A Synopsis is NOT a Blurb

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been helping writing buddies prepare submissions for various writing contests. From PitchWars through to RWNZ’s Great Beginning, each of these contest required a synopsis as part of the submission packet. PitchWars required a query letter too. However, there was one thing that seemed to be a constant theme: there was confusion about the difference between a synopsis and a blurb.

To put it simply, a blurb is the short teaser that snags the interest of a reader, enticing them to read more. This is what is typically used on the back cover of a printed book. It’s a blurb that one will find in a query letter.

A synopsis is the spoiler alert, containing ALL plot points from the main thread of the story from start to finish, including the ending. It’s an editing tool that the public will never see unless you let them.

Let’s break this down a bit further.
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Exposition: A Literary Term Defined

Put your hand up if you are one of the many writers out there who hears one of the many terms that industry professionals throw out at you and you blink. "What exactly does that mean?" Let's not forget how stupid we feel for not knowing. However, there are so many well-known writers who are just as much in the dark about some of these terms as the rest of us.

In a recent post, I defined the term purple prose. Today, I want to talk about another term that tripped me up when I first started (and trips up so many new writers, understandably so): Exposition.

Basically, exposition is a comprehensive description of an idea. That is the dictionary definition, but what does this mean for writing?

Purple Prose: A Literary Term Defined

There are many different terms that are commonly used within the publishing industry that many new writers look at those terms with one simple response: "Huh?" Even a few experienced writers will look at those terms and be completely baffled.

Over the past few weeks, I've been compiling a list of these terms. The list is actually quite extensive, and much bigger than I first thought. I've decided that it's time to help new and experienced writers to learn what some of these terms mean, so if you ever encounter them in an editorial report, you're not completely confused by what the editor is saying.

Let's start with one that tripped me up when I first started as a writer: Purple Prose.

To put it simply, purple prose is any passage that is excessively descriptive.

Play with Screen Brightness and Color Schemes.

You’ve come to the end of a really long day and you would like to do some writing, but you just can’t face that monitor. Time to play around with those monitor settings.

Eye strain is something that plagues many of us in this day and age. We spend so much time on our computers or electronic devices that our eyes just aren’t coping. Many will read their eBooks off of a tablet or smartphone, and that laptop seems to be attached to our limbs. Or we’ll watch the latest movie on that LCD TV mounted on the wall. Between our day jobs and the computer requirements there, and our home lives, no wonder so many of us suffer from eye strain headaches every day.

However, there are some tricks that we can play to keep the eye strain away.Read More→

Using an Editorial Synopsis to Find a Story Split

So you've gotten into writing this story idea, and the word counts are steadily climbing. You're not even a third of the way through your intended plot, and already you've hit the industry accepted word count for your genre. Before you rush off to turn your manuscript into a trilogy, think this through.

As I've discussed before in the post Length matters, but story matters more, agents and editors use word counts as a first-level indication of the maturity of the writing. Going dramatically over what is considered to be an acceptable word count length could be a sign of over writing — writing that is filled with too much backstory or unnecessary description. Yet, coming under the word count could be a sign that not enough attention was given to the details — that a story is all tell and no show.

But let's say that you are the most gifted writer on the planet, and that every word in your manuscript has its purpose. (We'll ignore the fact that a professional editor will have different ideas, but we'll carry on.) There is no way that you can do your story proper justice in a single book. Or maybe you set out from the beginning to actually write a series.

The place where a novel finishes is NOT when you hit 100,000 words, but rather when a story plot arc comes to a conclusion. This is where the dreaded synopsis can help in a big way.

Writers who are heading down the traditional publication path are likely about to scream at me. Synopses are scary things — whittling that 80,000+ words into only 500. But that's a submission synopsis. What I'm talking about is an editorial synopsis.

Creating Focus for Your Writing

I don’t know about anyone else, but I have a large number of writing projects on the go. Every time I turn around, there’s another idea that pops into my head that calls my attention. However, one needs to find a way to focus their writing efforts, so they actually complete their projects.

Developing focus is one of the topics that I have found myself talking about with my mentoring clients and in my personal writing groups. There seems to be a general consensus. If you are wanting to eventually turn your writing into a way of making a living, you need to tackle this issue by compartmentalizing your writing.

Let me explain further.
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Writing to Become a Published Writer

Most writers start their journeys with the idea that they will eventually become published. That is an admirable goal and one that I support wholeheartedly. There will be a few who have no desire to head down that path, and I support that decision too. Writing is a journey that is different for everyone.

However, for those determined to one day be published, be it self-published or traditionally published, there is a particular mindset that you will need to develop. This is just a few things that you will need to do to the help you on your journey toward the road of success.

Assassins, Spies and SAS. Oh My…

In a recent post, Fight Scenes: Instinct & Perspectives, I spoke about emotional engagement and the perspectives used for writing fight scenes. I touched on fight-or-flight, and how a writer can use that to their advantage. However, I also spoke about believability. If elements of your fight scene delve into the unbelievable, you will lose your reader.

While most people are able to easily visualize how the average Joe will respond in a fight, what their actions would be, and their capabilities, there is one type of fighter that is often used within fight scenes that majority of people can't truly relate to.

I'm talking about those characters who are highly trained to be assassins, spies and special forces soldiers (or SAS, as they are known in some countries). While all of these characters will have different backgrounds and different skill sets, there will be commonalities to the way they behave. Their reactions to a given situation can almost be predicted.

Fight Scenes: Instinct & Perspective

Recently, I have found myself in multiple situations where I’ve been shoulder-tapped to look over the fight scenes of others. It’s ironic that I’ve developed a knack (and a love) for those action-pumping scenes that often result in carnage and death. I’ve come a long way since my husband’s single feedback line of my high fantasy novel (feedback given nearly 8 years ago now): “Your fight scenes suck.”

(Geez… Love you too, hubby.)

However, as much as that original critique strung, I persevered, and analyzed to death what makes a good fight or action scene. (Pun intended.) Now, nearly 8 years later, those action-filled scenes that get the heart pumping pour out of me with ease—and the body count rises significantly.

Show the story. Tell the ride through the countryside.

Show the emotions. Show the setting. Show the complexities of your mind. Show this. Show that.

Oh, before I forget, tell that ride through the countryside. Tell that little backstory through dialogue. Tell the oral history.

When does one use tell? Should I always show? At what point is it too much show and not enough tell?

Show. Show. Show. Tell. Tell. Tell. It can seriously do your head in.

Understanding the difference between the two is one thing. Striking a balance between them to keep your reader engaged is another. For the moment, let's focus on the first issue.