Rewriting the Synopsis

Did you ever hear the one about "the best-laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley?" (Robert Burns, and you'll notice the famous title lifted from the line of his poem.)

Version Two of the synopsis was better received by my critique partner than Version One, but she still had plenty of suggestions to make it, and the novel, better. So, it's off to rewrite land to start over.

First things first. My cp advised me to start with a character sketch of the heroine, leaving out nothing important. I had left vital information about her until later in the synopsis, which affected the flow of timing and pacing. By putting everything pertinent about her into the first paragraph, I eliminate the need to mention things later, and the reader (editor) will know that the story is character-driven.

After the heroine, describe the Hero. (Unless you're writing something other than romance...male oriented action/adventure may not even have a heroine.) Everything that makes him who he is should be put on paper right at the beginning.

Then get into the story. Make sure the pacing is right. I had the Hero & Heroine admitting they loved each other on page three of the synopsis, which looks like it's halfway through the book, even though it doesn't happen until the last chapter! My cp's advice was to make it clear that it happens near the end, so that the editor won't think things are going too smoothly for the protagonists.

In addition, my cp had some wonderful suggestions for the story itself. We brainstormed a bit, and now I need to do some rewriting on the novel as well. All in all, it shouldn't take too long to fix, and it will improve the book. That, hopefully, will also improve its chances of selling!

In conclusion: if you're working on a synopsis, make sure you get all the important character information in first, and then leap into the storyline. Make sure you really care about your characters. If you don't care about them, no one else will!

Happy writing!

Book Review: THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO WRITING AND SELLING THE CHRISTIAN NOVEL by Penelope J. Stokes, Ph.D.

Since writing Christian fiction is a goal of mine, having passed up the dreaming stage to the point where I'm actually working on it, finding this book at the library was like finding a handhold on a rock face when you're halfway up the mountain.

Dr. Stokes not only edits Christian fiction, she writes it as well, so she gives the reader both viewpoints. She begins with a definition of Christian fiction as accepted by the CBA, i.e., evangelical fiction, mentioning notable authors of fiction whose viewpoint is Christian but may not be evangelical, such as Madeline L'Engle, Richard Kienzle, C. S. Lewis, and others. She continues with an ennumeration of the types of Christian fiction, including romance, prophetic action/adventure (I don't think she labeled it that, exactly!) such as the Left Behind series of Dr. Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins and the truly scary and wonderful books of Frank Peretti, Christian fantasy, etc. (It would be easier to write this review if I hadn't had to turn the book in yesterday!)

This book has a nuts and bolts approach to writing. Dr. Stokes dissects the writing process, and shows you how it's done for today's market. She gives the reader insightful techniques to polish and perfect their writing. This book would be useful even for writers of non-Christian fiction.

One extra plus: at the end of the book is a checklist with chapter headings, reiterating the points she made in that chapter, where the reader can analyze his or her motivation for writing, check off plot points, work on characterization, and make sure the book is moving in the direction it started. On a scale of one to ten for useful tools for writers, I'd give this one a ten!