I know - what took me so long, right?

Sorry for the delay.  I’m in the midst of dealing with editorial revisions on two different novels while also starting work full time again.  So I’ve been up to my ears.

But at long last, we come to part three of How to Write a Novel Synopsis.  In this section of our series I’m going to simply post the complete synopsis to a novel called LIONS OF JUDAH.  LIONS was recently optioned for feature film production despite the fact I have yet to complete it, never mind sell it in novel form.  It is a short synopsis - a couple of pages - but it did what it needed to do, which was get someone interested in the story.

So, without further rambling, here is the synopsis for LIONS OF JUDAH:

Dalton James, Murray Renton, Juan Carlos, and Nathan Stevens are led by their pastor, Chris Martinez, into the mountains for a weekend together with God.  All of them are world-weary, beaten up by the expectations of their jobs, the demands of their families, and the loss of desire that plagues men today like some kind of strange disease.  Their intent is to spend a weekend in the wilderness together communing with their Lord; just five good men looking to recover their hearts through His glory.

What they find is so much more.

The Lord hears their pleas.  He enters their hearts, heals their wounds, and opens their eyes so that they might see the true nature of the heavenly conflict raging on the face of the earth.  When an angel of the Lord is slaughtered before their very eyes by dark forces, there can be no mistaking the deadly seriousness of the battle unfolding around them.

There is no turning back.

Before his death, the angel Suriel told them of his mission to awaken another of the Lord’s messengers, the archangel Raphael, trapped here behind enemy lines for the last two centuries.  A climactic battle is looming and Raphael’s unique gifts are needed if the heavenly host is to defeat Satan’s forces.  Unfortunately, Suriel is unable to reveal Raphael’s location or his identity before dying of his wounds.  Only Raphael’s sword remains, the holy artifact needed to allow Raphael to regain awareness of his angelic nature, to understand who and what he truly is.

At first the five men attempt to ignore the path the Lord has lain before them, modern Jonahs determined not to go to Nineveh.  Their delay has disastrous consequences, however.  Two of their brethren are taken out before the battle even begins; Juan Carlos flees in the night in an effort to save his family and Pastor Martinez is slaughtered in his home by an agent of the dark one known as the Carrion King.

The five have now become three.  Their town, their loved ones, even their very lives are at risk if they remain.  United in desperation, bound by faith, the threesome set off on a cross-country mission to find the archangel Raphael and restore him to his former glory.

As the three companions set out on their journey, across the country another drama is unfolding.  Dr. Susan Becker is leaving the party celebrating the opening of her latest museum exhibit when she is confronted by two strangers in the alley outside the museum.

The newcomers demand that Dr. Becker reveal the location of the fugitive.  When she replies truthfully that she has no idea what they are talking about, they respond with supernatural violence.  Only the sudden appearance of a homeless man saves her life as he charges into the fray and manages to wound her attackers, giving the two time to escape.

Dr. Becker flees in the company of her rescuer, determined to understand just what has transpired.  That evening, as she binds his wounds, she discovers that he has no memories older than a single day; every morning he starts anew, unable to remember anything that happened the day before, including his name or current location.  A physical exam reveals his lack of birthmarks, tattoos, or other identifying marks, including fingerprints!

Through her knowledge of the Book of Enoch, Dr. Becker becomes convinced that her companion is one of the Grigori of legend, angels banished to life on earth due to the depths of their interactions with humans.   Despite the danger she is in from those hunting him, Dr. Becker decides to remain at his side to help him recover his memories, believing that he can provide all the answers she has been searching for.

Nightly led by visions that invade their dreams, the two groups slowly make their way toward each other, blind compatriots groping for each other in the dark.  At their heels, come the Carrion King and his minions, determined to prevent the resurrection of their ancient enemy.

The confrontation, when it comes, is violent and deadly.  Despite being seriously wounded, Dalton delivers the angelic sword to its rightful owner and Raphael is restored to his heritage.  Combining his martial prowess with the faith of his companions, the angel is able to overcome the Carrion King and defeat their foe.

Life for the survivors will never be the same.  They have witnessed something extraordinary, something that has forever changed their understanding of the war between the darkness and the light, and as the sun rises over Sanctuary, Dalton and Dr. Becker stand together, wondering what the Lord has in store for them now.

