S.
A synopsis 'leaps' from A to B to C, etc. If there is something you have to mention happening between A and B, then that something is a point on your road map, and should've been labelled B instead.

• A synopsis has its own structure

It doesn't follow the same rules of disclosure as the ms. Backstory, the necessary and relevant parts of it, is stated right up in a synopsis, not distilled throughout like in the ms. You don't keep suspense in a synop, like in an ms. The synopsis tells your story from A to B to C and so on - you lay it down as it happens.
Example: In Mamma Mia, we find out halfway through (around the Chiquitita part) what relationship Donna had with each of the 3 men. That gives suspense, a sense of hanging on the edge of our seats to figure out what it is all about.
Writing the synopsis though, at the paragraph where you mention Donna, you'll already mention how and why she was involved with all 3. You don't disclose this at the halfway mark.

• A synopsis is not a blow-by-blow account

It's not about 'this happens, and that happens, and then this takes place because of...'. There should be cohesion, logic, a constant thread holding your story together in a synopsis. A synopsis skims the basics, the surface if you want, of the plot. It doesn't go deep into anything that doesn't contribute to the A to B to C journey.
Example: Cinderella again. The final shoe and proposal scene - it is brought down to a simple 'the shoe fit and the Prince knows he's found his Princess. They marry and live happily ever after.' Your synopsis tells it like it is - it doesn't chronicle every happening in the book/scene.

• A synopsis lays it down without any fluff

Cinderella example again. There's nothing extravagant about the description of that last, crucial, scene of the resolution. It is completely pared down. It's how things happen, how you get through the conflict to the resolution, without getting into the details.

• A synopsis is the bare bones' skeleton of your story.

Full stop. A to B to C through to Z.

If you keep these definitions/pointers in mind, you should be able to whittle down your story into a concise and coherent whole.

Is there a 'formula' for writing a synop? Actually, there might be, and I have found one that works very well with paring down my story yet without taking away any of the gist of my plot.

I'll share that with you next week, along with the example of one of my synops that won me publisher notice and approval. Same spot, same day - we'll take the synopsis apart and find out why it works and how this happens, all within the scope of the synopsis formula.

Join me then too, and if you have any questions or pointers to add to the discussion here, feel free to pop up in the comments.

From Mauritius with love,

Zee

Random Thoughts' Monday: Saying goodbye to 2010...

So we're officially upon the last Monday of 2010. My God, where did this year fly, people??? I have no idea where mine went. I seem to recall opening my eyes and 2010 was starting. To admit the truth, I wasn't looking forward to much this year. I was pretty set in a routine and thought I'd reached where I was supposed to reach and was at the position I'd hold for pretty much the rest of my life.

How wrong I'd been...

January went pretty much without hitch. Kiddo started his second year in primary, going from the 'newbie' to the 'grown up one step ahead of the newbie'. :) I had a job, I was writing, hubby was ensconced in his job. Routine, blah, blah blah.

Appearances can be very deceptive though. In February, the cracks started to appear. Yes, I was working and I was writing like a madwoman (finishing a 100K+ novel in 17 days!). Needless to say, I saw next to nothing of the men in the house. Did I think I could get away with it? Yes, I did, because my priorities weren't set right - I wanted to be where I was and I didn't pause for one minute to ever consider the cost. Financially, I was working but not bringing any much home. Which kinda widened the chasm here - I mean, if you've got 'proof' of what you're doing to show, then it's pretty much a good idea to keep doing what you're doing. I didn't. What can I say? I'm a trustful person, I don't expect anyone to use this trust for any nefarious purpose. So yes, said cracks - hubby asks me one day if I thought that maybe he could be sick. He hadn't been feeling great lately, had lost weight, was irritable. But he was also on a huge, huge deadline at work, so what do I do? I brush him off, saying it's probably the stress. See the divide growing here?

By the time March comes around, I have no idea who I am and what the heck I'm doing. My marriage looks like it'll be crumbling any minute, because he and I meet over the dinner table, share a few words, and then I jump back on my laptop, going to bed by the time he's fast asleep. Mornings, don't mention. There's school, and that's all our mornings amount to. Celebrate my birthday, a ho-hum one - did I even recall it was my birthday back then? I don't remember.
My world crashes when my sweetly-angelic-and-devilish, then-6-year-old boy blows his top off and berates me for being an awful mother. "When will you pause to breathe and take a break?" he asks.
I look up and I don't recognise this little boy who, wait a sec, wears the same size T-shirt as I do??? When did that happen? His first trimester exams are also around the corner, and I realize I have no idea what he is even studying this year at school. Pair all that with a massive case of being over-written and sore-writer's-imagination, and the end of March sees one of the biggest episode of my life happen.

