WRITING THE DREADED...GROAN...SYNOPSIS

My husband has been querying agents for his detective series. He is now the proud owner of enough rejections to make a full sized shower curtain. Both sides. Despite all that, he has also gotten a lot of positives and some real constructive revisions, suggestions, and encouragement that he has a good idea and to continue on.

Yesterday, he told me that he has a request from an agent for a couple of chapters and…drumroll…the dreaded synopsis.

“Is this like an outline of the story?”

“Um…no. The synopsis isn’t as stark as an outline. It should give the flavor of your story enhanced by your voice to hook them.”

“Huh?”

“Think of it like telling a friend what the story is about and you’re hitting the high points or the arc of the story (plot) and filling them on the main characters and how they fit into the plot of the story. You touch on the goal, motivations, and conflicts of the main character(s). You also want to give the black moment—when all seems lost and then the how the hero wins the day.”

“Goals, motivations, and conflicts? That sounds too complicated. I don’t think you really need that.”

“Sure do. Every good story has that. Let me put it another way. Goal - what your Hero wants (both internally which gives the character arc; and externally—plot). Motivation—Why they want it (both internal and external). Conflict —why they CAN'T HAVE IT (both internal and external)”

“In two pages? Isn't there just a formula or something?”

Are we having fun yet?  

Once I stopped laughing over that last plaintive question and wiped my eyes, we sat down and discussed whys and hows. Yeah, I tried to give him a formula.

• What is the hook?  Another way to look at it is what’s the story in a sentence? A friend of mine, Nancy Parra, demonstrated this well with her book, Mr. Charming: 

A single mom with a secret past finds herself embroiled in a playboy’s murder. 

It shows the story and hints at the external and internal conflict and it gets your attention. This is a very short first paragraph.

• What is your hero/protagonist’s Internal Goal Motivation Conflict and External GMC? What does he want, why does he want it, and why he can’t have it? Internal shows the character arc, external defines the plot. Keep it brief. For romance, of course, we give both hero and heroine's and for other genres it would be protagonist A and B, or main characters. And you'd set this as two paragraphs. If you include the GMC for the villain then there would be a third paragraph. 

• What is the Plot? What happens in the story? Get the plot down in a clear concise manner. You want to include enough important plot points to convey the story. Once the plot path is clear in your mind then weave in why the unfolding events in the story are important. You can mention the secondary plot—as it impacts the primary—but the story is your main plot. That's what you need to focus on. This will be your biggest section of your synopsis.

• What is the Black Moment? This is the moment when, despite the best effort (or maybe because of his efforts) of the protagonist/hero, all seems lost.

• What is the Resolution? The protagonist/hero usually has to pull something from him/herself (character arc) to accomplish the resolution and win against the odds. Goals motivation and conflict are usually tied into the resolution. He's changed from what he/she was when the story began. The events of the story have taught him/her something.

You want to write the synopsis in PRESENT tense and be sure to give the ending. Be a professional. Make every word count. Putting your voice into the synopsis, you're giving them a taste of the story while they're reading for content. Your voice can also act as a hook.

Hubs will be working on this today. Hopefully, it will go smoothly. Once he writes it we have two guinea pigs to read it and give their feedback. We figure if it makes sense to someone unfamiliar with the story and they "get it" then we can declare it a success.

• How do you handle writing synopsis? Any suggestions?

AH, TO BE IN SCOTLAND AGAIN!

My guest is historical romance author Donna MacMeans. She shares her recent trip to Scotland with us.

Last year about this time I realized that if I was to set my next book in Scotland, I needed to “walk the land” -  get a feel for the countryside so I could present it accurately in THE WHISKY LAIRD (due for release in the spring of 2014).  So I packed my bags and booked a flight for Edinburgh.  As it’s a mind-melting ninety-four degrees here in Ohio, I thought I’d revisit that trip and cool off with a little nostalgia.  Want to come with me?

We stayed in the Grassmarket area in Edinburgh.  So named because long, long ago, horses and livestock there to be sold in the markets would graze in pens just beyond the western edge.  

As you can see from the picture, it’s below Edinburgh castle...way below.  Given that the Royal Mile, the main drag in Edinburgh, runs from the castle to the sea and that all the tour groups meet on the Royal Mile, we had to do some serious climbing to get to our tour bus - every day up, every day back down.  A quick way to get in shape is to vacation in Edinburgh LOL.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Lots of bars and all the patrons (and barkeeps) seemed engrossed in the same book!

Imagine that!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

We took a number of trips that took us into the highlands.  I like this shot of the little town of Callander

  

One a hot day like this, the low clouds make me feel cooler.  We saw a number of waterfalls.