**************************

That’s it - short and sweet.  But it contains the major elements necessary without overdoing it and in this case, proved to be enough to accomplish my goal.

One thing to note - the book proposal also includes a ten page chapter-by-chapter breakdown of all the action, which was also an element that allowed my synopsis to be shorter than usual for me.  For those interested in what my outlines typically look like, here are the first two chapters as laid out in it:

Friday Night

Chapter One

Viewpoint:  Dalton James

Dalton James, Murray Renton, Juan Carlos, Nathan Stevens and Pastor Chris Martinez have gathered together at a hunting lodge in the mountains for a men’s retreat, hoping to find the enthusiasm and joy they seem to have lost in their lives.  On the first night, Martinez discusses the concept that all men are born into a world at war, that every action that would allow them to live in the glory of God’s love is actively opposed by the Enemy.  The men discuss the idea, with James scoffing at the concept.  As a summer storm breaks over the mountains, the five friends head off to bed.

Chapter Two

Viewpoint: Dr. Susan Becker

It is opening night of the new museum exhibit honoring her ground-breaking discovery in the sands of Qumran the year before; the oldest known copy of the Book of Enoch.  Dr. Susan Becker feels as if she’s reached the height of her academic career.  The high-priced event goes off without a hitch and Susan stays until the very end, savoring her achievement and the acclaim of her colleagues.

While walking to her car after the opening, Susan is accosted by two strangers.  They demand that she reveal the location of “the fugitive,” threatening to kill her if she does not.  Not knowing what they are talking about, however, Susan is unable to comply.  The strangers close in to carry out their threat.

Jessica Faust of the Bookends Literary Agency has posted a list of several of the most common terms that come up when discussing book deals and publishing in general.

If you’re a new writer trying to understand this wacky industry or just happen to have an interest in the subject matter, I suggest you stop by. Jessica does a nice job of getting the primary point across without becoming bogged down in some of the finer details.

You can find her list at A Publishing Dictionary.

In part two of our three part series on writing the synopsis, we’re going to continue looking at the six key elements that I include in each synopsis that I write.  We’ve already focused on Theme and Setting/Time Period in our last post, so in this post we are going to examine Character Sketches, Plot Summaries, and Emotional Turning Points.

Character Sketches:

I always incorporate a short thumbnail sketch of each major character in either my novel proposals or as part of the synopsis itself. For example, here is a short character sketch that was included in the proposal for my latest thriller – EYES TO SEE.

Jeremiah Hunt is one of the Gifted, those who, by chance or design, have unique abilities that go beyond the natural. Despite being blind, Jeremiah is a Seer, able to see things remotely through the help of the two ghosts, Whisper and Scream, who are his ever-present companions. Of all the things that Jeremiah can see with his gift, he is unable to see the one thing that is most important to him – his missing daughter.

Plot Summary:

Obviously the plot summary is the heart of your synopsis. What most writers fail to realize is that you must summarize the beginning, middle, and the end of the story. You don’t want to frustrate the editor or agent reading your proposal with leaving only a teaser ending to your synopsis. “Will the Ghostbusters escape from the clutches of the evil Stay Puft Marshmallow Man? Request the full manuscript to find out!” is a big mistake.

You want the editor to walk away from your synopsis with the sense that you not only know where the story is going, but that also you know why it is going there and you understand the actual route it takes along the way. You want to show that the actions of the characters are grounded in their motivations and are a natural result of the situations they find themselves in, rather than a forced chain of events that result because the writer needs it to happen that way.

I take care to highlight the inciting incident that sends the hero on his way, the attempts and failures he undergoes to reach his goal, and the final climax of the story. In other words, highlight the problem, the conflict, and the resolution of your tale. I do not go into every little subplot or minor character because I want to maintain the editor’s interest and don’t want to make the story seem convoluted or confusing.

Emotional Turning Points:

Every novel is full of tens if not hundreds of little scenes that drive the story forward but that can’t stand alone as major elements. They do, however, contribute to a growing crescendo of emotion that culminates in a major scene that impacts the story in such as way as to be indispensible – in other words, it would be a different story without those elements. Including the emotional turning points in your synopsis is vital. In effect, your synopsis should almost leapfrog from one emotional turning point to another.