I quit. Literally. Quit my job, and was given hell for that. There are all sorts of versions flowing around as to why I was no longer there. The real reason is - I left. Full stop. It was a choice between who I could be and who I wanted to be. I chose the latter.

Suddenly, it was Easter break and I was at home with my boy. My parents were away on a trip abroad, so no 'dropping off to Mom's'. What did I find out? Kiddo's back then's fave movie was High School Musical. We had the sing-along version in the DVD, and this became our favourite activity. He sang as Troy, I did Gabriella. And Sharpey (eek!). I heard him laugh, the kind of children's specific bellow that has them throw their heads back and laugh with their whole body.
When was the last time I had heard that? I didn't remember...
Suddenly too, my marriage was doing much better. Hubby and I would take 20 minutes out every evening and just sit down together. Sometimes we talked, sometimes we didn't. Sometimes I pestered him to let me turn the caveman-him into a slightly more modern version of a caveman who would maybe exfoliate and use some hydrating cream on his face. That made for some hectic moments! :) But it also turns out that we found out my husband had been sick all along - it wasn't the stress. It was diabetes. I don't need to tell you how much of a worthless scumbag I felt when we got the news. I hadn't given anything to the one who mattered, giving my all to worthless pursuits in the meantime...

From there on, life settled down. I found the courage to pick up my 'digital pen' again and start to write. No pressure, no fuss, no worrying. Just the pure, unadulterated pleasure of telling a story the way I wanted to, going back to the thrill of the 'moment' like when I had just started writing 6 years ago now. Picked up my studies too, working towards completing my degree finally.

Along the way, there have been bumps, a most notorious one on this blog itself. But there's a silver lining to every cloud, and the lining I found wasn't silver at all - it was the best, purest platinum to have ever existed. I discovered who my friends were, and the outpouring of support and encouragement messages tumbled me into a wekk-long bout of throat-clogging so much I became emotional. I was totally overwhelmed - and to these fantastic people (you know who you all are!), I say THANK YOU for being in my life and for allowing me to say I know you and I'm proud to be your friend!

Buoyed by this feeling, I wrote some more, and then a 'click' moment happened in early November. My dream had always been to write for Harlequin - ever since the day I read my first romance at 12, I have loved HQ and M&B for the kind of wholesome stories they keep bringing to women the world over.

What's a dream, if you ain't gonna pursue it? We live only once, innit?

Today I know my priorities. I know who I am, what I'm made of. I know who and what matters. Whatever is meant to happen, will happen. But this also means I can take an active role and a forward step to make the lives of those who matter better. If not better, I can help make it not worse than it might already be.

I think my husband, son, and stepson are grateful that I came to realize this. I know I am. My family matters. My writing matters. I matter!

Today I look towards the future. I don't know if it is bright, overcast, rainy. I just know it's out there, on a path that's unfurling at my feet, and I need to keep moving. Whatever comes upon this path, God has made me strong enough to deal with it. Whatever happens, happens.

It's with this state of mind that I look towards 2011 and wait to embrace a positive continuation of my life. I just wish all the wonderful people I know can feel the same way too, and that all the best this world has to offer will grace their footsteps and bring at least a smile to their face everyday.

To all the amazing people I have met in my short life, and who have shown me time and again how much they care - my 2011 belongs to you.

And oh, yeah, I don't make resolutions normally, but I still plan of losing my spare-tyre-belly next year! :)

So on that note, let me pen off for 2010. I won't post again before next Monday, when I'll welcome the new year in this very spot.

From Mauritius with tons and tons of love,

Zee

Side postings - In the Zone with Zee: Of Men and Heroes...

Hey everyone

Today is my big debut as contributor to the blog Tabby's Nocturnal Nights. I host a monthly Agony Aunt column geared towards writers and writing-related issues.

Come take a look at this month's column. The two dilemmas I tackle are:

Dear Agony Zee

My husband is threatening to divorce me if I don’t cut down on my writing. Writing is my life. What am I to do?

Signed – Desperate wife

and

Dear Agony Zee,

My hero refuses to come out of the box. What am I to do?

Signed, Frustrated with men.
Read the answers here and don't forget to leave me a comment!