    

Notice that the water has a slight brown tinge.  This is due to the peat in the water.  You don’t see many houses throughout Scotland.  Most of the population lives in the cities.  The rural areas belong to the sheep!

Here’s a shot of Highland landscape and heather (always wondered what heather looked like)

                                                                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

We spent a night in Inverness.  Just as Edinburgh is clearly a medieval city, Inverness has a more Viking or Norman influence.  Can you see it in this picture? 

Inverness Cafe

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

We spent a day at St. Andrew’s and saw this familiar guy.  He was playing for a wedding in the chapel adjacent to this courtyard. 

St. Andrews 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Jonathan

Of course, as THE WHISKY LAIRD pairs a Scotch distiller with a woman devoted to the Temperance movement, we visited the Blair Athol distillery.  Here’s a pic in the courtyard of the distillery - oh wait!  What’s the tour guide reading?  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

I went to Scotland to become familiar with the scenery.  While on a tour bus going through some woods, I found myself thinking that much of the scenery reminded me of Virginia and North Carolina.  Right about that time, the tour guide mentioned that a few years ago, he had a geologist on the bus.  The geologist collected some rocks at one of the waterfalls and said that based on the limestone he found, Scotland was once part of the Appalachian mountain system of the United States.  Of course, it split and drifted away long before Columbus came to call.  But it struck me that I could have gotten a similar sense of Scotland right here in the States, but it wouldn't have been half as fun.

 

So how about you?  Have you been on a memorable vacation?  Ever been to Scotland?  Want to go?  

Someone leaving a comment will receive a copy of The Casanova Code - the book every one is reading? (grin).

FINDING THE MAGIC KEY

Romance author, Anna Sugden, is my guest today. She visits the blog on various occasions but I'm thrilled to have her visiting today with her debut novel, A Perfect Distraction. Yay Anna! 

Writing is Anna's third career, the first was working as a Marketing executive for a multi-national corporation, then as a primary teacher (we call them elementary teachers here), and now a published author. She started getting serious about writing shortly after 9-11. I'd like to tell you she was an overnight success but...well, I'll let her tell you about that and what it took to get to this point.

Thanks so much, Sia for letting me visit today. Your blog has always been a great place to hang out, so it’s especially nice to be able to visit as a published author, to celebrate the release of my first book, A Perfect Distraction! (Happy squee!)
Like many authors, I took a long time to sell my first book. Nine years, eight full manuscripts and four partial-and-synopsis proposals to be precise. That doesn't include all the revisions I did on most of those. As for rejections, let’s just say I could wallpaper my office quite nicely ;). During that time, I also had a lot of success -- I finalled in or won almost every prestigious writing contest for unpublished authors, including three Golden Heart finals. My manuscripts were passed up and across, but for a variety of reasons always failed at the final hurdle.

No-one ever said writing was an easy profession, and they were right!

One of the things you think, as you go round and round in that holding pattern of ‘nearly there’, is that you must be missing something -- a magic key that would unlock the door to that first sale. If you could just find that elusive magic key, you would finally get The Call.

You’re all expecting me to tell you that there is no such thing. Actually, there is. J In fact, there are several. The trick isn't finding a magic key, it’s figuring out which one will work for you. That’s part of the writer’s journey - trying out those keys until you find the right one.

So what are these magic keys?

1.    Perseverance. Writing is hard work. Fact. It’s hard for everyone, from Nora Roberts to the newbie starting their first manuscript. There are numerous inspirational talks from famous authors telling you about their journey to success. They will also tell you how they still have to battle every day for every book. Yes, you need a little bit of luck to succeed - the right book, landing on the right editor’s desk at the right time - but, to paraphrase Samuel Goldwyn the harder you work, the luckier you’ll get. Those who succeed are the ones who don’t give up. Obvious? Perhaps. But as my lovely husband always says - the only way to guarantee you won’t be published is to give up.

2.    Keep on learning. It’s not enough to work hard if you keep making the same mistakes. No-one writes a perfect book. There are many ways to learn - craft books, workshops, critique partners. Yes, even those of us who think we've seen, heard and read it all can learn something new from an expert. One of the ways I was able to make the necessary changes to my work was through expert advice - I bought a critique from a well known author in a charity auction. I also managed to get a fantastic agent, who provided me with excellent insight into what I needed to fix.

3.    Be prepared to change. Sometimes, as the saying goes, a change is as good as a rest. It may be that you should try writing something different - I learned a lot by writing romantic suspense and still hope to get some of those books published J. It could be that you need to try writing for a different line/editor/publisher. I started off targeting Special Edition, but switched to Super Romance because that line was a better fit for my writing. It may be that your strategy for getting your work to the right people has to change. I had more success through contests and editor agent pitches than direct submission or queries.

