Ooh! That was fast.
Kudos to Elektra and her Crapometer! I emailed her my query letter (for Dark Heir) this morning and it's already up on the site for critiquing. Do feel free to pop by and thrash it within an inch of its sorry life. Inquiring minds want to know: does this suck?
And really, no matter how much it sucks, it couldn't possibly suck more than my synopsis currently does. *sigh*
Has anyone advice on how to write a good synopsis? I've scoured many a website, but I seem to find little except synopsis-writing-for-romance-writers, and this is not too applicable. I know a synopsis should:
1) outline the plot clearly,
2) capture a bit of the novel's "voice", and
3) not induce spontaneous power-napping.
Currently, my synopsis fails on points 2 and 3. Should I go for a juicy back-flap-flavoured tone? The query letter I linked to above was written that way.
I humbly grovel for the wise advice of my highly-talented readers. *grovel, grovel*
5 comments:
Elektra moves with scary speed when it's her regulars that are seeking murder by critique. I know I commented earlier, but didn't click that it was yours, so I might nip back now...
Done. I'll probably post a new Sealsong query soon (after Evil Editing, sigh - I thought it could work harder, he thought it needed a rewrite...), so have at it with your steely knife!
Blah. A synopsis. Hates them we do.
Here's one link I dug up, but you've probably already seen it.
http://www.fictionwriters.com/tips-synopsis.html
My take on the synopsis...yes, it's vital. It's a way for an agent to see that you have, in fact, thought through the entire story and have a concrete ending. I've never had a good gauge of whether a synopsis portrays a story's tone/voice well, because boiling down an entire plot onto a couple of pages is going to leave you with only a few grains of salt to flavor the summary with.
To keep it from being boring (I hope) I try to highlight the more intense emotional and action-oriented scenes that drive the characters along...on hindsight, I guess they call these plot points. Huh. Howzabout that?
My perhaps misguided hope is that if an agent finds a synopsis a bit dry, they will at least not discard the manuscript offhand. I don't think they judge a work by the synopsis as much as the style and premise. The synopsis is a way for them to see if you have a cohesive novel, and that the story can hold itself up the whole way through.
Agents, correct me if I'm wrong.
Have you checked out www.lisagardner.com/tricks.index/htm ?
(If I've screwed up, find Lisa Gardner and click on Tricks of the Trade.)
McKoala:
Thank you! I do appreciate you taking the time to comment twice! I shall definitely gnaw upon your revised Sealsong query when it goes up. :-)
Josh:
Blah. A synopsis. Hates them we do.
Word. *nods fervently*
Josh and Bernita:
Thanks for the links! I shall peruse them diligently because I'm pretty sure I haven't seen either of them before and they do look helpful! Thank you again, both of you.
Post a Comment