And if you ever have a question for Agony Zee, don't hesitate to hit me a line or two (or twenty!) at zeemonodee@hotmail.com All queries/questions will be dealt with in utter confidentiality. :)

From Mauritius with love,

Zee

Writing Wednesday: Trends, how they happen, & what they mean to you, the author

Hello beautiful people

A friend of mine and I were recently talking via email about trends and how you just see them popping up everywhere. At times all you see is vampires, at times it's shifters, at times it's erotica. Haven't you always wondered how this or that seems to be a 'craze' right now? Is it simply a 'craze', a result of demand and supply laws, a result of hype? Or is it just plain no-reason?

It's a little bit of all these. Browsing through some really good articles/blog posts I had saved on my computer, I came upon this blog entry and thought it was spot on for the topic today. (Post appeared on CynthiaSterling's Market News for Week of September 20, 2009 - Focus on St.Martin's Press RWA 2009 Spotlight).

Jennifer Enderlin of St.Martin's Press deciphered the 'Anatomy of a trend spiral' in there, as such:

Anatomy of a trend spiral
1. Someone writes a really great book.
2. Readers snap up anything remotely like that 1st book
3. Publishers and authors sense a trend
4. More people write in that area and publishers buy in that area.
5. A few of those books sell well also.
6. Publishers start to creates lines and imprints in this area.
7. It becomes easier to sell in this area. The temptation is so strong to sell your soul and write in the area that people think is hot at the moment.
8. Publishers have slots to fill and lower their standards.
9. The quality of the books goes down.
10. Readers catch on become cynical and jaded.
11. Contracts aren’t renewed and authors become bitter.
12. Lines fold.
13. No one is happy - publishes, authors or readers.
14. Readers look for anything new and different.
15. Someone writes a really great book.

See anything logical in there? Indeed. It all builds one upon the other.

But here's how it starts - someone writes a really great book. How to know if your book could be this next best thing? Ms. Enderlin adds another line beneath her analysis: [Quote] “Once you see someone creating lines around a certain book, I, personally would head for the hills.” [Unquote]...
...and this one just before she details the trend spiral: [Quote] You shouldn’t pay too much attention to trends. [Unquote]

Your conclusion should be - if you want to break out, don't write the 'trend', or what's already out there, or for a newly debut-ed/hyped line.

How to make your book the potential next best thing? Think out of the box, out of the trend, spin, flip, and twist - but first and foremost, write a darn good story! (I'll have more on these in future WW posts).

Now we know the temptation is big to be the 'thing' all readers are bragging about. As authors, we write for pleasure, for love, for publication, but a huge part of the process is for our readers. We should give them what they want, but do you think folding yourself like flour in the cake batter of a 'trend' is how you'll endear yourself to them? Maybe for one book, you will. Maybe for two books, you still might. Maybe too, by Book 3, the readers will be going, 'this author writes the same thing, I want something new!'
What do you do then, and where does that leave you?

Something I learned in my economics lessons is that Demand and Supply form a cycle. There will be ups (where say, you are selling your 'trend' story and the 'trend' is there, hot commodity) just as there will be downs (where no one will want to even touch the 'trend' with a pole). Result for you - write for a trend and run the risk of tanking out. Or wait for the next demand cycle to hit, and no one has clear ideas when that will be!

Of course, you may tell me that some authors are really that good as to keep producing 'trend-generated' stuff even when the 'trend' is dropped faster than a hot potato. True - but are YOU this author? Maybe, maybe not. You wanna take the risk?

So you are an author and you write stories. Fine. To readers, agents, editors and publishers out there, you are just one drop in a sea of writers. Why will you stand out of the crowd?

Find who you are, what you write, how you write, what you're good at. Then build upon that. This is what will set you out from the swirling mist of hopefuls just like you out there. (More to come on identity and branding in future WW posts).

Another thing to ponder - You see a trend. You start a story. You even finish story. You query and submit story. Time elapsed in between - let's say 6 months.
If someone buys it, great! If not, and let's say a further 6 months have passed, not many will still want your story. Why? Because the trend might no longer be 'hot stuff' by then.

By the time a trend actually hits readers, it has taken close to (even over) a year between when that 'really good book' was submitted, acquired, and put through its publication paces. The trend hits when the 'really good book' releases, and that's when you as the author notice it. Publishers, editors and agents, among themselves, will already be in tune with the trend, because that's insider stuff they are privy to. When the book comes out, over a year could have elapsed then, and the wave is really at its peak. You can crest it right away, but sooner rather than later, the wave will hit the water and die out on the shore.

