The Sum of the Parts: Writing a Synopsis

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Aside from queries--and maybe electronic hotel card keys--few things are as frustrating as writing a synopsis.

Condensing an entire novel to just a few pages means some things are going to be minimized or even excluded. I've found that approaching a synopsis similarly to how I approach outlining my novel helps me narrow down what to include.

Birth of a Book Part Nine: The Development Stage: Summarizing the Story

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Part of the Early Stages of a Novel Series

This series has been discussing the early stages of writing a novel. We started with the Stage One: the Idea Stage, beginning with the Inspirational Spark, moving on to Brainstorming the Idea, Clarifying the Idea, and wrapping it up with Testing the idea. Next, we entered Stage Two: Development, which got us looking at ways to create characters, and then further develop those characters. We then shifted to setting and world building, and last week, we focused on figuring out the plot. Today wraps up Stage Two with summarizing the story.

A story summary is a lot like a synopsis without all the pressure. It doesn’t matter what format it takes or how long it is, it’s just all of your thoughts and brainstorming ideas fleshed out on paper.

How to Write a Sizzling, Scintillating Synopsis

By Suzanne Purvis

Part of the How They Do It Series 

JH: Just the idea of writing a synopsis sends many a writer into distress. If you're one of them, Suzanna Purvis has some great tips on making the process easier. Please help me give her a warm welcome.
 
Suzanne Purvis is a transplanted Canadian living in the Deep South, where she traded “eh” for “y’all.” An author of long, short, flash fiction for both children and adults, she has won several awards including those sponsored by the University of Toronto, RWA, Bethlehem Writer’s Roundtable, and Women Who Write. You can find her work in print anthologies, magazines, ezines, and ebooks on her website.

She leads workshops at Lawson Writer’s Academy and for Romance Writers of America, including her popular Sizzling, Scintillating Synopsis. She also works individually with writers on any aspect of their writing they are looking to improve. Feel free to email her at spurvis500@embarqmail.com and be added to her mailing list for upcoming classes.

Website | Goodreads | Amazon

Take it away Suzanne...

The Ebb and Flow of Plotting a Novel

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Over the last few weeks I’ve been revising one of my works in progress. Before I change any text, I like to rework my synopsis and summarize every scene and capture what happens, why, how the scene unfolds, where it goes, what’s driving it, and add a myriad of notes and reminders for me to keep track of when and where things happen. It’s messy, but effective for my process.

One thing I’ve noticed this time around (though it’s something I’ve always done), is that I plot forward until things get a little fuzzy and I’m not sure what happens, then I go back a few scenes and flesh out the plot until I’m able to move past that fuzzy scene. The story develops with a gentle ebb and flow, moving back and forth as needed.