Writing Wrongs

September 29, 2006

For the past month, I�ve been judging a few contests, which might explain the sporadic blogging here. So, I�ve been reading lots of partial manuscripts--the first fifty pages plus the synopsis.

I�m wondering if I missed the memo on this, or if there�s a new article floating around on how to write a synopsis, but I�ve sensed a trend. The synopsis is humming along at a good clip, we get rising action, excitement (keep in mind, I�ve been reading a lot of romantic suspense entries), then hit something like this:

Joe and Jane solve the mystery behind the scary situation. Back story of how and why bad guys did what they did brings synopsis to a screeching halt for a paragraph or two. With the bad guys behind bars, Joe and Jane are free to pursue their happily-every-after. The end.

Speaking purely as a reader: Stop. This.

Speaking purely as a writer: Stop. This.

Believe me, I know how hard it is to write a synopsis. I suspect in some cases, writers have only written the partial and are submitting it to a contest to see if it�s worth continuing. A notion that I�m completely at odds with. I mean, why let someone else--and a stranger at that--decide what your story is worth? But that�s a rant for another day.

But this method tells me nothing. I don�t see how the characters use their talents to solve the mystery. I don�t see the crisis, the dark moment, the climax. In more than one synopsis, these crucial elements are missing. The thing is, it�s this part of the story where the characters are tested, where they grow and change. This is the edge-of-your-seat best part of the story, the part we�ve all been waiting for. This is where they earn that happily-ever-after.

It�s like reaching the midpoint of a story, then flipping through the pages to the last chapter. You wouldn�t read a book that way.

Don�t write a synopsis that way.

Charity Tahmaseb wrote at 6:32 a.m.

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