Take all this into consideration when you spot a trend. If you do decide to follow it, be very quick on your toes (or fingers, to the keyboard!) to get that book out and accepted before you end up with a hot potato on your hands.

Ending note, which leads us to - Stage #14: Readers look for anything new and different. Is this a clue...? Maybe authors should go right out to the readers and ask them what they want to see next...

Any questions, just holler!

With love from Mauritius,

Zee

Should you write from the heart or for the market?

Hi peeps! Welcome to the first writing-geared post on the blog. This should be a regular feature of Wednesdays (days on which I'm still somewhat energized and not yet brain dead!).

Am I tackling too big a topic today? Maybe. All I know is that this discussion has been creeping up on me and my author friends lately. With the state of the economy and the writing market being what it currently is (Print v/s epub, Kindle, self-publishing, cutting of mid-list authors for the big names, etc), you may wonder what you really need to do in this business.

I cannot speak for everyone but I can definitely speak for me. Most of you know I write Indian/Mauritian cultural stories. I thus wrote my first story about a divorcee in Mauritian society (The Other Side) and instead of giving it the heavy and tortured flair of Mauritian literature, I chose to make it a light and breezy romance with a definite HEA. Spurred on by the success of that book (it was picked right off the bat by a local publisher and is still in print today), I started my second book in and around the same kind of society, this time the focus being a young woman of traditional origin who's on the fence with modernity.

Both stories featured behind-closed-doors or barely-mentioned-in-passing love scenes, which worked because of my 'conservative' market and because culture-based stories do not generally include racy sex scenes.
Then I tried to branch to mainstream - a whole different kettle of fish, I was told. The advice I received? This - you need sex in there.

My first instinct was to say no. I wasn't comfortable writing sex scenes (always thought my very traditional and conservative mum and aunties were reading over my shoulder!). But hey, I was told this was the rule of the market - no sex, no sale. And keep the works short so you have ample opportunities to rack up the heat! I bit the bullet.
The result was a 2oK-something time-travel set in the Regency era. Of course, it had the 'required' rake, and he bedded the heroine graphically at every opportunity. That, as I was told, was apparently what sold! And sell it did, right off the bat too!

But this story, thanks goodness, never made it to the e-shelves. Why? Well, when I got an opportunity to grab the work back before it came out, I jumped on it. You see - I wasn't comfortable writing graphic sex, even if that's what the market wanted. This just wasn't 'me', neither as a person, neither as an author.

So before you jump on any market fad or any market advice or market trend, ask yourself this question - will I be comfortable writing this? Right - you never will know unless you try. Fine - try writing it and see if your heart's in there.

Is it? Or is it not?

That's the question you should ask yourself.

What I'm getting at is this - if your heart is into something, it shows in what you do. How many times have you dragged your feet to do a chore? Granted, yes, you got the job done, even got it done well, but the fact remains, you had to drag your feet to do it. Now imagine doing something you're all revved up for. You can hardly remain still until you can get to this task, and when you do get to it, you immerse yourself in there so much time flies, and when it's over, you're like, that's too soon, I want to hang on to this feeling.

Ask yourself then if your writing is a feet-dragging chore, or an elation-filled endeavour. If it's a chore, you might need to reassess your position. Is it the writing itself that's drudging, or is it that this just isn't 'you'?

The fact remains that while writing should be a labour of love, it should also be a task you undertake with all your heart. When this is the case, have no doubt that the story that flows out of your pen (or keyboard) is one that is bound to be strong, solid, and overall a round story that covers all aspects of what constitutes a good story. Why? Because you wrote it with your heart in there, not just to fill a slot of the market demand and to make a quick buck or to get a shoddy credit.

Ask most good writers what they are after, and they'll most probably tell you that their goal is strong stories that they have invested all their heart and soul in.

Is it that hard to do? No, but you need to sit down and decide what you want. A good story most often brings you all of publishing contract, publishing credit, readership, and some money. Add to it that there's also the elation-filled author satisfaction that can tide you through weeks on end. Take all of these elements apart - contract, credit, money - and without your heart in your work, you may end up with any or all of these, but all of it may not last long - it may not bring you more contracts, credits or money. Whereas a good story, well, it can pave the way for your future career path.

Think with your brain and common sense, think with some logic - find what you want to do, and then think with your heart when you are writing. A story that has author investment and the author's heart and soul into it will shine out of the lot without you needing to do much work, and that, I believe, should be every writer's big goal.

Any questions, just holler!

From Mauritius with love,

Zee