In the third and final post on the subject, we’ll examine the final of the six elements - Subplots - and then look at an actual synopsis for LIONS OF JUDAH, a work I just recently optioned for feature film development.

Photo by Leah Jones

I want to talk about the dreaded S word for the next few posts.

You know the one I’m talking about.

Synopsis.

–Shudder–

I know so many writers who hate writing a synopsis and I’ve never been able to understand why.  After all, it is your ticket to publication.  A good synopsis will get an editor or agent excited about reading your book and that’s the first step to getting an acceptance.

So, this week we are going to dissect the synopsis, understand what it is used for, and begin showing you how to write one for your current work-in-progress.

In the simplest of terms, a synopsis is a present tense summation of the key events in your story. (Present tense because it creates a feeling of immediacy and excitement.) It allows the editor or agent reading the synopsis to get a snapshot understanding of what happens to whom and why.  Structurally it must present the book’s plot, theme, and characters.  Stylistically it must package the characters, dramatic events, and plot together in such a way as to serve as a preview of the entire book.

There are as many different ways to write a synopsis as there are books on the shelf.  I’ve found one that works for me and I’ve stuck to it ever since.  Every synopsis I write contains certain essential elements.  These are:

• Theme
• Setting and Time Period
• Plot Summary
• Character sketches
• Emotional Turning Points
• Subplots

(I might occasionally throw in Dialogue as well, but it is rather infrequent so I didn’t include it in my primary list.)

Let’s look at these one at a time.

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I’ve been doing some research for an article on how writers can use the new social networking tools like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc to promote their work and stumbled upon this video done by author Dennis Cass in which he makes fun of trying to figure out how to use all that stuff. Having had more than one conversation like this with other writers, I found it pretty damned funny and thought I’d share it with you all. The book club comment is damn near perfect!

A scene is the most basic building block of a novel. String enough of them together in the correct way and you’ve got a page turner. Do it incorrectly and you’re almost guaranteed to have a flop. Of all the lessons I’ve learned in my time as a writer, this is the most fundamentally important in my view.

The average novel contains anywhere from twenty to sixty scenes. Go ahead; count them and see. There is a particular flow to a good scene and it is important to understand this flow before you can start messing around with it to suit your own style. This flow consists of six standard parts:

Goal

Conflict

Disaster

Reaction

Dilemma

Decision

In any particular scene, your character has a goal he wants to accomplish. While pursuing that goal he encounters a conflict. That conflict ends in disaster, which prevents him from reaching that goal. The character reacts to the disaster, be it physically, mentally, or emotionally, which forces him into a dilemma. Does he do X or does he do Y to continue trying to reach his goal? He decides on a course of action and a new goal. Then the process starts all over again.

Look at some of your favorite scenes. Think about them with respect to the six aspects mentioned above. Can you see where each section comes into play?

One of my favorite scenes can be found in Robert McCammon’s SWAN SONG. Two of the main characters, a boy named Roland and a former soldier named Colonel Macklin, are trapped in the cave-in of a survivalist’s refuge. Macklin is the only one who knows the way out of the complex. But his hand is buried beneath a ton of debris. Roland must gather his courage and chop Macklin’s hand off at the wrist in order to free the colonel, and ultimately, free himself.

The goal would be their mutual desire to get out of the complex. The conflict is that neither of them trusts the other. The disaster is, of course, Macklin’s trapped limb. They react to it individually and then as a team. A decision is made, an action taken, and a new goal is then assumed.

A series of good scenes built in this fashion soon turn into a good novel.

So what do you do to make your scenes stand-out and assume a life of their own? Let us know in the comments.

Novelist Josh Palmatier’s (jpsorrow) has organized something he’s calling the Plot Synopsis Project, which is taking place on March 18th. It is so cool that I’ll let him tell you about it in his own words…

“Essentially, I gathered together a group of authors who were willing to post an entry about their own plot synopsis writing technique as well as a sample copy of one of their own plot synopses OR post an entry about how they got published without using a plot synopsis, to show everyone how different people write their synopses, and that it isn’t necessarily required to get published. There are other routes. I would say that MOST people have to write a plot synopsis in order to get published though . . . and most of us hate doing it. I personally do.