4.    It’s okay to take a break. Sometimes we just need to stop and rest. That’s not a bad thing, especially if you use that time to refill your creative well and re-energize your muse. After all, we are all chasing our dream. What is the point of hating every minute of it? Take some time off and read, watch movies, go for long walks, whatever it takes to recharge your writing batteries. Trust me, you’ll be back writing sooner than you think.

5.    Write the book of your heart. We all have the book we dream of writing. In fact, most of us have several. But, we also all have an excuse for not writing that book - the market isn't right, you need more writing experience, everyone is writing that kind of book, no-one is buying that kind of book etc. The truth is that you don’t need to write the book of your heart for anyone but yourself. Write it, enjoy it. You never know, things change all the time in publishing, so maybe one day, the book of your heart will be the book that sells. Mine was. Everyone told me that I’d never sell a sports romance, let alone one featuring a hockey player. J

• Have you found a magic key that worked for you, either for writing or something else? 
• Or, tell us about something you've worked hard at and succeeded in.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

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A PERFECT DISTRACTION

Anna Sugden

A face-off—head vs. heart 

For Jake Badoletti, this year is all about his career. He has a rare second chance to make the most of being a pro hockey player, so no parties, no scandals. Too bad he's met a woman who could sideline those plans. Maggie Goodman is not his usual type—right down to being a single mom. Still, the sizzling connection with this gorgeous brunette can't be ignored. 

With a little juggling and a lot of focus, Jake manages to have the game and Maggie. Then his performance on the ice suffers and a scandal erupts. Now he can't afford the distraction of Maggie…even if she is perfect for him. 

EXCERPT

Romance Times – 4 stars!

                                                                                                                          

Anna Sugden, is a three-time Golden Heart finalist who loves reading and writing happy endings as much as hockey! When not reading or watching hockey, she loves football, good food and wine, making simple cross-stitch projects and collecting memorabilia, penguins, and fab shoes.

Anna lives in Cambridge, England, with her husband and two bossy cats. 

You can find Anna: Website, Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, Romance Bandits

DEDICATIONS!

Thank you Sia, for hosting me today, my chosen subject sounds almost impersonal but I've found the Dedication page of a novel to be most personal, and I'd love to know what your readers feel about it.

The dedication page comes after the title page of a novel and is an expression of thanks by the author towards the most significant person or influence for the book.

I dedicated my first book, Murder, Madness & Love to my grandmother, Lilly Opal Stansberry; she was the most positive influence in my life and still inspires me today. A writer of poetry, a strong and gracious woman, her response to my creativity was heartfelt and priceless. She had read an early copy of my manuscript but never saw it in book form.

I am dedicating Memories of Murder to nightmares, and the creativity that they inspire, because the idea for this novel came directly from a nightmare! An abstract dedication, but important because the life events during the writing of Memories were nightmarish and highly influenced the book.

The third book in the trilogy From Obsession to Murder is all about love, sacrifice, and heroism and is dedicated to T. R. S. – my hero – my husband. It may seem like he's been shortchanged by appearing third, but the truth is I followed my creative muse and recognized the true inspiration for each novel. The simple truth is – my husband is my hero.

Years ago, we saw one another across a crowded room and it was love at first sight, but it also involved a bit of a detour. On what I thought would be our first date we met again at a dinner celebration. The problem – he showed up with a date. To say I was devastated would be putting it mildly.

However, miraculously six months later and free from any other encumbrance, he did ask me for a date. He then shared with me the fact that my dear brother had warned him off. Big brother was trying to protect me from his best friend, the playboy. Needless to say, we've been together ever since!

T. R. S. is and always has been my biggest supporter. Through my entire writing journey and regardless of the mistakes I made or the many times I wanted to give up, he was always cheering me on. When I pleaded with him to read my unpublished work, he would refuse, claiming he'd only read it after it was published. His way of pushing me forward through the process – from creation to query – he stuck by that statement.

T. R. S. – is – my hero and the third book is the most appropriate place to make that statement!

• Who is your hero? As a writer, how would you use the dedication page – as a reader, does it matter?

 Thanks again Sia, this was a blast.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

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A killer plays cat and mouse with a young widow against the snowy backdrop of an Alaskan winter.

Branded a black widow after the suspicious death of her millionaire husband, Sarah Palmer flees Seattle for Anchorage.

But the peace and quiet she hoped to enjoy in her hometown is soon shattered: The killer is murdering Sarah look-alikes on the 14th of each month, taunting Sarah with a valentine of evidence.

