Sunday 9 March 2014

The Dreaded Synopsis continues...A light to the dark side?

     In my last post, I shared my reluctance to starting a synopsis. I was finding it particularly difficult to divulge the secret plot twists of my story upfront and personal like a synopsis requires. Now that I know it is mandatory, and in my own best interest as a hopeful writer, I set aside some time today to take on this task.
    
     I spent a good portion of my evening facing the daunting task of writing a synopsis for my not quite completed novel Going for Gold. Hopefully I won't lose any points as it is already a month after I was lucky enough to win a critique of the beginning of my book, it's just prior to that author requesting one along with the start of my story, the idea of a synopsis had yet to cross my mind. It has been longer than I care to admit since I have last had to attempt a synopsis and as I am quickly learning, I might as well get used to writing these if I want to become a published author.

     To make sure I was at least on the beaten path, I searched for tips for writing a synopsis online. While there are more articles and examples then I can ever read, I kept my search brief to avoid wasting more time. After sifting through examples and templates that didn't quite fit my story line, I felt relieved to find a template for romance writers.  I'm sure that through practice, I will develop something that comes more naturally for me, but lack that experience with synopsis writing and found I could easily follow Katie Ganshert's template here: http://katieganshert.com/katie-ganshert/a-synopsis-template/ I began to fill in the blanks with tidbits about my story, and was very surprise at how suddenly I discovered a few areas that need some more depth worked into them. Currently, there are some points I have skimmed over, perhaps under-emphasize, but working through my synopsis, I learned that they need to be revisited.

     Maybe the synopsis is not such a bad thing after all. Anything that comes with a highlighter to areas of improvement in my work is never a bad thing in my opinion. Who knows, maybe my new found appreciation for synopses will turn my final draft into an agent's pick!
Wouldn't that just be the icing on the cake? Wish me luck!

2 comments:

  1. AttaGirl, Amanda! Get that synopsis done - and thanks for the template - I hadn't seen this one yet. Cheers!

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  2. Hi Celia! Thank you for your comment. I too found that template extremely helpful and am grateful for it. I found myself falling short with the examples that weren't directed for romance writing. I can officially say that I have finally finished my synopsis! It was a daunting and rewarding task! See you Saturday!! :)

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