And just to clarify, by plot synopsis, I mean the (usually) 3-5 page summary of the book that is (usually) included in a submission package to the agent or editor, along with a cover letter or query letter, and sometimes with the first few chapters of the novel. This is not the one paragraph pitch, or even the one line pitch. Some of the other authors will talk about these other things as well in their discussion, but the main thrust of these posts is the 3-5 page synopsis.

The participants include:
Patricia Bray (pbray): Patricia Bray

Chaz Brenchley (desperance): Chaz Brenchley

Mike Brotherton: Mike Brotherton: Hard SF Writer

Tobias Buckell: Ask Me A Question

S.C. Butler (scbutler): S.C. Butler

Barbara Campbell: Barbara Campbell

David B. Coe (davidbcoe): An Exchange of Words

Jennifer Dunne (jennifer_dunne): Flickering Flames

S.L. Farrell (sleigh): At The Intersection of Fiction & Reality

Diana Francis (difrancis): Mad Libs

Gregory Frost frostokovich): Maunderings of the Diseased Mind

Felix Gilman: Felix Gilman

Jim C. Hines (jimhines): Jim C Hines

Jackie Kessler (jackiekessler): Jackie Kessler

Mindy Klasky (mindyklasky): Read ‘Til You Drop

Misty Massey (madkestrel): A Hazardous Occupation

C.E. Murphy (mizkit): The Essential Kit

Naomi Novik(naominovik): Dragons! Lip Gloss! Death!

Joshua Palmatier (jpsorrow): The Creation of Wrath Suvane

Maria V. Snyder: Maria V Snyder

Jennifer Stevenson (smokingpigeon): Smokingpigeon

Michelle West (msagara): Trying To Catch Up

Sean Williams (ladnews): Sean Williams

I think is a terrific idea and I urge any of you who have trouble writing a synopsis to check out how varied these are from one another, proving the old adage - there’s more than one way to skin a cat!

Photo by Baston

My apologies for not posting over the last several days. I was under deadline with my latest novel, EYES TO SEE, and every spare second went to getting it finalized and turned in. Since it was EYES that kept me from you, my readers, I thought it only fair that I share a little bit of it.

So, without further ado, here are the opening paragraphs of EYES TO SEE. (I’ll be back with a regular blog post in the next day or so…)

CHAPTER ONE

Now

I gave up my eyes in order to see more clearly.

That was many years ago and I don’t miss them all that much, except perhaps on days like this. The rain started late in the afternoon and by the time I stepped outside it had become a steady downpour, making the pavement slick beneath my feet and washing out the smells I normally use to help orient myself whenever I leave home. Thankfully the car service was punctual and moments later I was safely ensconced in the rear seat and headed across town to the address I’d been given.

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Photo by Snak3yes

Writing a novel is easy. All you have to do is sit down at the computer and write.

Writing a good novel? Well, that’s a bit harder. I’ve been writing professionally for seven years and I’ve sold nine novels in five different countries. My work has appeared on the bestseller list in Germany and has generated enough income for me to do it full-time to support my family. Since other writers helped me as I started out, I’m going to do the same thing here for anyone inclined to listen.

A good novel starts with a good idea. What we call a premise. A premise is the basic, underlying story. In essence, it is what the book is about. It is the central idea that makes people want to read the book.

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Photo by star-dust

When I first started out in this business, writing a book proposal seemed a daunting act. I wasn’t quite sure what exactly it should contain, how much was too much, what tone to take, etc.

While working on a new proposal just the other day, it occurred to me that proposals might be an interesting topic for some of those who read this blog, whatever their experience level might be. So, in today’s essay, we are going to deconstruct my standard proposal format and answer any questions blog readers have on the topic.

First, understand that I typically write the proposal before I write the actual book. That means I don’t have the luxury of having the finished work in front of me to refer to when drafting the proposal and I know going in that the end result might differ slightly from the proposed version. Editors are fine with that, provided you don’t veer too far off course. (In other words, if you sell a book based on your proposal about a modern psychic who solves crimes for the Chicago police department, you’d best not turn in a historical romance novel set in the 13th century.)

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