A writer writes about writing
So a few months ago my blog persona ceased to be ‘The Ginger Ninja’ and became the author Fanny Crispin. I did my best to purge the Ginja in my attempt at a new start. You know, rather than letting her float around cyberspace as a blank entity.
Guess who showed up today, out of the blue, when someone replied to her comment from eons ago. No, no, guess.
Yep. The Ginja’s back. I suppose you never stop being a ginger.
Fanny T Crispin
Synopses
The synopsis is a tricky excerpt to write. Unlike the query letter which picks the bones of your story, a synopsis should be exciting, gripping, and fun to read. But first, why are we writing a synopsis in the first place?
That is a very good question, and I’m glad you asked.
Synopsis: a brief summary or general survey of something; an outline of the plot of a book, movie, or television series.
Agents and editors want to know what the story is about before they take the job on. You can’t deny them this. You want them to be as interested and excited as you are, so give them something to chew on deliciously.
When you write your synopsis, there are two things to keep in mind, plot and emotion, because both are necessary. An agent, publisher, or editor will want to see both. Break your story down into an outline, following this formula:
1 Plot
2 Main character’s arc
A) Who is he/she?
B) Describe the forced change which propels your main character
C) Does he take a leap of faith or remain true to his nature?
D) Is he better off for his decision?
3 Impact character(s)
A) When do they appear?
B) How do they impact or pressure your main character?
C) Does your main character change the impact character or does your impact character change your main character?
D) Is the impact character better off?
4 Major relationship between your main character and the impact characters, for example, in my book Clockwork Dreams, this is the relationship between my main character Crissie and the impact character Eric. It is an emotional subplot that builds throughout the story
A) The beginning of the relationship
B) The development
C) The climax
D)The end result of the relationship
5 Struggles and morals – is there a specific conviction you want to portray your main character going through, one of a mental or emotional nature?
6 Now include the plot points. For a reference, here are the 8 basic plot points
7 Now, put all of your notes together. These are still just an outline, so rearrange them to fall into an orderly pattern, then edit accordingly. You will have notes for the plot and notes for the emotional plot in separate outlines, work them together carefully.
Here are some questions to ask yourself to test the story:
1. Is the story original? You can only rip off Beauty and the Beast so many times.
2. Do you have an interesting main character?
3. Is the subject matter intriguing?
A) Does the subject matter have a sound plot with satisfying conflict and conclusion?
B) Does it portray the tone and style you were going for?
Just because you finished your synopsis, does not mean you are done. By no means, now you will enter the editing phase. See lesson (11). What you have now is only an outline after all, so take some time to flesh it out. You will want to carefully edit, draft, and proofread just as you would a novel. Have a friend or a few friends read it for conciseness and flow. Preferably someone who hasn’t read the entire book. You don’t want any pesky unanswered questions popping up.
When you submit your synopsis, many submission forms will have a word count limit. Consider this when filling out your synopsis outline. This is your chance to catch the Big Fish hook, line, and sinker, so keep your synopsis interesting. Show them you are an amazing writer, both in novels and summaries. Don’t submit this synopsis until you are satisfied with it. And good luck. You can do this.
With notes from Glen C. Strathy
If you’d like a more in depth look into this lesson, see the blog post in the link above. I found Strathy to be very helpful in this area, and I modeled this lesson after his approach. It’s the most comprehensive take I’ve read to date.
Fanny T Crispin
If you’re in the Rockford, IL area, yours truly will be hawking (pleasantly presenting) her wares (books) at a table in the Auburn High School Craft Fair supporting the Thespian Program!
The CAPA Theater Thespian Program at Auburn has inspired and enabled young actors, and for the past six years, they have placed in the State champions for theater and acting.
Come on out to see me and the other crafty crafters May 2nd, 2015 between the hours of 9 am and 5 pm.
Auburn High School
5110 Auburn St,
Rockford, IL 61101
Fanny T Crispin
This has been a fun excursion from my usual writing and I am proud of what I’ve accomplished. I missed a few days, and I have decided writing a blog daily is not for me. However, now I know what I want for this blog. As a young author who jumped into this world of publishing by the seat of her pants, I floundered around trying to figure out what to do, who I am, and what my staple is going to be. It has certainly been exciting discovering these answers along the way. Perfecting your art is not an overnight done deal. It takes time, and time is one thing I have come to rely on.
Not in the “I’m going to live forever!” reliance, but you know, the “time will work everything out” assurance.
So here are a few resolutions to start out. I will continue to blog once a week. I kind of want to say I’ll update on Tuesdays. Yeah, that sounds right. I will finish the 30 Days to Publishing lessons, but life has been hectic and busy and wonderful, and I haven’t had much time to think about it. I’ll make a goal to finish the next lesson next week, so if you’ve been waiting for that, thank you for your patience. Feel free to hold me accountable next Tuesday. 😉
I am ecstatic to announce Clockwork Dreams is FREE for Kindle Unlimited Amazon Prime members, but that deal is for a limited time. By the end of the summer, Sir Ivan’s Train,’Fate Changers’ will hit the market and I’ll be AFB (Away From Blog) promoting that.
Yeah, so SIT (Sir Ivan’s Train, don’t you just love that acronym?) is making tremendous progress. I’ve been scrambling like a mad woman to prepare the manuscript for my meeting with my editor on May 15th. It will be a two-part series, so as soon as he begins editing, I’ll be finishing the second book and spending the summer working on illustrations. So much to do, so very much to do.
I’ll leave you with that. For now, this has been,
Fanny T Crispin
How does apparel show respect?
These kids who wear jeans to church aren’t respectful!
Where did this tradition of dressing up begin? In the past, only the rich could afford fine clothes, so what does that say of our traditionalist elders?
Well, they’re showing disrespect by not wearing a suit!
But who are we disrespecting? Surely not the church building. The building doesn’t care. Certainly not God, who tells us to come as we are with all our filthy rags and faults.
Last year, I was shamed and scolded for not dressing ‘nice’ for Mothers Day. This was by my own family, of course. In fact, it was expressed that I was a ‘disappointment’ for my choice of clothing on that auspicious day. Was it because ‘everyone else’ was dressed up and I was not conforming? Was I disrespecting my mother by my apparel? I wasn’t wearing rags. I wore jeans and a t-shirt.
Rewinding to the morning of that day, I was in the bathroom staring at my reflexion in the mirror. I had been crying. It wasn’t a good morning. It was an ugly morning. No matter how I applied my makeup, or how I wrestled with my stubborn hair, or what outfit I tried on, I kept feeling overwhelming thoughts of ugliness. Now, I’ve had people tell me all my life how beautiful and pretty I was. My hair alone seems to be an envy. But, God, I was an ugly child. I had too much hair, a pointed nose, acne like some pitted monster from Mars, I was tall and gangly and shapeless, and I was clumsy to boot. I hate pictures of my younger self. I never looked on the outside how I felt on the inside. And all to soon, I began to feel on the inside the way I looked on the outside. I felt ugly.
I’ve grown up since then, become a woman. I’ve been hit on and honked at and complimented generously. But, damn. I still have ugly days. On those days, I wear clothing for comfort because I can’t make the pretty work.
Mothers Day 2014 was an ugly day. And it hurt to have my family openly shaming me for a holiday which was initiated just too generate more revenue. I was dressed modest. My pants weren’t hanging down my butt. My boobs weren’t hanging out. I was still being modest.
So how was that being disrespectful?
Do you people realize how painful your words can be?
I’m disappointed.
FanTC out.
Written Things 