Now. Onto more serious things: the dreaded synopsis. If you're not a writer, consider yourself very lucky that this is something you've escaped. For me, it's like pulling out my own teeth with rusty pliers while someone hammers nails into my eyeballs. Oh yes, it's just that much fun. Luckily, today I've got Crabbity Bat (her words, not mine) and absolute writing genius Nicola Morgan here to talk about her new book, Write a Great Synopsis.
Take it away, Nicola!
Hello Talli and
Talli’s lovely readers!
Thank you so much
for letting me visit again. I’m very honoured and in recognition of that I’ve
brought some champagne. *pops cork* Cheers!
Since most or many
of your readers aren’t writers, I thought I’d say something that might interest
both groups.
Writers get
horribly vexed about synopses. Many of
us (not me, tbh) would rather eat witchety grubs than write one, and yet quite
happily sit down to write a 100,000 word novel. Thing is, making a few words
work well is hard. Blaise Pascal famously apologised (in French) for writing
such a long letter, saying he didn’t have time to write a short one. And
there’s a real truth in that. And what writers have to do is turn a 100,000
word thing into something very short
– maybe 600 words – and that’s very
hard.
On the other hand,
Tolstoy said, “No book should be too complex to explain to a barmaid.” (Very
rude to barmaids, imo.) Indeed, Anna Karenina may be long but it’s far from
complex – omit the farming, and there’s very little left to go in the synopsis.
Actually, I also
think it might be easier for a reader to produce a good synopsis of a book than
its writer. In fact, one of the things I recommend to writers in Write a Great
Synopsis (WAGS!) is to forget your book, or forget the details. If you forget
the details and sequences, what you’re left with is the core – what and who
it’s about and how the story ends, bringing the memorable driving forces
together.
Writers, please
stop worrying! WAGS covers everything about synopsis-writing, clearly and
reassuringly. At the end of it I believe you truly will say to yourself, “Don’t
panic – it’s only a synopsis!
And readers, next
time you pick up a new book, spare a thought for the poor writer who almost
certainly had to write a sparkly synopsis before getting the deal!
Thanks for
listening, everyone. I’d be really interested to hear your thoughts.
Would you
rather write a book or a synopsis?
NB: all commenters
below (by Feb 15th) will be entered into the Big WAGS Competition,
with chances to win a critique of your synopsis by the Crabbit Old Bat herself!
One comment per person on each blog – though you can add to your chances by
commenting on the other posts on the tour. Details of all stops on the tour
will appear on my blog (Help!
I Need a Publisher!) as they go out.
Details about the
book, including buying options, here. The link
direct to Amazon UK is here; Amazon.com is here. And it’s stupid cheap till
the end of January!
Thanks, Nicola!
Well, I'd much rather write a book than a synopsis. A zillion times more! How about you? Have a great weekend, everyone!