After her experiences in Seattle, Sarah is slow to go to the police. When she finally does, she finds Detective Steven Quaid, who is called on to protect the beautiful widow from a stalker intent on her destruction.

Steven is not entirely sure she is not behind the scheme herself, and before long Sarah has him wound up tighter than barbed wire. Is Sarah a victim or a very skilled manipulator?

With a killer on the loose and a climbing body count, Steven can't afford to hedge his bets-or his life. Excerpt

                                                                                                                                      

An adventurous spirit took Yolanda Renée to Alaska where she hiked the Brooks Range, traveled from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, and learned to sleep under the midnight sun.
She claims her vivid imagination as a blessing, a habit, a hobby, a calling and sometimes a curse.
Renée now resides in Central Pennsylvania with her husband, two sons, and Boston terrier, Patches. 

You can find Yolanda: Website, Facebook, Goodreads, and Twitter. 

AS YOU KNOW BOB...CONTESTS ROCK!

I am a contest whore.

Yes, you read that right. I can’t resist a contest. And romance writing contests...well, let’s just say I have lots of experience J

When I first started writing, I found it very difficult to find good beta readers. I asked my sisters, my friends, even a casual acquaintance. And they were all very willing to help out. Problem was, they were too nice.

Everyone loved my sample chapters. They thought I was the best writer since Margaret Atwood (little hint there that I’m Canadian). The only real criticism I got was from one sister who works as the Managing Editor of a prestigious medical journal. Apparently, I didn't use enough commas.

Around that time, I read a blog post by a romance author who extolled the virtues of joining a writing group. She mentioned the Romance Writers Association. I promptly looked them up and was delighted to discover they had a local chapter near me. Yay!

A whole new world of support and information opened up the day I became an RWA member. Not the least of which was a monthly listing of...gasp...contests. Yes, I am one of those people who fills in the little contest forms in malls and parking lots. I click every button that says “Enter here”. I tick every box that says “Sign me up.”

But an RWA chapter contest is a whole different beast.

Designed to give newbie romance authors substantive feedback on their work, the RWA chapter contests require the submission of several chapters and often a synopsis (gah). There is no “click here” button. No “easy entry.” Your work has to be read and reread, polished and spit-shined. And did I mention the synopsis?

I wrote and rewrote my chapters. I edited them with a fine-tooth comb. I read article after article about writing a synopsis and then proceeded to destroy a forest worth of trees. I realized then, I hadn't properly plotted out the story.

Back to the computer. Learn about plotting. Write and rewrite. Attack synopsis with the vigor reserved for really dirty ovens (at least in the days before oven cleaner was invented). Finally, I had something that didn't make me cringe.

But more than that. The process of reviewing and editing my own work taught me more than I had learned from self-help writing books and community college courses. There is nothing like ripping your own work apart. Except maybe forcing it into a two page synopsis. I did mention the synopsis, didn't I?

I learned more with every contest I entered (and there were quite a few!). My scenes became steamier when I entered a contest for the best “first kiss”. My writing became crisper when I learned how to condense for the “one page synopsis” contest. The best “cute meet” taught me how to put emotion into a scene.

Best of all, however, the feedback I received from contest judges was invaluable. Some pointed out inconsistencies in the story. Others made me realize that sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. A few kind judges pointed out grammar errors (although no missing commas). It was through contest judges I learned to avoid the “As you know, Bob” literary device where a character blurts out a bunch of information in dialogue to another character that already knows the information with the sole purpose of informing the reader. Boy, was I guilty of that!

I would highly recommend contests for anyone starting a romance writing career. Not only did I get excellent feedback through the contests, I learned a lot about writing, won a few prizes, and I got an agent!

I still enter contests. After all, the learning never stops.

• What has been your experiences with contests? Love 'em? Hate 'em?

Thanks very much to Sia for hosting me today. I wish you many happy contests!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

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AGAINST THE ROPES--Available in stores and online now.

He scared me. He thrilled me. And after one touch, all I could think about was getting more...

Makayla never thought she'd set foot in an elite mixed martial arts club. But if anyone needs a medic on hand, it's these guys. Then again, at her first sight of the club's owner, she's the one feeling breathless.

The man they call Torment is all sleek muscle and restrained power. Whether it's in the ring or in the bedroom, he knows exactly when a soft touch is required and when to launch a full-on assault. He always knows just how far he can push. 

And he's about to tempt Makayla in ways she never imagined...

Excerpt



                                                                                                                                                                                                                     


Recovering lawyer, karate practitioner, and caffeine addict, Sarah Castille worked and traveled abroad before trading her briefcase and stilettos for a handful of magic beans and a home near the Canadian Rockies. Her steamy, contemporary romantic tales feature blazingly hot alpha heroes and the women who tame them.

You can find Sarah: Website, Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter. 

You can also sign up for Sarah's newsletter for the latest scoop on books, contests, and appearances.

THE TROUBLE WITH PITCHES...

My scheduled guest, Lindsay Ashford, was unable to visit today. My apologies. We'll catch up with her later.  

I've only gotten serious about my writing the last few of years.  Don’t get me wrong, I've been a writer most of my business life and have written numerous articles for  newspapers, industry styled periodicals, radio copy, and developed seminars. And while I've told stories all my life, written down many of them, it’s only been a recent thing for me to consider fulfilling a dream of writing novels and having them published. 

I have several friends who are authors and who have been a big encouragement to me. They've taken an interest in my writing and try to help me improve. One asked me to give a brief blurb about one of my stories. I’m thinking, brief? You see, me and brief—especially in fiction, we have problems and we’re not exactly close friends. I thought, hey, I could do this. After all, I wrote several 90,000-word books so how hard can it be? I hunkered down and got to it.

Three days and seven drafts later I gave her what I thought was brief. 

Ahem, need I say it was in need of a major blood transfusion when I got it back? Then she added the word “concise”, sigh…I thought two pages was concise. She then gave me a helpful clue; think of the back cover of a book. 

Two days and twelve drafts later I hand her the blurb. 

Her response? Sia, just how big do you think a book cover is? 

Oh-oh. 

The next day and we won’t mention the draft count, I handed it back to her. Good word count, however…then came all this stuff about character goal, motivation, conflict, word choices, and yeah, it was still bleeding to death.

My friend is tough and has pushed me to be the best I can be and not to give up. She also thinks one should always practice pitches—who knows when you might meet an acquiring editor? I have a lot of respect for her. So, you know whom I went to when I was preparing a 50-word pitch for an editor. This time it only took me one day and four drafts—I had been practicing. I got it back, “close but not quite.” 

I growled—hey it impressed my dog.  I went for a walk, did the dishes, polished my nails and sat down, determined to get this thing right.

My final draft? 

“Wow, you got it!” Shock, followed by the wet noodle thing, and then elation.

Now, if an editor does more then just read the manuscript and says thanks but no thanks? 

I’ll tell you what it feels like to win a lottery. 

MONDAY MUSINGS—AUGUST BRINGS THE FALL

Summer is a time of play and having fun. Or so I've always thought. Probably a holdover from when I was in school. Couldn't wait for relief from homework and dress codes.

Summer was always a time of adventures. My two older brothers and I had a grand time thinking up stories to act out, forts to build, and trails to blaze through the woods for our bikes.  Our bikes became everything from horses, race cars, space shuttles (ala Star Trek), and motorcycles. Our yard and surrounding forests became our playground, our door through time to a new planet, the Wild West, climbing the mountains. In other words, it was our stage.

I’m not going to say we didn't have chores because we did. Plus my dad was in the trades and I was his number one helper on different projects from concrete work to bricklaying, with a few in ground swimming pools thrown in. There also the houses we renovated. A lot of hard labor where I learned much both about the trades and the men worked them. 

Those lessons didn't start until I was eleven and ended when I turned eighteen and went off to college. Dad always made sure I had playtime and down time to just hang out and read or, do my creative stuff. Summertime has always been a time for fun and tons of reading and I always have a book with me regardless of where I go or what I’m doing.

August was always a weird month. We started school the day after Labor Day. The last few weeks of August was gearing up for that workload.  I was glad to get back to school and I was ready. I actually loved school. I loved the smell of new clothes, paper, books, and the hint of autumn. I absolutely love September through November. I love the smell of wood smoke in the air, the intense blue skies, the gorgeous colors, and the snap of chill in the air. At this point in my life, I’m not particularly fond of icy cold and snow. *shrugging. I deal. I complain, but overall, winter has its beauty and joys too.

I think those attitudes are the same for me now. My mind turns to work oriented things, as if to say playtime is over. So it is this year. I’m back to my day job, which takes up quite a bit of time

and more mental energy than I like. Off time, my focus is more on completing chores around the ranch in preparation for winter but…I also have characters circling around in my head wanting to be let out to play. They want a stage to play on.  The fall is certainly busier and yet I seem to accomplish quite a bit. I find myself wanting to write more. Winter brings those lovely days of snowfall and storms, which seem to put my dragon muse in a tizzy to write. Over all, I do my best creative writing from August through winter—much better than I do in the summer play time.

How about you? How does this time of the year affect you?